- Royal Irish Fusiliers Museum The attack on al-Bassa was ordered and sanctioned. Can anyone put any names to the other players. He was serving with the 1st Battalion, at the time of the above cited deeds in ‘Happy Valley’, north of Seoul, Korea, 3-4 January 1951. The Battalion was instead deployed to Palestine. Trace your military heritage through our Research Database. On the back of the photo is written 1st Battalion Royal Ulster Rifles, 6th Airborne Division, 6th Air Landing Brigade and the date 1946. 1921.01.01 1st Battalion, The Royal Ulster Rifles 1922 Germany Army of Occupation 1926 England: Aldershot 2 Bde 1929 Ireland: Belfast 1933 Palestine 1935 China: Hong Kong 1937 Egypt 1938.12 India: Rawalpindi 1938.12 NW Frontier 1939.09 UK 1940.07 UK 31 Inf Bde 1941 converted to airlanding role 1941.12 UK 1 Abn Div 1942.11 Tunisia 1943.07 Sicily Oral testimony held at the Imperial War Museum of Desmond Woods, quoted in Hughes, 2009a, 531. 1st Battalion August 1914 : in Aden. The Belfast-based RUR had recently been deployed to Palestine as part of the British Army’s forces then in the process of violently crushing the Arab Revolt that had broken out two years before against the colonial British Mandate Authority, itself founded in the wake of the First World War in 1922. The decision that the Royal Irish Rifles were from the 1st January 1921 to be designated The Royal Ulster Rifles was as unwelcome as it was unexpected. The summary executions of the young men of the village, recalls historian Ilan Pappe, ‘as with all traumatic events in the lives of human beings… remain deeply engraved in the survivors memories’. During the night of 23-24 April, Chinese reinforcements crossed the Imjin, tasked with eliminating the Glosters. Family of Tobias Molloy, shot dead by a British soldier in 1972, request a fresh inquest from Attorney General of Ireland. Either before or after the razing of the village RUR soldiers and some ‘attached to the Royal Engineers’ rounded up about 50 Arab men from the village and ‘herd[ed]’ them on to a bus. He took part in Operation Varsity, the allied airborne invasion of Germany, as part of the 6th Airlanding (Glider) Brigade, attached to the 6th Airborne division, landing on the 24th of March 1945 by glider at Hamminkeln. As part of that expansion it raised two new regiments of foot, the 83rd and the 86th. Torture centres were set up and many Arab prisoners shot ‘while trying to escape’. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for GSM ~ General Service Medal ~ Palestine 1945-48 ~ Royal Ulster Rifles ~ RUR at the best online prices at eBay! Decoding the Declassified documents (Part 1), Plastic bullets — plastic death. Al-Bassa resisted, and was again subject to ‘punishment’, this time at the hands of the newly created Israeli forces. 189 pp. 2nd Battalion August 1914 : at Tidworth. By 1939, the 1st Battalion, The Royal Ulster Rifles, as it was then known, was serving in the North West frontier of India. It would be wrong, though, to think of this massacre as the result of the RUR and other British troops ‘running amok’ or merely acting on their own volition out of a sense of revenge; far from it. Bill Eckersley is also on the photograph. Rather, it was part of a much wider policy of ‘reprisals’ that marked the British Mandate’s repression of the Arab Revolt. In November 1950, the Battalion fought in the Korean War and, amongst other engagements, participated in the Battle of the Imjin River. Ilan Pappe (2006) The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, Oxford: Oneworld, 141-142. Other villagers were also believed to be killed, although suppression of the local press at the time meant little enough of these events were made public. Dan. I am happy to cover all costs, if you are a family member or can put me in touch with them, please get in touch. For more information about this massacre see: The Pat Finucane Centre is registered as a Company limited by Guarantee and is a registered charity, reference NIC 100720.info@patfinucanecentre.orgCopyright | © 2017 by the Pat Finucane Centre, The 1938 al-Bassa Massacre and the Royal Ulster Rifles, The impact of the Parachute Regiment In Belfast 1970-73, Plastic bullets — plastic death. In a pattern not untypical of other counterinsurgency campaigns, in theory the British Army in Palestine operated merely as an ‘aid to the civil power’ and British soldiers were supposedly therefore subject to civil law. That is why the RUR unit and other British forces were there. The 2nd Battalion too was bound for Palestine and staged through Belgium and France before embarking for Egypt in mid-October 1945, being stationed initially in Qassasin. The three Jewish movements in Mandatory Palestine consisted of the more moderate Haganah movement and the more extreme Irgun and Lehi movements who all sought the establishment of an independent Jewish state in the 'Land of Israel'. We take great pride in our stock and will always strive to bring you genuine items. The 1st Battalion was stationed first at Gaza, then deployed to defend Lydda Airport before moving to Tel Aviv after riots had broken out. Decoding the Declassified documents (Part 2), PFC Submission to the Independent Review of the HRA Panel. R.U.R. This respite allowed the Royal Ulster Rifles to move forward and occupy Hill 398 to the east of the Fusiliers and Route 11 - the only possible line of withdrawal for the brigade. Laleh Khalili (2013) Time in the Shadows: Confinement in Counterinsurgencies, Stanford CA: Stanford University Press, 31. rubber stamps, … During the early 1920s, there were two changes for the Royal Irish Rifles, the ‘Irish’ part of their name was changed to ‘Ulster’ and it lost one of its recruiting counties, Louth, which became part of the Free State. At this time Joseph was promoted to the rank on Lance Corporal. Its population of some 3,000 (a mix of Christians and Muslims) made it one of the largest in the area. Having flown home from Luneburg in May 1945, the 1st Battalion The Royal Ulster Rifles was preparing and equipping for service in South-East Asia when Japan announced its surrender on 15 August 1945. - Royal Ulster Rifles Museum Early on the morning of 7th September 1938 a company of the Royal Ulster Rifles (RUR) a forerunner of today’s Royal Irish Regiment, entered al-Bassa, an Arab Palestinian village then located in north-west Galilee, a few miles from Acre and close to the border with Lebanon. Mark McGovern (2015) ‘State violence and the colonial roots of collusion in Northern Ireland’, Race and Class, first published on July 14, 2015 as doi:10.1177/0306396815595200. I first got to know him in Palestine in the troublesome days of the winter of 1938/39 when the 2nd Battalion, the Royal Ulster Rifles was serving in that country; later his battalion was in the 3rd Division which I took to France in September 1939, and it was in those days that … After all is over - and the remainder of the Empire is understandably irritated with Ireland - I hope these countless Duffs, from both the North and the South, and in all three services, will be remembered. The bus was completely destroyed. Two more died of their wounds later. - Inniskillings Museum In it he said 'They were great days in Palestine twenty years ago and the Royal Ulster Rifles were second to none in the operations we had to carry out against the Arabs at that time. 2/3 Cavalry Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps Details, Royal Army Ordnance Corps Details, Royal Army Pay Corps No. 'I turned over one poor chap on a rocky, bloody crag on Tanngoucha. The fighting in Korea, operations against EOKA in Cyprus and operations in Borneo. Irish NCO served with 2nd Bn Royal Ulster Rifles, 9th Infantry Bde, 3rd Infantry Div in GB, North West Europe and Palestine, 1944-1947 Content description REEL 1 Background in Dublin, Ireland, 1922-1939: family; education; enlistment as boy soldier, 1936; reasons for leaving army, 1936; re … ---- Vol. After the war, the Battalion re-formed as a Battalion of the Royal Ulster Rifles. Israeli historian Tom Segev, in his book One Palestine Complete: Jews and Arabs under the British Mandate, has a chapter entitled “Ireland in Palestine”. As conflict escalated this official reprisals policy saw houses blown up, or groups of houses demolished, property looted, food stores systematically destroyed, forced labour, ‘punitive village occupations’, the imposition of crushing collective fines and wholesale destruction of ‘bad villages’. We are the largest and fastest growing community of UK forces veterans on the web with over 500,000 members! © Copyright 2021. When, in its wake, the Divisional commander for northern Palestine was repeatedly questioned about carrying out any future reprisals by a ‘bewildered’ Anglican bishop of Jerusalem, the British General’s apparent reply each time was ‘I will shoot them’. In 1793 the British Army expanded to meet the commitments of the war with the French First Republic. They were accompanied by a detachment of the 11th Hussars riding in Rolls Royce-built armoured cars mounted with machine guns. COVID-19: The Royal Ulster Rifles Museum is now open to visitors (See website for details). The Royal Ulster Rifles Force Troops 12th (Field) Company, Royal Engineers No 2 (Wireless) Company, Royal Corps of Signals 14th Company, Royal Army Service Corps 17th Company, Royal Army Service Corps No. The Army was charged with protecting Jewish settlements and tracking down Arab insurgents. In practice the legal process ensured the prosecution of British soldiers was all but non-existent, while military courts dispensed something approximating summary justice to Arab civilians and combatants denied the protection of the nascent body of international law (i.e. the Geneva and Hague Conventions). The medal is in good condition and comes with original box of issue. History of the Royal Irish Rifles. Bredin took part in counter-insurgency with Major Orde Wingate 's Special Night Squads. The life of the village, re-established in the wake of the 1938 massacre, was to prove short-lived. London: Gale & Pollen Ltd., 1914: Cyril Falls, formerly Captain. JAT Ker served with the Royal Ulster Rifles British Army. Worse was to follow. He served with Corran Purdon during his time at the Depot at Armagh (Gough Barracks). A GSM (Palestine 1945-48) awarded to 3770090 Warrant Officer 2nd Class T. Shaw, Royal Ulster Rifles. He was facing the right way, the last round of a clip in the breech and three dead Germans in front of him. Meanwhile, the Belgian Battalion fought its way back across the river and redeployed to the south. The Museum is located behind the Colliers International facing the Premier Inn. The massacre by British soldiers you have probably never heard of. Members who served with Royal Ulster Rifles Welcome to Forces Reunited the place where you can find information and friends from Royal Ulster Rifles. JR Edmonds served with the Royal Ulster Rifles British Army. It continued in British Army service until 1968, when it became part of The Royal Irish Rangers. The massacre by British soldiers you have probably never heard of. Either sometime that day or a short time after about 100 of al-Bassa’s inhabitants were then taken to a nearby Army camp and four of the group were whipped and tortured in front of the others. 3 February 1918 : transferred to 107th Brigade in 36th (Ulster) Division. Moved to Hursley Park and came under command of 25th Brigade in 8th Division. I have always had a great affection for your Regiment and that has not diminished as the years go by.' The History of the First Seven Battalions The Royal Irish Rifles (now The Royal Ulster Rifles) in the Great War. T. Shaw. Michael Hughes (2009) ‘The banality of brutality: British armed forces and the repression of the Arab Revolt in Palestine’, English Historical Review, CXXIV, 507, pp. JR Edmonds Royal Ulster Rifles . Joseph continued his service with the 1st Royal Ulster Rifles in France, Belgium, Holland, and Germany. But the Colonel of the Regiment Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson, even in his alternative capacity as Chief of Imperial Staff cold did nothing to prevent it. There were no investigations, prosecutions or trials following the events at al-Bassa. 2. (Brigadier Nelson Russell, Commander 38 (Irish) Brigade, 1942-44), COVID-19: The museums continue to work towards reopening safely. On the night of 6th September two members of the RUR had been killed when a roadside mine exploded. Add to this record. 1st Battalion The Royal Ulster Rifles 1941 to 1947 The battalion had its origins in the 83rd Regiment of Foot, which was raised in 1793 for service in the Napoleonic Wars. Typically, operations consisted of constant patrolling, curfew enforcement, and endeavouring to keep the 'King’s Peace' in what was still territory mandated to the British Crown. Then on to Victoria Barracks in Belfast, for training. 6 November 1914 : landed at Le Havre. Nor was the massacre at al-Bassa an isolated incident. ‘Special Night Squads’, consisting of British and Jewish settler policemen and moving at night (often disguised as Arabs) terrorised Arab villages, humiliating and killing Arab civilians; ‘something of a model for subsequent Israeli Special Forces’. His name was Duff. I have his dogtags and would love to get them home to his family. 105616 The son of Colonel F.A. As they moved toward the village that morning (one of the RUR officers present would later recall) the armoured cars ‘pepper[ed] al-Bassa with machine gun fire’ for about 20 minutes before his own men went in ‘with lighted braziers… set the houses on fire and… burnt the village to the ground’. Campbell re-engaged for service with the Royal Ulster Rifles in November 1948. Other villagers were forced to bury the mutilated bodies of the dead in a hastily dug pit. Archdale, Michael Mervyn, Lyon 'Mickey', Lieutenant, No. We have a large archive of soldier records. Its other two counties, Antrim and Down, were in Northern Ireland and so … DECLASSIFIED NATIONAL ARCHIVE DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE TO VIEW, STATEMENT FROM PFC/JFF RE: "UNQUIET GRAVES" ON RTE1, Prosecutions, Imprisonment and the Stormont House Agreement, Labour calls for halt to bill shielding UK soldiers from prosecution, PFC’s submission to the United Nations Committee Against Torture, The 1938 al Bassa Massacre and the Royal Ulster Rifles. Professor Mark McGovern | 07 September 2015. Segev describes how Irish born Sir Charles Tegart ruled Palestine with the help of the Royal Ulster Rifles and former Black and Tans. By the time the British troops withdrew several hours later al-Bassa had been totally destroyed. 14 August 1914 : landed at Rouen. Throughout, while martial law was never declared a de facto state of ‘statutory martial law’ existed. The museums in Enniskillen and Armagh continue to work towards reopening safely. 332–3. The latter two began a fresh revolt against the British mandate in 1944 and in 1945 the Haganah joined the Irgun and Lehi in what was known as the Jewish Resistance Movement, jointly escalating the armed struggle to attack British controls on the immigration of European Jews as well as police and military targets. Enlisted into the 2nd Battalion, the Royal Ulster Rifles at the Omagh Barracks in 1930. The change again to Royal Ulster Rifles in 1021. The Royal Irish. Dad at 95 is still going strong. The operations in Palestine just before the second world war, both battalions on D Day to the end of the second world war. Early on the morning of 7th September 1938 a company of the Royal Ulster Rifles (RUR) a forerunner of today’s Royal Irish Regiment, entered al-Bassa, an Arab Palestinian village then located in north-west Galilee, a few miles from Acre and close to the border with Lebanon. 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