Remembrance NI
Every day is a Remembrance Day
November 22 – Roll of Honour
“From mud, through blood, to the green fields beyond” is used as a slogan by the Royal Tank Regiment, the oldest tank unit in the World. The colours of the regiment’s flag represent the slogan. The RTR was formed in 1916 during the Great War. Many of those involved in developing the first tanks had served in Royal Navy armoured cars – including men from N Ireland – hence the term landships. Today’s Roll includes two Gunners from Belfast who died defending London during air raids in 1940. Their regiment, the 8th (City of Belfast) Heavy Anti-Aircraft, later served in Burma. There is a regimental memorial and a Roll of Honour in St Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast. Read More
November 21 – Roll of Honour
On this day in 1916, the sister ship to the Titanic, HM Hospital Ship Britannic, strikes a German mine in the Aegean Sea and sinks. It is the largest vessel lost in the First World War. Today’s Roll includes NI men serving with New Zealand, Canadian and USA forces and an Aircraftwoman 1st Class from Belfast. Read More
November 20 – Roll of Honour
Today marks the 72nd anniversary of the marriage of HM The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. On this day in 1917, 460 British tanks break through the German lines at Cambrai. It is history’s first successful large-scale armour attack. The Roll today reflects the service of men from NI in Commonwealth forces, the Battle of Cambrai, two men lost in HMS Khandahar in WW2, and a naval flyer from Lurgan who became a Japanese POW. Read More
November 19 – Roll of Honour
Photo – Annual service of remembrance on Rathlin island honouring those who died in Rathlin Sound and adjacent waters. Senior representatives of the services joined HM Deputy Lord Lieutenant and local councillors. The fallen remembered on this day including one from Ballycastle, lie in Egypt, Greece, and France. Read More
November 18 – Roll of Honour
On this day in 1941, a RUR and SAS officer died following a raid on airfields in North Africa. He was a member of a leading Irish legal family. A Catholic, he was educated at Clongowes Wood College, Co.Kildare, and Queen’s University. He was the brother of Sir Ambrose McGonigal MC (RUR). Read More
November 17 – Roll of Honour
In 1918 Clara Crozier, a military nurse from County Armagh, died in service. In 1940 Wiliam McNamarra, formerly of HMS Caroline (Photo), died in England as a result of enemy action at sea. In 1943 the award of a DFC to Warrant Officer James Montgomery was recognised by the people of Comber. Read More
November 16 – Roll of Honour
Vickers Supermarine Spitfire Mark VB of 243 Squadron. Oil on plywood by Barrie Allan Frank Clark (1970s). Fleet Air Arm Museum. Today in 2019 the aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, arrives in Portsmouth for the first time. Today in 1916, after two days of hard fighting at the Battle of Ancre, LtCol Freyberg of the Royal Naval Division was awarded the Victoria Cross. A Kiwi of immense bravery, he had led the Hood Battalion attack, capturing their 1st and 2nd objectives and had been wounded twice. The RND were sailors in an infantry role. Read More
