The Rifles, Early Years

After the First World War, the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Ulster Rifles was re-formed at Thetford and embarked for Mesopotamia, where it was actively involved in the Arab Rebellion of 1920. It was during this campaign that the regiment re-named following the formation of Ulster. This was marked on New Year's Day 1921 by the Ist Battalion

"performing " the funeral of the Royal Irish Rifles and the erecting of a small gravestone bearing the ' inscription '

" Sacred to the memory of the Royal Irish Rifles, departed life on the 1st of January 1921, after a brief but glorious existence, aged forty years- R.I.P, R.I.P ". whilst stationed at Parkhurst barracks on the Isle of Wight. In the meantime the 2nd Battalion which had left Mesopotamia via Egypt for Wellington in South India, where they were engaged in Company training, rugby ,association football, cricket and soccer. They were stationed in Poona for four fairly uneventful years but following the arrest of Ghandhi the troops were confined to barracks on May 10th 1930 and guards placed on vulnerable points. Martial Law was proclaimed at Sholapur and on May 12th the Battalion was ordered the 150 miles to the city where it was involved in the occupation. There were no signs of resistance, active or passive. Patrols secured the affected areas in the vicinity and made several arrests, both before and after curfew, breaking the back of the resistance. The Battalion then returned to Poona.The Battalion spent a small amount of time in Madras, before returning to Britain via Port Sudan and a short stay in Khartoum.When the 2nd Battalion finally arrived safely at Gravesend, it received a civic welcome from the Mayor and Corporation. The barracks were very comfortable and the playing fields quite excellent. It was also the place where many of the riflemen married local girls and would eventually return to settle down. The year they arrived was 1935 which marked King Edward VIII's Jubilee and was celebrated with a parade at Gravesend, where the 2nd Battalion and a heavy battery of the Royal Artillery took part. Soon afterwards the Battalion was at home to the public. This was the first occasion that a unit of the army stationed at Gravesend had invited members of the public to see how the modern soldier was accommodated and also to see the equipment used in modern war.

In April 1935, the Rifles battled it out with the 4th Battalion Royal tank Corps at Aldershot during the final of the Army Cup Final . The Royal Tank Corps were the victors beating the Rifles 6 goals to 3.

In 1936, the 2nd battalion, now in the 10th Infantry Brigade ( Shortcliffe ) of the 4th Division, were told of the new Infantry organisation, which meant that the Support Company ( except the Mortar Platoon ) was to be lost and they were to become a Four Company Rifle Battalion. But more importantly they were to be mechanised.The Battalion were then moved to Catterick, where their boxing came prowess came to the fore. It was here that they learnt that they were about to go to Palestine for a year's service. By this time the Battalion transport had become completely mechanised with 40 vehicles, of these 20 were Morris trucks, 6 were 30cwt lorries, 9 were motor cycles and the rest were two-seater cars. Drivers were no longer booted and spurred; they were gauntleted and goggled. The Battalion had now lost all its Vickers guns, replaced with light machine-guns, later to be Brens. There was also a promise of one anti-tank rifle per platoon.

Before sailing for the Middle East the Battalion took part in the Northern Command Tattoo while a detachment helped to line the streets at the Coronation. It then sailed in the ' California ' for Haifa, arriving on November 28th.

On disembarking next morning ' B' Company went straight to Nablus to do detachment duy, while the rest of the Battalion went by lorry and bus straight to Nathanya. The Battalion had all weapons loaded with war ammunition and everything ready for an emergency, which occured less thana week later when some of its trucks were fired upon near Nablus, amd then on December 16th 1938, they had their first encounter with Terorist forces. The role of the Battalion was to restore and maintain law and order and to deal with both Jewish and Arab factions fairly and without bias. The Royal Ulster Rifles area of responsibility was central Palestine or Samaria.

The Battalions time in Palestine was adequently summarised by Major General B.L Montgomery, who as Commander of the 8th Division addressed the Rifles shortly before departure for Parkhurst on March 22nd. He said " first of all i want to congratulate you on the magnificent work you have done since you have been in Palestine, i cannot speak to highly of it. During this time your Battalion have won five Military Crosses, four Military Medals and eighty seven Mentions in Despatches..you have always told the rebels exactly where they get off, and if they did not accept this , you have followed it up with action...During the course of your operations in the country you have had wonderful training which will stand you in good stead in any form of warfare - protection, quickness across country, night work, resourcefulness are required against an enemy you may be fighting ".

During the Voyage from Egypt to Southampton the 2nd Battalion was disembarked on Malta due to Mussolini's attack on Albania during Easter and the subsequent potential threat to the island. The scare was temporary and so the

Royal Ulster Rifles proceeded to Parkhurst, where they stayed for four months.During this period they were sent to Marlborough for Brigade training with the rest of the 9th Infantry Brigade. However the training exercise never took place due to the situation on the Continent and so the Rifles were ordered back to Parkhurst almost immediately on reaching Marlborough.

On September 1st 1939 the Battalion received its orders to mobilize. A week later the Rifles left Parkhurst for the concentration area where it took part in Divisional exercises near Maiden-Newton. On October 3rd the 770 men of the Battalion then left for Southampton and crossed to Cherbourg aboard ' Mona's Queen ' a small elderly Isle of Man boat.

Once in France the Battalion travelled to Silly-le-Guillaume by night train, then marching onto Parennes. As part of the 3rd Division the Commanding officer, Major General Montgomery, visited the Battalion before it moved on a few days later for Templemars, which it reached on October 12th. It then moved again two days later to Lezennes- a suburb of Lille, which was notable for the many ancient underground passages, which were said to extend all the way into belgium. After investigation it was soon decided that these tunnels were not only dangerous, but in action could prove a real death trap.

In Lezennes, a large green mound, which was once a medieval fort was soon adorned with the Regimental flag and was nicknamed Ulster Fort. It was here that the Battalion received many distinguished visitors including His Majesty, King George VI on his birthday ( December 6th ), who showed warm approval of the Royal Ulster Rifles regimental flag on Ulster Fort.

The weather was cold and wet which made digging operations east and west of Lezennes an unpleasant task. The Battalion had also received the first issue of battle dress, in time for the news that Miss Gracie Fields, the comedienne, was to entertain the troops in the neighbourhood. As the days passed the weather began to get cold making the three days divisional exercise at Frevent hard going. By the time of the Christmas party, given by the Battalion for 375 children, frost had set in and the roads were as slippery as glass. The weather improved slightly in February, followed by snow and more frost. At the start of march there was a Brigade exercise, which all added to the increase in tension.

On May 6th, Major F.Y.C. knox took over command on being promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. The next three days were spent in long Company marches and on the night of May9th, considerable air activity occurred as a prelude to the German invasion of Belgium and Holland. Early in the morning of May 10th the Battalion was put at four hours notice to move. That evening the Rifles moved off in troop carrying lorries and crossed the frontier into Belgium. The move forward via Roubaix - Oudenarde- Alost and north of Brussels was uneventful. The Rifles spent the remainder of the 11th in the woods about two miles west of Louvain, while reconnaissances of the defences to the east and west of the city were carried out. At 11.30 on May 12th

'A' and 'D' Companies moved into Louvain to occupy the prepared defences along the main railway on the east of the city.

In the afternoon of May 14th, after it was clear that all the retreating British and Belgian troops had passed over the main bridges in Louvain and had passed through the city, the bridges were blown and shortly afterwards two Germans in a motor cycle and sidecar slowly rounded a bend in the road and ran into an accurately placed burst from a bren. By dusk the Battalion was in contact with the enemy all along the railway line. Dawn broke on may 15th with enemy artillery shelling the Battalion area. After heavy fire the enemy penetrated the position at the railway station, but an immediate counter- attack quickly restored the situation.During May 17th, the situation on other parts of the

front ( namely the attack on the French line between Maubeuge

and Sedan ) had deteriorated and orders were issued for the

withdraw of the Brigade. Orders were issued for the withdraw

of the battalion that evening by march to a point two miles west

of Brussels, a total of twenty miles on paved roads.The Battalion

was directed onto Leeuwergen, which it reached at about 1830

hrs after a slow journey caused by considerable refugee traffic.

About 0700hrs on the following day, contact was made with

enemy motorcyclists and light tanks, but no attack was made

during the day, although the Rifles position was shelled.Once

again bad news from other parts of the front caused the issue

of orders for a further withdrawl at 0800hrs on the 19th in broad

daylight. At 0800hrs all was quiet and the platoons and sections

withdrew without any attention from the enemy. later artillery fire

quickened the move of the Companies to the rendezvous where

many varied vehicles and bicycles awaited them.The withdraw to Tieghem , six miles S.W of Oudenarde was completed by about noon.By this time very few of the Battalion had had any sleep during the previous seventy-two hours, but because there were no other troops between the 3rd Division and the advancing germans the battalion was ordered to take up position near Bossuyt facing N.E. along the Courtrai - Bossuyt canal and S.W. along the River Escaut. Most of the follwing night was spent in digging and improving defences. At dawn on the 20th, German troops were seen at several points on the slopes east of the river , however it was a comparitively quiet day and allowed some much needed sleep to be obtained.Although the enemy attacked the French relentlessly, they failed to press home any attack on the Brigade front during the 21st and 22nd. On the morning of the 22nd orders were given for a short withdrawl of twelve miles to Tourcoing, which was put into effect that night. The Germans again did not follow up and the new position in Tourcoing one mile west of the belgian-French frontier was occupied shortly after dawn. The day was spent in preparing and improving defences. As the battle raged around them, the Rifles had no knowledge at all of what was happening except on their immediate front. The tranquil halt at Tourcoing had allowed everyone to make up lost sleep and it was a surprise when they received warning of another impending withdrawl on May 27th. The move was one of 18 miles to Boesinghe, four miles north of Ypres, covering the west bank of the Yser canal. After the usual sleepless night, but with no contact with the enemy, the battalion arrived in the half light of May 28th and spent the morning digging in. The enemy was soon in close contact and artillery and mortar fire caused some casualties amongst forward platoons. During the afternoon two small attacks developed, but both were beaten off with the help from a section of supporting Vickers machine guns of 2nd Middlesex.That evening the Battalion was ordered to withdraw a further 4 miles to the west in order to cover Woesten. Shortly after leaving Boesinghe heavy artillery fire was heard descending on what had been the Battalion position and it was not long before contact was established in the Woesten area, which was occupied at 0430hrs on May 29th. The day spent at Woesten was under fairly continuous artillery fire.Orders were issued for the next withdrawl to Bulscamp ( 3 miles south of Furnes ) to begin directly after dark on May 29th. All non essential stores ( blankets, packs, officers valises, great coats and ground sheets ) were to be destroyed to make room for the men in the ever diminishing transport. At about 2030hrs, after the Battalion had begun to thin out the enemy attacked and there was confused and almost hand to hand fighting amonst the forward sections. The Battalion Carrier Platoon formed the rear guard and with all weapons firing for a few hectic minutes, they were finally able to pull clear and start the twelve miles retreat north-westwards.The main Ypres- Furnes road which the battalion was to traverse was intensely congested with troops from almost every Division of the B.E.F and units of the French Army. Enemy shelling of the bridge over the Yser Canal had destroyed it and prevented the retreating traffic from crossing. A R.E pontoon bridge had been shelled and was burning and shells were bursting around the scene when the Battalion finally reached it at midnight. It was decided to move on a minor road in order to cross at the first bridge three miles to the west. The bridge was found intact and little time was lost in crossing it.The remainder of the night was spent in spasmodic movement and many long halts. It took six hours to cover twelve miles, but Bulscamp was eventually reached in the early dawn by part of the Battalion. By 1000hrs on May 30th the Battalion began to dig in. Apart from shelling, the Battalion had a quiet day, though on the right the 1st K.O.S.B had some severe fighting during the afternoon. Then on May 31st orders were given for the final withdraw to the beaches and re-embarkation that night. During the afternoon and evening of the 31st enemy activity greatly increased . In the early stages of the withdrawl all went according to plan. Rear parties finally disengaged at 0230hrs. From the moment of arrival at La Panne the plan broke down. The town was on fire and the whole area including the beaches was under heavy fire. Part of the Battalion moved to the beaches where it was decided to wait for dawn.

There was no sign of any shipping, though large numbers of troops were standing about hopefully in the sea.After dawn the rest of the Battalion gradually found itself and began to move towards Dunkirk through 11 miles of soft sand. There was considerable German air activity during the march. Near Bray-Dunes the Battalion had a long halt at an improvised pier to which it was hoped some of the shipping might venture in. This proved to be in vain and the march was continued. Dunkirk was now visible under a large cloud of black smoke; enemy aircraft arrived every few minutes. The mole at Dunkirk was reached eventually at about 1100hrs, and a few leading troops were embarked on a destroyer found alongside. The remainder of the Battalion could not get on board as the destroyer pulled away from the quay in response to an S.O.S in mid channel . After a short wait on the Dunkirk Mole the rest of the battalion was embarked on a destroyer and had a swift uneventful crossing.

There was no spirit of defeat when the Battalion disembarked at Dover. The Battalion had fought the enemy to a standstill when it was allowed to do so. On the arrival of 'C' and 'D' Companies at Folkestone with a large number of extra Bren Guns and

anti-tank rifles it had procured from Dunkirk, they had been ordered to hand these over to the authorities. They refused to do so.

Then rather to their surprise , they found that everybody was apparntly proud of them.The Battalion swiftly re-assembled at Wincanton during the first week of June. In July the Battalion was given responsibility for the defence of a wide stretch of the coast including Hove and Brighton. A fortnight later the Battalion was ordered to Windlesham, where it was able to carry out some training on the South Downs in addition to much digging of defencesin the chalky ground. Hard training and

re-organisation would continue until the time was right to return back to Europe and settle some old scores.