Lieutenant Edward Workman MC

On this day in 1916 Lieutenant Edward Workman died in the Duchess of Westminster hospital, Le Touquet, France where he was being treated for wounds received exactly one week before in a raid on German trenches; it initially was thought that his wounds were not serious.

Edward (Ted) Workman was born at 32 College Gardens, Belfast on 4th August 1886 into a family of substantial means – the only son of Frank Workman, one of the founders of Workman Clark, Shipbuilders, Belfast and Sara (nee McCausland). He had a younger sister – Florence “Sis” and was educated initially at private school in Walmer, Kent and then went on to Charterhouse and Trinity College, Cambridge. By his early twenties, Ted was a Director of Workman Clark, managing the South Yard of the family’s shipbuilding business and as such was clearly destined for greater things. At the time of the “Home Rule” crisis he was a well-regarded Company Commander in the 6th Battalion, East Belfast Regiment of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) which he had joined from the outset.

At the very outbreak of the Great War Ted volunteered to fight for his country and was gazetted Second Lieutenant, 5th Battalion, The Royal Irish Rifles (Royal South Downs) on 15th August 1914 initially serving at Victoria Barracks, Belfast before posting to the British Expeditionary Force, attached initially, to The York and Lancaster Regiment. He arrived in Rouen, France on 7th May 1915 and was promoted to Lieutenant on 22nd May 1915, attached to the 2nd Battalion RIR. Ted’s first real action was in Belgium at Hooge which is just outside Ypres and close to the perhaps better known Paeschaendael. The action in this theatre was brutal in the extreme and resulted in very high casualties on both sides, many of these inflicted in terrible hand-to-hand fighting in mud and water-filled trenches where men even struggled to pass each other. As an illustration of how terrible the fighting was, Ted was only one of three officers who came out of one of the earlier large raids unscathed (one of these was later killed); for his actions he was Mentioned in Dispatches by Sir John French. At this time, Ted was five feet seven and three quarters inches tall, weighed only 9 stones 13 pounds and the life expectancy of a young front-line officer was known to be measured in days.

In mid-January 1916 an order was issued to conduct a substantial raid on the enemy trenches to capture prisoners and gather information on the enemy’s strength and positions. On 19th January 1916 whilst commanding B Company of the 2nd RIR, he was tasked with leading part of the raid on the enemy trenches at the River Lys near Armentiers. Under heavy rifle, machine gun and artillery fire Ted and his men made it into the German trench and captured a number of prisoners. Whilst holding these prisoners at pistol point and still in the german trenches, he was struck on the head by a rifle butt and was knocked to the ground but recovered sufficiently well to be able to lead his men and prisoners back to their own trenches. Following treatment at the First Aid Station he was evacuated to the Duchess of Westminster’s Hospital at Le Touquet, Sadly, and despite the best efforts of the surgeons, he developed a severe infection which was to lead to his death from meningitis exactly one week after receiving his injury. Perhaps uniquely, his Father, Mother, Sister and her husband had travelled to France in time to see the seriously ill Ted. He was laid to rest in a simple military ceremony in the Camiers Road Military Cemetery at Etaples in France and in recognition of his significant part in the action and for his courage under fire he was awarded (posthumously) the Military Cross.

Frank and Sara paid tribute to their beloved son by erecting a memorial commemorating Ted and 135 Workman Clark employees who died in that war. They commissioned Sophia Rosamund Praeger to carve three relief panels and a silhouette of Ted, the latter forming the centrepiece of the memorial. The remaining portions of the original memorial – the carved silhouette of Edward Workman, the panel detailing Ted’s civil and military accomplishments, and the panels listing the names of the shipyard fatalities are embedded in the outer wall of the Pumphouse building at the Thompson Dock in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter.

As her own tribute to her beloved son, Sara compiled a substantial archive which contains a mixture of family photographs and articles chronicling Ted’s short life. Included in this are many of his letters from the Front including a barely legible scribbled note from him written from the hospital only a few days before he died. This important archive is a treasured family possession.

Newtownards Camp – A Forgotten Camp of the Great War

In late 1914, Campbell and Sons of Ravenhill Road were awarded the contract to construct the camp and advertised for “galvanised iron fitters for Newtownards Camp”. The erection of the buildings was carried out under the direction of James Sinclair Jackson, representing Swiney, Ferguson and Croasdaile of Royal Avenue. He was wounded in 1916 whilst serving with the Royal Engineers.

In February 1915, Major-General Friend, Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in Ireland, inspected the men of the 12th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles and the first death of a soldier from the camp occurred. Rifleman William James Bacon (35) died of influenza and pneumonia at Newtownards Workhouse Infirmary on 6th February. His body was returned to his home in Portrush for burial in Ballywillan Cemetery with full military honours.

An outbreak of scarlet fever was to claim the life of Lance-Corporal John Bowden (19) of Harryville at Newtownards Fever Hospital on 1st April 1915. He was buried with full military honours in Ballymena New Cemetery on 3rd April. 

In the same month, John Cooper, a regimental librarian, lost the sight in one eye after being struck by a stone chip from road-building work at the camp. He was discharged from the army and had to support a wife and six children on an allowance of twelve shillings and sixpence per week.  A year later his claim for damages against the camp contractors had still not been resolved.

 

In September 1915, the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons’ Service Squadron, the Ulster Division’s cavalry unit, moved to Newtownards Camp in preparation for being deployed to France. The Catch-my-Pal Society erected a recreation hut at the camp around the same time. It was a place where the soldiers could gather to read, play games and to write letters home.

ParkerIn 1916, the camp became a training base for the Ulster Division’s reserve battalions. On 17th December 1917, men from the 19th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles were carrying out bomb throwing practice when a fatal accident occurred. Corporal Leonard Parker, who had recently been invalided from the Western Front, was leading the practice when a bomb that he was preparing to throw exploded prematurely. He was killed instantaneously and two officers, Major Hall and Lieutenant Currie, were seriously injured. Major William Charles Hall (52) died of shrapnel wounds later the same day. Corporal Leonard Edward John Parker (20), a son of Edward and Lilian Parker of Dartmouth Road, Forest Hill, London, was interred in Movilla Cemetery in Newtownards.

 

By 1918, the camp was the home base of the Irish Command Labour Corps, which remained at the camp until the end of 1919. In September 1919, a memorial to the men of the ICLC who had served in the Great War was erected near the camp’s recreation ground. The location is marked on the OSNI Historical Fourth Edition map. It is not known what happened to the memorial.

In the early 1920s, the camp became the training depot for the RUC and Ulster Special Constabulary. In January 1921, the evangelist Captain Gipsy Pat Smith, who had served in the Great War, addressed over 400 men at the YMCA Hut in the camp. Throughout the 1920s, the camp was used for annual shooting competitions by the police and for sporting events.

In August 1921, a fatal incident occurred when three Specials were returning to camp from Ballygowan in a private car. On approaching the North Gate, the car slowed but one of the camp guards fired a shot which struck Special Constable Thomas Reid (27) in the chest. Although he was treated by medical staff at the camp, Thomas died on 31st July at the Royal Victoria Hospital.

In May 1922, Sergeant William Lamont lost his life in another accident at Newtownards Camp. His wife, Martha (33) died at their home in Fourth Street on 5th May 1922. The news was relayed to the guardhouse the following morning. When Sergeant Blythe called at Sergeant Lamont’s cubicle in Hut 15 to deliver the news, he noticed a strong smell of gas and discovered William lying prone. Sergeant Blythe, CSM Cherry and Sergeant Barnes (RAMC) attempted artificial respiration to no avail. Dr Jamison, the camp’s Medical Officer, gave evidence at the Coroner’s Enquiry that William had died of asphyxia caused by gas poisoning. William and Martha Lamont are buried in Belfast City Cemetery Glenalina Extension.

Whilst the camp continued to be used for shooting competitions and for training purposes by the British Army (e.g., 300 men of the London Irish Rifles were quartered at the camp in July 1931 before moving to Victoria Barracks, Belfast), the numbers of men stationed in the camp declined. In March 1926, the Minister of Home Affairs made a statement about the camp in response to a written question from Major David Graham Shillington, MP for Armagh. The Minister reported that the camp was held on a yearly lease from the War Department at a cost of £1,080 p.a. and that 145 men, including twenty Special Constables, were quartered at the camp. The lease could be cancelled by either side at six months’ notice.

Following the creation of the airfield at Newtownards in the mid-1930s and the outbreak of the Second World War, the camp returned to military duty … but that is another story.

 

 

 

Promoted to Glory – The Salvation Army’s Supreme Sacrifice in the Great War

Salvationist Great WarThe Salvation Army, like the YMCA and other societies, provided support functions for troops in theatres of war. The first mechanised ambulances to be used on the Western Front were provided by the Salvation Army and members served as ambulance drivers. The Salvation Army also provided rest and recreation huts where soldiers could meet and get news from home. Salvation Army bands provided concerts to entertain the troops. However, members of the Salvation Army also enlisted with the armed forces and three members were awarded the Victoria Cross. So far, I am only aware of only one war memorial tablet for a unit of the Salvation Army in Ulster – for No. 1 Corps (Ballymacarrett and Mountpottinger) whose premises were located at the corner of Mountpottinger Road and Calton Street.

Salvationist Great WarThe memorial tablet records the names twenty-four members of this corps who served with the armed forces and five of the men died on active service overseas. The memorial tablet, now located at the Belfast Temple on the Cregagh Road, was made by David Mairs of Great Victoria Street and unveiled by Captain Herbert Dixon. The latter was the fourth son of Sir Daniel Dixon and represented the Belfast Pottinger constituency (later Belfast East) at Westminster. He was made 1st Baron Glentoran in 1939 and became the Third Baronet of Ballymenock in 1950, a few months before his death. In addition to the memorial tablet, there is also a pictorial parchment memorial dedicated to the Comrades of Ballymacarrett No 1 Band. The portraits of the fatalities in this article are drawn from the parchment commemoration.

Salvationist Great WarGeorge Brankin was born on 3rd March 1888 at North Street in Newtownards to James Brankin and Agnes Anna Savage and his father died of tuberculosis at Thistle Street in Belfast on 6th July 1896 at the age of 40. In 1901, Agnes Brankin, now a draper, was living at Marymount Street in Ormeau Ward with five children ranging in age from 10 to 19 and a seven-year-old grandson. George Brankin was living at Carnan Street in Shankill Ward when he married Mary Jane Rowney on 31st March 1905 at Trinity Church of Ireland in Belfast. George and Minnie had five children between December 1906 and January 1916, with one child dying 24 days after being born. George Brankin was working at the Sirocco Works and living at Seventh Street when he enlisted with the Royal Irish Rifles and held the rank of Corporal when he was deployed to France with 14th Battalion in October 1915. George Brankin was wounded during the Battle of Albert in July 1916 and this photograph, in which he is wearing hospital blues, was taken whilst he was convalescing. He was subsequently stationed with a reserve battalion at Ballykinlar Camp before returning to his battalion on the Western Front in early May 1917. Sergeant George Brankin died of wounds at No 1 New Zealand Stationary Hospital on 8th June 1917, aged 29. He is buried in Hazebrouck Communal Cemetery in France and commemorated on the Rowney family memorial in Belfast City Cemetery. He is also commemorated on the Newtownards and District War Memorial, and on the memorial tablets for Davidson & Company and St Mark’s Church of Ireland in Newtownards. Mary Brankin, who had four children under the age of eleven, was awarded a pension of thirty-one shillings and three pence from December 1917. She also received a War Gratuity of fifteen pounds and ten shillings in November 1919.

Robert Burton was born around 1893 at Pollockshaws in Renfrewshire to Andrew Burton and Agnes Cameron and the family was living in Govan in 1901. The family was living at Hornby Street in 1906 when Andrew Burton, a coal trimmer, died in the Royal Victoria Hospital. He had fractured his skull after falling into the hold of Steamship Empress on 17th April 1906 and died three days later. In 1911, Agnes Cameron Burton was a linen weaver and living at St Leonard’s Street in Victoria Ward with six children, ranging in age from four to nineteen. Her two eldest children, Agnes and Robert, were both employed at Belfast Rope Works – Agnes as a netter and Robert as a machine boy. Robert enlisted with the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers and was posted to the 5th Battalion, part of the 10th (Irish). The division departed Liverpool on 7th July 1915, bound for the Eastern Mediterranean and Robert Burton signed his army will on 22nd July on the Island of Lemnos. Lance-Corporal Robert Burton landed with 5th Battalion at Suvla Bay on 7th August 1915 and was killed in action eight days later at the age of 22. He is commemorated on the Helles Memorial on the Gallipoli Peninsula. His mother was awarded a pension of ten shillings per week from March 1917 and received a War Gratuity of three pounds in December 1919. On the 50th anniversary of his death, the Burton family donated a Bass drum and side drum to the Ballymacarrett and Mountpottinger Salvation Army Band in memory of Robert. A simple plaque adorns each drum.

Henry Dowds was born on 30th March 1886 at Banoge near Waringstown to James Dowds, a weaver, and Rachel Mercier. Henry Dowds was a weaver when he married Minnie Bertha Lawton, a Salvation Army Officer, on 11th May 1906 in Scarva Street Presbyterian Church in Banbridge. In 1911, Henry was a docks labourer and living at Jonesborough Street with his wife and their first son, Horace Henry (3). Their second child, Norman Harold, was born at Jonesborough Street in May 1913. Henry Dowds enlisted with the Royal Irish Rifles and was posted to the 17th (Reserve) Battalion before being deployed to the 15th Battalion on the Western Front after December 1915. Henry Dowds was killed in action on 1st July 1916, aged 30, and is buried in Connaught Cemetery at Thiepval. Minnie Bertha Dowds was awarded a pension of twenty-one shillings per week from February 1917 and received a War Gratuity of £3 in October 1919.

Albert Parker was born on 25th August 1898 at Jocelyn Avenue to George James Parker, an engine fitter, and Jane Thomson who lived at Frank Street in 1911 and at Castlereagh Street in 1918. Before the war Albert Parker was employed at McCaw, Stevenson and Orr Limited (printers, publishers, and chromo lithographers, Loop Bridge Works, Castlereagh Road). Albert Parker enlisted with the Royal Irish Rifles and was deployed to France with 14th Battalion in October 1915. He was Killed in Action on 16th November 1916, aged 18, and is buried in Pond Farm Cemetery in Belgium and commemorated on a family memorial in Carnmoney Church of Ireland Graveyard. Jane Parker was awarded a pension of five shillings per week and George James Parker received a War Gratuity of eight pounds and ten shillings in October 1919. His brother, John Parker, served with the same battalion and was transferred to the Class Z Army Reserve on 9th April 1919. He was subsequently awarded a 20% Disablement Pension in respect of gunshot wounds to the left hip at the rate of eight shillings per week. John Parker is also commemorated on the memorial tablet.

Arthur Paton (or Patton) was born on 28th March 1898 at Spruce Street in Cromac Ward to Arthur Patton, a baker, and Jeannie Galbraith and the family lived on the Woodstock Road before moving to Reid Street by 1911. Arthur Patton enlisted with the Royal Irish Rifles and was posted to the 14th Battalion on the Western Front after December 1915. Sergeant Arthur Patton was Killed in Action on 27th June 1917, aged 19, and is buried in Messines Ridge British Cemetery in Belgium. Locally, he is commemorated on a family memorial in Dundonald Cemetery and on the memorial Roll of Honour for Ravenhill Road Presbyterian Church. His mother was awarded a pension of five shillings per week from December 1918 and received a War Gratuity of thirteen pounds and ten shillings in October 1919.

Nigel Henderson, member History Hub Ulster

The Art Bible – A guest article by John McCabe and Lyn Forde

The Art Bible story originated as a Facebook post in early October 2020 by Lyn Forde on a popular group. Within hours, the post was acknowledged by 809 members with 206 comments being made. Lyn made contact with BBC Radio Ulster presenter Kerry McLean and the story was presented the following week in a 15-minute segment on her radio show. The segment ended with Kerry reading out an offer from History Hub Ulster to “Lyn and John to write an article”.

When Lyn Forde from Portadown one day spied a novel in a charity shop window which she cared to purchase, little did she know this notion set the wheels in motion leading to a voyage of discovery being aired on Radio Ulster and terminating at a cemetery in Warrenpoint on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

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Missing Albert Street War Memorial Returns to West Kirk Presbyterian Church

Albert Street Presbyterian Church closed on 31st January 1971 with the congregation joining with the Argyle Place congregation to form West Kirk Presbyterian Church, Shankill Road, Belfast. Recently, war researcher, Mark Ramsey met up with History Hub Ulster researcher Nigel Henderson and passed over the brass war memorial plaque to him. The plaque, having been ‘missing’ for 49 years was today (Monday, 26th October 2020) handed over by Mark Ramsey (right) and Nigel Henderson (left) to the Reverend David Clawson (centre with plaque), West Kirk. A re-dedication service will be held at West Kirk on Remembrance Sunday.  
 
History Hub Ulster chair, Gavin Bamford writes: “It is pleasing that another ‘lost or missing’ war memorial has been found and returned to the church and area where many of the men who died in the Great War worshipped.”
 

Do you know where any of these Missing Memorials are?

Capt. Leslie Porter – The man who died twice

Capt. Leslie Porter – The man who died twice

Leslie Porter Garage By Merlin Porter Arts

Leslie Porter Garage By Merlin Porter Arts

History Hub Ulster Chair, Gavin Bamford recently came across a late 1920s/early 1930s photograph of a motor garage posted on a local history Facebook group. The garage was at 20-24 Great Victoria Street, Belfast. The photograph was posted by Merlin Porter who is the great-grandson of Leslie Porter. Many readers of the Facebook page started commenting on the photo adding to the history and stories around the business.

There are a number of articles and biographies around the internet about Leslie Porter, his motor racing days and his life and death later in the Great War. Captain Leslie Porter was a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and was reported by the Belfast News Letter on 27th October 1916 as missing. It was to be a further three months before his family found out the truth about his death. The Belfast News Letter reported on 22nd January 1917 that Captain Porter, Royal Flying Corps, the well-known Belfast airman and motorist, who has been missing since 22nd October, is now known to have died in the hands of the Germans two days later on 24th October 1916.

What was the story of Leslie Porter and his motoring businesses? This article is mostly researched from the British Newspaper Archives and includes many contemporaneous newspaper reports written in the style of journalism from that period.

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Victoria Cross Recipients in the Indian Mutiny

Victoria Cross Recipients in the Indian Mutiny

Many people will be familiar with the Ulstermen who were awarded the Victoria Cross during the world wars of the twentieth century. Men like William Frederick McFadzean and Robert Quigg in the Great War and James Joseph Magennis in the Second World War. However, Ulstermen who received the ultimate accolade for gallantry in the nineteenth century are often overlooked, if not, forgotten. This is the story of three men who were awarded the Victoria Cross in the Indian Mutiny. Two are commemorated in physical forms and one is not.

In 1881, the Childers Army Reform resulted in the “Regiments of Foot” being re-fashioned as two-battalion regional regiments – for example the 27th and 108th Regiments of Foot became the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, the 83rd and 86th became the Royal Irish Rifles, and the 87th and 89th became the Royal Irish Fusiliers. A footnote gives the later names of the regiments referred to in this article.

Victoria Cross- Patrick CarlinPatrick Carlin was born in Shankill Parish in 1832 to Patrick Carlin and was a labourer when he enlisted with the Queen’s Royal (Antrim Rifles) Regiment of Militia on 5th December 1854. He was released from this engagement in order to enlist with the 13th (1st Somersetshire) Regiment of Foot in Belfast on 8th May 1855 at the age of 23. He served in Malta (7 months), Crimea (3 months), Gibraltar (4 years and four months), Cape Colony (1 year and one month) and India (6 years and 6 months).

A General Order issued on 29th June 1858, General Colin Campbell, Commander-in-Chief of India, recorded: “The Commander-in-Chief in India directs that the undermentioned Soldier, of the 13th Foot, be presented, in the name of Her Most Gracious Majesty, with a Medal of the Victoria Cross, for valour and daring in the field, viz.: Private Patrick Carlin, No. 3611, of the 13th Foot, for rescuing, on the 6th of April, 1858, a wounded Naick of the 4th Madras Rifles, in the field of battle, after killing, with the Naick’s sword, a mutineer sepoy, who fired at him whilst bearing off his wounded comrade on his shoulders.” The Victoria Cross was awarded to two men from the 13th Regiment of Foot for their actions in the same engagements and these were the first Victoria Cross awards for the regiment.

He was also awarded the Indian Mutiny Medal and, following a severe fracture of the right femur, was invalided out of the army in September 1871, having served for over 16 years.

Patrick Carlin was living at Alexander Street West when he married Catherine Hagans of English Street on 6th September 1872 at the Roman Catholic Chapel of St Peter’s in the Lower Falls area. They were living at 57 Irwin Street, which ran between Cullingtree Road and Milford Street, when Patrick was admitted to the Workhouse Infirmary, where he died on 11th May 1895 following a series of seizures over a 24-hour period. The entry in the Register of Deaths records that he was 51 years old but the details in the military records indicate that he was 63. Online sources record that he is buried in an unmarked grave in Friar’s Bush Graveyard. David Gourley and Mervyn Craig from the Ulster Covenant Historical Society have been campaigning for several years for a memorial to be erected in the grounds of the graveyard.

Patrick Carlin’s Victoria Cross is displayed at the Somersetshire Light Infantry Museum at Taunton Castle.

Valentine Munbee McMaster was born on 16th May 1834 at Trichinopoly in British India to Major General Bryce McMaster and Mary Letitia McMaster (nee Munbee). His father died on 8th July 1845 at Karnataka, Bangalore, India. Valentine McMaster graduated from the University of Edinburgh Medical School with a Doctorate in Medicine. Valentine McMaster served as an assistant surgeon with the 78th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot. He was 23 years old when he was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions at the Siege of Lucknow.  The citation, published in the London Gazette on 18th June 1858, read, “For the intrepidity with which he exposed himself to the fire of the enemy, in bringing in, and attending to, the wounded, on the 25th of September, at Lucknow.” Valentine McMaster was the second man from the 78th Regiment of Foot to be awarded the Victoria Cross.

Valentine McMaster, who was also awarded the Indian Mutiny Medal, married Eleanor Ann Burmester on 10th May 1871 at Halifax in Nova Scotia. Valentine McMaster held the rank of Surgeon when he died of valvular heart disease in the hospital at Victoria Barracks in Belfast on 22nd January 1872, aged 37. He was buried in Belfast City Cemetery three days later and a simple cross was erected at the grave by his widow. The Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers, and Privates of his regiment erected an elaborate memorial tablet in St Columb’s Cathedral in Londonderry.

Victoria Cross McMaster Grave at St ColumbsHis widow later married Campbell Mellis Douglas, who had been awarded the Victoria Cross in 1867.

Valentine Munbee McMaster’s Victoria Cross is displayed at the National War Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh Castle.

Bernard McQuirt

Bernard McQuirt was born around 1829 in Donaghcloney in County Armagh and he enlisted with the 95th (Derbyshire) Regiment of Foot on 5th October 1854 at the age of 25. He served in Malta (1 month), Crimea (1 year and 2 months, being awarded the Crimea campaign medal with the Sevastopol Clasp) and India (1 year and 1 month).

Bernard McQuirt was 29 when he was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions during the capture of the town of Rowa. He was the first man from the regiment to be awarded the Victoria Cross, with the citation being published in the London Gazette on 11th November 1859: 

For gallant conduct on the 6th of January 1858, at the capture of the entrenched town of Rowa, when he was severely and dangerously wounded in a hand to hand fight with three men, of whom he killed one and wounded another. He received five sabre cuts and a musket shot in this service.

Due to the severity of the wounds sustained in the engagement, he was medically discharged on 5th July 1859, having served for four years and 231 days. He was invested with the Victoria Cross by Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle on 4th January 1860, almost 2 years after his action. Bernard McQuirt (aka McCourt) died of chronic bronchits at his home in Urney Street on 5th October 1888. He was buried in one of the Public (or Poor Ground) Sections in Belfast City Cemetery on 7th October, his surname being recorded as McCourt in the cemetery records. As there could be several bodies buried in the same plot, his final resting place is not marked by a gravestone. However, a memorial gravestone was erected in the graveyard in Donaghcloney in recent years and he is commemorated on a recumbent plaque at Donaghcloney War Memorial.

Bernard’s age is recorded as 50 in the Register of Deaths and in the cemetery records, but the military sources indicate that he was 59 when he died.

The location of his Victoria Cross is not known.

Childers Army Reforms (1881)

The 13th (1st Somersetshire) Regiment of Foot became the Somerset Light Infantry.

The 78th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot amalgamated with the 72nd Regiment of Foot to form the Seaforth Highlanders.

The 95th (Derbyshire) Regiment of Foot amalgamated with the 45th (Nottinghamshire) Regiment of Foot to become the Sherwood Foresters (The Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment)

 

Belfast Banking Company, 1 Queen Street, Warrenpoint, Co. Down

BBCo Warrenpoint - Google Earth Street ViewThe Belfast Banking Company opened their branch in Warrenpoint in 1914. In 1970 the branch was rebranded as Northern Bank (Belfast Bank Branch). Danske Bank trading as Northern Bank closed the branch in 2013. Following a few years of redevelopment, the building is soon to go on the market as retail space and 2 apartments upstairs. This article presents the history of the building through historical maps, newspaper clippings, ledgers and photographs.

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Castlereagh Road Methodist Church / Cregagh Methodist Church

Castlereagh Road / Cregagh Methodist 

Gavin Bamford and Nigel Henderson, from History Hub Ulster, together with friend John McCormick recently visited Cregagh Methodist Church to view their Great War ‘War Memorial’.  Rev. Ken Connor facilitated our visit.

Cregagh Great War ‘War Memorial’

As we were discussing and photographing the memorial, Rev. Ken Connor appeared with the nicely framed Castlereagh Road Methodist Church ‘Roll of Honour’ in his hands.

This Great War ‘Roll of Honour’ had been out of the public eye for many years. The dates on the hand-written parchment roll (pictured above) are from 1914 to 1917. The year 1917 is unusual but may simply mean that no more men from that congregation volunteered after 1917. 

Castlereagh Road Church ‘Roll of Honour’

 

A quick reconciliation of the names on both plaque & parchment showed that many names were duplicated. Later research showed that a temporary Methodist Church was built in 1894 on ground at the junction of Castlereagh Road with Clara Street. In 1912 the congregation took the decision to move to another site. The war intervened with their plans. In 1923 an option on a site on the Castlereagh Road was agreed and a new church was opened in 1927.

Castlereagh Road Methodist Church becomes Cregagh Methodist Church

Robert Allison Haldane was born on 10th May 1874 at Milton in Lanarkshire to Thomas Haldane and Margaret Haldane (nee Allison). He married Jessie Horn on 17th June 1898 at Blythswood Congregational Church in Glasgow. Their first two children were born in Scotland but they were living at Kingscourt Street in the Ormeau Ward when their third child was born in January 1903.

In 1911, Robert, Jessie and their six children were living at Glenvarnock Street off the Cregagh Road and Robert was employed as a moulder in an iron works. Robert Haldane enlisted with the 8th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles and his is the fifth name on the Roll of Honour for Castlereagh Road Methodist. Robert Allison Haldane, the last child of Robert and Jessie, was born at 162 Templemore Street on 8th April 1915, two months before his father left Ireland with the 36th (Ulster) Division. 

Robert Allison Haldane was Killed in Action on 2nd July 1916, aged 42, and has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing in France. Jessie Haldane received a War Gratuity of £8 in November 1919 and a weekly pension of twenty-seven shillings from March 1917 for herself and five children under the age of 16. On 10th November 1929, Master Robert Allison Haldane laid a wreath on behalf of the Boys’ Brigade at the unveiling of the Cregagh War Memorial in the colony of house built for veterans of the Great War. He was wearing the three service medals awarded to his father.

On the war memorial tablet, there are several sets of brothers, including the Cesar brothers. Three sons of Robert Cesar, a lithographic printer, and Mary Callwell of Tildarg Street served in the Great War and the family was recorded as “Presbyterian” in the 1901 Census and the 1911 Census.

Norman Cesar was born on 30th May 1896 at Portallo Street and was a labourer when he enlisted in Belfast with 4th (Reserve) Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers on 7th August 1914. His religious denomination was recorded as “Presbyterian”.  He joined the 1st Battalion on the Gallipoli Peninsula on 18th July 1915. The battalion was withdrawn from Gallipoli in January 1916 and transferred to the Western Front in March 1916. He sustained gunshot wounds to the side on 1st July 1916 and to the right leg on 27th January 1917. The latter necessitated evacuation to the UK and, when fully recovered, he was posted to the 7th Battalion in May 1917. He sustained gunshot wounds to the head on 11th August 1917 which necessitated evacuation to UK. He was subsequently posted to the 6th Battalion in November 1917. Norman Cesar was transferred to the Class Z Army Reserve on 12th March 1919.

John Ernest Cesar was born on 3rd July 1894 at McClure Street and was a labourer when he enlisted with 4th Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers in Belfast on 20th March 1911, his denomination being recorded as “Presbyterian”. He transferred to the Regular Army on 29th August 1912. He was stationed at Dover with 2nd Battalion at the outbreak of the war and was deployed to the Western Front on 23rd August 1914. He remained in the same battalion throughout the war and held the rank of Lance-Corporal when he was discharged due to wounds on 12th May 1919, with Silver War Badge Number B197457. Ernest Cesar received a 40% Disablement Pension in respect of gunshot wounds to the chest at the rate of sixteen shillings per week from April 1920.

Robert Cesar was born on 15th December 1889 at McClure Street in Cromac Ward. He was stationed in the Far East with the 1st Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers in 1911 and in India on the outbreak of the war. His battalion was recalled from India, arriving in England in January 1915 and being incorporated into the newly-formed 29th Division. The division departed England for the Eastern Mediterranean in Marc 1915 and Robert Cesar landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula with on 25th April 1915. He was killed in action on 22nd May 1915, aged 25, and is buried in the Twelve Tree Copse Cemetery on the Gallipoli Peninsula. Mary Cesar received a War Gratuity of £5 in July 1919.

Soldiers research undertaken by Nigel Henderson

Laying of the Foundation Stone of Cregagh Methodist Church

Master Robert Haldane at the Unveiling of the War Memorial,  19th November 1929

Missing War Memorials in Ulster – Where are they?

Missing War Memorials in Ulster – Where are they?

History Hub Ulster researcher Nigel Henderson has identified the following war memorials as ‘missing or lost’ in Ulster.

History Hub Ulster has set up this Facebook page to maintain a record of these memorials.

 
Purple Star of Ulster LOL 1894
Installed in Clifton Street Orange Hall
Form: Tablet,  Unveiled/Dedicated: August 1927, Newspaper image:  Yes
 
Balmoral Methodist Church 
Form: Tablet, Unveiled/Dedicated: January 1920, Newspaper image:  Yes
 
College Square Presbyterian Church 
Form: Organ & Tablet, Unveiled/Dedicated: November 1920, Newspaper image:  No
 
Donegall Square Methodist Church 
Form: Tablet, Unveiled/Dedicated: October 1921, Newspaper image:  No
 
Donegall Square Methodist Church – Sunday School 
Form: Tablet, Unveiled/Dedicated: July 1919, Newspaper image:  No
 
Duncairn Mission Hall, New Lodge Road 
Form: Clock, Unveiled/Dedicated: November 1919, Newspaper image:  No
 
Falls Road Methodist Church 
Form: Tablet, Unveiled/Dedicated: Not Known, Newspaper image:  No
 
Mervue Street Mission Hall 
Form: Reading Desk, Unveiled/Dedicated: September 1920, Newspaper image:  Yes
 
Nelson Memorial Presbyterian Church 
Form: Window, Unveiled/Dedicated: November 1946, Newspaper image:  No
 
Presbyterian Ministers 
Form: Tablet, Unveiled/Dedicated: June 1921, Newspaper image:  No
 
St John’s Church of Ireland, Laganbank 
Form: Window, Unveiled/Dedicated: July 1919, Newspaper image:  Yes
 
“Our Boys Hall”, Manor Street 
Form: Parchment Roll, Unveiled/Dedicated: May 1920, Newspaper image:  Partial
 
Belfast Boy Scouts (10th Company) Cradle Roll 
Form: Tablet, Unveiled/Dedicated: April 1919, Newspaper image:  Yes
 
Belfast Boy Scouts (10th Company) 
Form: Tablet, Unveiled/Dedicated: February 1927, Newspaper image:  No
 
Belfast YMCA 
Form: Window, Unveiled/Dedicated: September 1949, Newspaper image:  No
 
Central Presbyterian Association (First World War) 
Form: Tablet, Unveiled/Dedicated: November 1923, Newspaper image:  No
 
Central Presbyterian Association (Second World War) 
Form: Tablet, Unveiled/Dedicated: November 1949, Newspaper image:  Yes
 
Cliftonville Cricket & Lawn Tennis 
Form: Tablet, Unveiled/Dedicated: March 1927, Newspaper image:  Yes
 
Londonderry Presbyterian Working Men’s Institute 
Form: Tablet, Unveiled/Dedicated: July 1924, Newspaper image:  No
 
Ulster Amateur Flute Band 
Form: Tablet, Unveiled/Dedicated: February 1922, Newspaper image:  Yes
 
Ulsterville Harriers 
Form: Tablet, Unveiled/Dedicated: May 1918, Newspaper image:  Yes
 
Belfast Co-Operative Society 
Form: Tablet, Unveiled/Dedicated: November 1958, Newspaper image:  No
 
Cinnamond, Park & Company 
Form: Tablet, Unveiled/Dedicated: October 1920, Newspaper image:  No
 
Dunville & Company Roll of Honour 
Form: Parchment Roll, Unveiled/Dedicated: March 1921, Newspaper image:  No
 
Gallaher’s Factory, Belfast 
Form: Tablet, Unveiled/Dedicated: June 1948, Newspaper image:  No
 
General Post Office (Royal Avenue, Belfast ) 
Form: Tablet, Unveiled/Dedicated: November 1925, Newspaper image:  Partial
 
Glen Printing & Finishing Company (Newtownards) 
Form: Parchment Roll, Unveiled/Dedicated: December 1917, Newspaper image:  Yes
 
North East Bar 
Form: Tablet, Unveiled/Dedicated: March 1920, Newspaper image:  Yes
 
Bridgett, William Henry, Sergeant, Royal Irish Rifles 
Form: RBP Banner, Unveiled/Dedicated: June 1923, Newspaper image:  Yes
 
Jamison Brothers of Hydepark 
Form: Tablet, Unveiled/Dedicated: August 1917, Newspaper image:  No
 
McClean, Hugh, Farrier, Army Service Corps (Location not known) 
Form: Statue, Unveiled/Dedicated: February 1927, Newspaper image:  Yes
 
McMaster, Charles, Captain, Royal Irish Rifle (Location not known) 
Form: JLOL Banner, Unveiled/Dedicated: October 1926, Newspaper image:  Yes
 
Pollock, Paul Gilchrist, Lance-Corporal, Royal Irish Rifles 
Form: Toc H Lamp, Unveiled/Dedicated: January 1933, Newspaper image:  No
 
Antrim Road National School 
Form: Window, Unveiled/Dedicated: September 1920, Newspaper image:  No
 
Malone Training School 
Form: Tablet, Unveiled/Dedicated: July 1920, Newspaper image:  No
 
Albion Limited – First World War
Form: Parchment Roll of Honour
 
Albion Limited – Second World War
Form: Parchment Roll of Honour