The 2nd Battalion Royal Ulster Rifles And

Famous Irish Regiments

By TraditionWe Are United

With the successful evacuation of Dunkirk in June 1940, Britain stood alone against the might of the German Blitzkrieg. It is somehow ironic therefore to remember that what was left of the British Army at this time was committed by Winston Churchill into the care of the Great Irish Generals: Harold Alexander, Claude Auchinleck, Alan Brooke, Sir John Dill and Bernard Montgomery. All were destined to hold Field Marshal rank and together with men like Richard O' Connor, Brian Horrocks and Eric Dorman-Smith, would win initial victories in the Western Desert and move on to greater triumphs. Harold Alexander had been born in London, the son of a noted County Tyrone family that had come to Ulster from Scotland during the plantation years.

Harold Alexander

Claude Auchinleck

From Schooldays at Harrow he went to Sandhurst and was placed 85th out of 172. He was commissioned into the Irish Guards and joined them at Chelsea Barracks on the 23rd September 1911. he served throughout the First World War on the Western Front, and when peace was declared he held the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. Between the wars he served in a variety of posts, each of which brought him closer to the rank of Field Marshal. The ' Auk ' Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck, also had his roots buried in Irish earth. For 200 years the Auchinleck clan had played a not unimportant part in Scottish history. With the fall of the clans the family took the advice of James I of England and with other clan chieftains sought other lands in Ireland.

They settled in County Fermanagh, with some sons taking Holy Orders, whole others elected for a career under arms. In the early 1800s the two sons of Reverened John Auchinleck chose the army, both sons being commissioned in the Royal Horse Artillery. The first born William, had an uneventful career and retired as a Colonel, while his brother John served with distinction in the Indian Mutiny and later in the Second Afghan War of 1878. John was Claude Auchinleck's father. Claude was schooled at Wellington College and later Sandhurst, but, due to reduced financial circumstances, opted for the Indian Army, where a subaltern could just about exist on his army pay. He sailed for the subcontinent in March 1903, and began the journey towards a Field Marshal's baton. Sir John Dill, a native of Lurgan, County Armagh, had served in both the South African and First World Wars before serving in France in 1940 as a corps commander. He was appointed Chief of Staff in 1940, but the near constant conflict with the views of Winston Churchill, who found him overcautious, ended with him being sent to Washington as the head of the British military mission.

Sir John Dill

Dill's charm, integrity and professional ability gained him prestige in US military circles, and the trust and friendship he engendered with both President Roosevelt and General Marshall did nothing but ggod for Britain. Sir John Dill passed away on the 4th November 1944, while in Washington: he was considered to have died on active service and consequently was buried in Arlington National Cemetary with full military honours. The tradition of Irishmen serving in the Regular Army goes back to the reign of James II, who in 1662 raised a regiment of ' Irish Guards ' part of which go on to form the cadre of the Royal Irish Regiment, although there are those who would claim that Elizabeth I had her share of Irishmen under arms. Five hundred years prior to Operation Market Garden, another ' British ' army had set out from England under its King and won undying fame on the field of Agincourt. King Henry's army consisted not only of English knights, yeoman and archers, but a fair number of Welsh, Scots and Irish. One such unit was a component of Irish hoblairs. This force of light cavalry, some 1,500 strong, had left the port of Cork, under the command of Thomas Butler, Prior of Kilmainham, and served with the King throughout his campaign in France, although by the time of Agincourt the numbers remaining would have been much fewer. In the ranks of the archers was one named Matthew Gough. During the Napoleonic Wars the Gough name would again find fame. Major Hugh Gough led the 2nd Battalion of the 87th Regiment of Foot ( later the Royal Irish Fusiliers ) at the Battle of Barrosa on the 5th March 1811. It was here that the French Eagle was captured for the first time in battle. Prior to this the only ' Eagles ' in British hands were those taken when French garrisons had surrendered or been captured after a siege. The Barrosa Eagle was captured from the French 8th Regiment by the combined efforts of Ensign Keogh and Sergeant Patrick Masterson.

The capture of the French Eagle at Barrosa.

This French Eagle belonging to the 105th was captured at the Battle of Waterloo

In the bloody struggle Keogh was killed, but Masterson succeeded in taking the prized standard. As a reward for his behaviour that day Masterson was offered a commission, which he accepted. The 87th were not the only Irishmen on the field that day. In the 28th Foot the Regimental Colours were borne by two brothers from Ireland . .