as the first Irish
regiment poured in on one side fresh English troops poured into it from the
other and cleared up the ground. But when the Irishmen drove through the northern end of Ginchy it was found that a junction could not be made with the troops on the north-west, so that the left flank composed of a detachment of Dublins and Royal Engineers was left in ' the air ' but the gallant party began trench-digging in a fierce and sustained spasm of labour and long after reliefs came up, there were fourteen hundred yards of now, good trenchwork protecting the north-western part of the captured village. meanwhile the battalions that had led the charge delivered their thrust so rapidly that an hour after they had left their shell holes they had patrols working a quarter of a mile beyond the village up the slope leading to Ginchy Telegraph.
when the Irish Brigades
marched back towards camp in the afternoon of September 10th, the
worn shrunken battalions, mechanically keeping step with a piper at their head, were a site to stir anybody with Irish Blood in them. For more than a week the men had been fighting and little sleep had they had. Their eyes were bloodshot and ringed with shadows, their seamed faces were grey with dust. The mud was caked on them and their bodies huddled forward in the weakness of utter fatigue....
" yet a spirit of triumph shone from them. They had made ginchy And guillemont monuments to the valour of their race "
I love this picture. It actually shows the bitter fighting which took place in Deville Wood when the South Africans fought like mad to take the Wood.But it also gives a superb detailed account of how horrific hand to hand
fighting must have been.It is not in the typical 'romantic' representation of the time but shows the brutality of war. Two men in the foreground are locked together fighting to the death whilst the stance of the men in the bachground shows the strength behind the thrust as they bayonet the enemy. Such must have been the scene when the Irish Regiments stormed into Guillemont and Ginchy, fighting every step of the way. ( Copyright sm )
fighting must have been.It is not in the typical 'romantic' representation of the time but shows the brutality of war. Two men in the foreground are locked together fighting to the death whilst the stance of the men in the bachground shows the strength behind the thrust as they bayonet the enemy. Such must have been the scene when the Irish Regiments stormed into Guillemont and Ginchy, fighting every step of the way. ( Copyright sm )
Leuze Wood was largely theirs also. Sir Philip Gibbs wrote ' that the capture of Ginchy by the Irish Brigade deserved to be recorded not in a journalist's prose but in heroic verse '. It was 'no wonder 'wrote Father Willaim Doyle SJ chaplain that an angry German Officer called the 16th ( Irish ) Division ' a pack of devils ' Born in Dublin, Father Doyle ( I shall be writing later about this incredible man ) became one of the well-known loved First World War chaplains receiving on 15th November 1915, his appointment from the War Office to the 16th. A gentle young man of indifferent health, he was always to be found as close to the front line as possible, saying Mass, tending wounded and dying and consequently he had many narrow escapes. Doyle's Letters to his father in Ireland reveal his experiences of the horrors of the First World War. Nevertheless for him:
War may be horrible but it certainly brings out the best side of a
A man's character; over and over again i have seen men risking their
Their lives to help or save a comrade and these brave fellows knew
The risk they were taking.
Though all the suffering and ghastliness he encountered shines his great love and admiration for ' MY BRAVE IRISH BOYS ' who had all the dash and go of the hot-blooded Celtic race, the courage of lions and a strong deep faith. His is a very human picture of his Irish Catholic soldiers:
War may be horrible but it certainly brings out the best side of a
A man's character; over and over again i have seen men risking their
Their lives to help or save a comrade and these brave fellows knew
The risk they were taking.
Though all the suffering and ghastliness he encountered shines his great love and admiration for ' MY BRAVE IRISH BOYS ' who had all the dash and go of the hot-blooded Celtic race, the courage of lions and a strong deep faith. His is a very human picture of his Irish Catholic soldiers:
They curse like troopers all day, they give the Germans hell
Purgatory and heaven all combined at night, and next morning come kneeling in the mud for mass and Holy Communion.
Purgatory and heaven all combined at night, and next morning come kneeling in the mud for mass and Holy Communion.
For the Somme battles Father Doyle was awarded the MC for his bravery. Apart from two VCs, there were some Three Hundred decorations awarded in the 16th. This was at heavy cost: Over 1,000 men of the 16th Irish Division had been killed on the Somme.
And so we must conclude the 16th Division's part in the Battle of the Somme and its brilliant victory at Guillemont and Ginchy.I hope that one day a more substantial memorial is built to the bravery of these men so that those visting the Somme will be made more aware of the sacrifice these men from Ireland made. It is quite ironic that whilst researching this section i picked up a book called ' The Somme 1916, Crucible of a British Army, by Michael Chappell ' I started to read the first chapter with great enthusiasm and one section started as follows " Mention ' The Somme ' to an Englishman, Scotsman Welshman or Ulsterman of middle or older years and it is unlikely that he will immediately think of a river meandering through the countryside of northern France " This is a book that is not particularly old in the publishing world yet the writer had failed to mention one inportant word " Irishmen " Guillemont and Ginchy were hardly mentioned.But the heroic deeds of the 16th does not end here..it was not long before they would be fighting for their very own existence at the " The Battle of Messines "
and the slaughter of " The Third Blattle of Ypres " alongside the 36th Ulster Division. My next tribute to the " 16th Irish Division "....Eireann Go Bragh
and the slaughter of " The Third Blattle of Ypres " alongside the 36th Ulster Division. My next tribute to the " 16th Irish Division "....Eireann Go Bragh
* In the action of the 15th September the Irish Guards of the Guards Division renewed the offensive, capturing Ginchy Telegraph and
the Quadrilateral.
