Remembrance NI
Every day is a Remembrance Day
January 15 – Roll of Honour
The Royal Tank Regiment memorial at Beaurains. On This Day in 1953 HRH The Duke of Edinburgh was appointed as Admiral of the Fleet. He joined the Royal Navy in 1939 and served in WW2. He made Commander before retiring in 1952 in HM Accession. He has held a Naval Rank for 81 Years. The Roll today recalls four from WW2
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January 14 – Roll of Honour
The WW2 entries today reflect the retreat to Dunkirk by an Ulster searchlight regiment and the war waged from the air over occupied Europe in 1944. Today’s WW1 veteran is Sam Anderson of Coleraine who lived to 80 years of age. Today’s photo whilst not from NI, tells more than enough about family service – the epitaph – “Eight of my sons answered duty’s call. Goodbye, Tom. The first to fall. Mother” Read More
January 13 – HMS Viknor captured major German spy and perished with him
On 13 Jan 1915, the armed merchant cruiser HMS Viknor sank off the coast of County Donegal with all hands (295 dead). The cause of her loss is unconfirmed but it is likely she struck a German mine. Graves of crew members on Rathlin Island and Ballintoy are the focus of a yearly Act of Remembrance. Senior Naval Officer NI with mayor off Rathlin
January 13 – Roll of Honour
The Roll includes three Inniskillings who die in the first attack on Two Tree Hill in Tunisia in WW2 and an RM Commando who died from wounds. This day 107 years ago – 13 January 1913 – the Ulster Volunteer Force was established, with the purpose of resisting the implementation of Home Rule. Dublin-born barrister and MP Edward Carson donated £10,000 to its formation, and the poet Rudyard Kipling donated £50,000.
January 11 – Roll of Honour
On 11/01/1917 Royal Navy seaplane carrier, HMS Ben-My-Chree (Woman of my heart, in Manx) is sunk by Turkish forces whilst supporting French troops on Kastellorizo off Turkey. All of the crew including Sam Ryan from Castlewellan were safely evacuated. Read Sam’s remarkable story in Survivors below. The Roll today includes a Cookstown man who came from the southernmost point of the South Island of New Zealand to serve and a Petty Officer from LIsburn who survived a sinking in the Mediterranean on this day in 1941. Read More
January 10 – Roll of Honour
This week in 1941 the mighty Avro Lancaster Bomber first flew. Cost approx £50,000, 7377 built, 3249 lost in action,156,000 sorties, 618,378 tonnes of bombs dropped, operated by approx 50 squadrons and just two left flying today. Today’s Roll – Navy doctor who helped the development of NI hospitals – Cullybackey gunner at El Alamein. Lisburn Inniskilling in a Japanese POW camp – and more. Read More
