On this day in 1915 three men with links to Ballycastle, Cookstown and Fivemiletown, died in action in the Balkans. In 1917 London Irish took part in the liberation of Jerusalem. In 1940 Operation Compass, the first large British military operation of the Western Desert Campaign began. 500 Commonwealth servicemen were killed in the two month campaign – with over 300 being buried at CWGC’s Halfaya Sollum War Cemetery (Photo). Veterans in today’s Roll include Allan Martin from Portstewart who served with Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, 10th Btn (the Derrys). Wounded in 1918, he died in 1961, aged 78. RAF veteran, Sir Patrick Moore, became the astronomer at Armagh Observatory. He died on this day in 2012.
Western Desert Force was under the command of Lt Gen. Richard O’Connor, whose father had served in the Royal Irish Fusiliers. General Sir Archibald Wavell was CinC Middle East. It was O’Connor with ‘John’ Harding and ‘Sandy’ Galloway who planned Op. COMPASS and O’Connor who executed it, destroying the Italian Tenth Army in the process.
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