" the irish guards "
The first guard mounting
duty was performed without Colours but in May 1902 the regiment, with a year's
hard work behind it, was able to parade as a battalion on Horse Guards Parade to receive its first Colours from HM King Edward VII, who wore the uniform of his Irish Guards, and who was accompanied by Lord Roberts. After the presentation, the ceremony concluded with the Trooping of the Colour. In August of that same year the Irish Wolfhound Club made the generous offer to present to the regiment a prize dog for a Regimental mascot, an offer which was accepted by Lt Col Cooper. There were ten competitors and after a painstaking examination a fine specimen, with the grandiose title ' Rajah of Kidnal ' was chosen and handed over with due ceremony. Needless to say this unwiedly title was soon altered to ' Paddy ' later revised to ' Brian Boru ' and give the Regimental Number 1463.
The above picture shows ' Brian Boru ' with his handler taken in 1906 at Aldershot. from then until the present day one of these beautiful hounds has accompanied the regiment on most ceremonial occassions, all with names unmistakably Irish, ' Leitrim Boy ', Doreen, Cruachan, Shaun, Fionn, Cormac ( of Tara ) and Connor.
The 1904 manoevres included an attempt to stage an amphibious landing at Clacton-on-Sea. The regiment's role was to defend a ford over the Colne at Wivenhoe, but in the event were almost spectators, as the invasion fleet was soon in trouble. The large pontoons used as landing craft capsized, toppling men, horses and guns into the mud off Clacton. Irish Guardsman wore khaki service dress for this exercise, the headress a slouch-hat with brush plume attached to the up-turned brim on the right side.
A more unpleasant type of duty occured in August 1911. Within weeks of the Coronation celebrations in June, when the regiment took part in all the parades, street lining etc, troops were required in great numbers and at short notice, during the railway strike. Fortunately the strike was settled without violence, and quickly, but all precautionary measures were taken, with troops guarding railway stations and signal boxes, as well as coal depots and escorting other forms of transport around London. For this work the battalion appeared in London for the first time in Khaki, but wearing with it the most unlikely head-wear, the busby.
the irish guards and the great war, 1914-1918
the irish guards 1918
But we're not so young at our trade,
For we had the honour at Fontenoy
Of meeting the Guard's Brigade
Twas Lally, Dillon, Bulkeley, Clare
And Lee that led us then,
And after a hundred and seventy years
We're fighting for France again!
' Old days the wild geese are flighting,
Head to the storm as they faced it before !
For where are the Irish there's bound to be fighting,
And when there's no fighting, it's Ireland no more !
Ireland no more!
The fashion's all for khaki now,
But once through France we went
Full-dressed in scarlet Army cloth
The English - left at Ghent.
They're fighting on our side to-day
But, before they changed their clothes,
The half of Europe knew our fame,
As all of Ireland knows!
' Old days ! The wild geese are flying,
Head to the storm as they faced it before !
For where there are Irish there's memory undying,
And when we forget, it is Ireland no more !
Ireland no more !
From Barry Wood to Gouzeaucourt,
From Boyne to Pilkem Ridge,
The ancient days come back no more
Than water under the bridge,
But the bridge it stands and the water runs
As red as yesterday,
And the Irish move to the sound of the guns
Like salmon to the sea.
' Old days! The wild geese are reanging,
Head to the storm as they faced it before !
For where there are Irish their hearts are unchanging,
And when they are changed, it is Ireland no more !
Ireland no more !
We're not so old in the Army List
But we're not so new in the ring,
For we carried our packs with Marshal Saxe
When Louis was our King.
But Douglas Haig's our Marshal now,
And we're King George's men,
And after one hundred and seventy years
We're fighting for France again!
Ah, France ! And did we stand by you,
When life was made splendid with gifts and rewards ?
Ah, France ! And will we deny you
In the hour of your agony, Mother of Swords ?
' Old days! The wild geese are flighting,
Head to the storm as they faced it before!
For where there are Irish there's loving and fighting,
And when we stop either, it's Ireland no more !
Ireland no more !
Rudyard Kipling.
When new Colours were presented to the 1st Battalion on the 28th June 1913, a composite force service was used for the consecration
the Chaplain General of the forces took the first part, and a Roman Catholic chaplain the remainder. The ceremony took place on the lawns to Buckingham Palace, the presentation made by the regiment's Colonel-in-Chief King George V, and the Colonel of the Regiment , Lord Roberts also attended waering his Irish Guards full dress. Although 14 years old, the Battalion of Irish Guards which left Wellington Barracks on the 12th August 1914 for France was as fine a regiment as any in the British Army, with almost all of the 32 officers and 1,100 other ranks-Irish. The Regiment landed at Le Harve as part of the 4 ( Guards Brigade ), 2nd Division. By early September the regiment had received its first baptism of fire., with continual marching and covering the retreat from Mons.
Regular battalions of all the Irish regiments were included in the Expeditionary Forces which left for France at the outbreak of the war in the early days of August 1914. For its size it was the finest Army that ever left the British shores. It was commanded by Field Marshall Sir John French . I think that this would be good point to give a summary account of the ' Retreat from Mons '
The 1st Irish Guards deployed to France, eight days after Great Britain had declared war upon the German Empire, as part of the
4th ( Guards ) Brigade of the 2nd Division. The 1st Irish Guards would remain on the Western Front for the duration of WW1. The battalion took partin the Battle of Mons and the subsequent arduous and bloody retreat from Mons, which began on the 4th of August and would not end until the 5th of September. The Irish Guards were one of the units of the rearguard during the retreat and took part in a small fierce action at Landrecies against advancing Germans, The 1st Irish Guards also took part in another rearguard action at woods near Villers - Cotterets, on the 1st of September, during the Battle of Le Cateau in which their CO, Lieutenant Colonel The Hon. Geroge Morris and the Second in Command Major Hubert Crichton were killed . Le Cateau was a successful action that helped delay the inexorable German advance towards Paris, inflicting heavy losses on the Germans in the process. In August that year the 2nd Reserve Battalion was raised at Warley Barracks. The 1st Irish Guards later in September took part in the Battle of the Marne and the advance towards the Aisne.
