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- 7th/8th Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers during the Great War -


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World War 1 One ww1 wwII greatwar great 1914 1918 first battalion regiment

7th/8th Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers



   The 7/8th Battalion, The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was formed on the 23rd of August 1917 when the 7th Battalion amalgamated with 8th. They were in action in the Third Battles of Ypres. In 1918 they were in action on the Somme 1918 suffering very heavy casualties and on the 22nd April 1918 the battalion was reduced to cadre strength. On the 17th of June they transferred to 102nd Brigade, 34th Division then on the 26th to GHQ Troops. The battalion was re-established with men joining from 8th Battalion, Rifle Brigade and on the 3rd of July 1918 they joined 89th Brigade, 30th Division. They were in action during the Advance in Flanders and by the Armistice had crossed the River Scheldt with advanced units reaching the line between Ghoy and la Livarde, north west of Lessines. In January 1919 30th Division took up duty at the Base Ports of Dunkirk, Calais, Boulogne and Etaples and demobilisation began.

29th Oct 1917 Trench Raid  location map

12th Dec 1917 Relief Complete

29th Dec 1917 Reliefs

16th Jan 1918 Poor Conditions

16th Jan 1918 Thaw

22nd Jan 1918 Reliefs

22nd Jan 1918 Reliefs

28th Jan 1918 Reliefs

28th Jan 1918 Reliefs

12th Mar 1918 Holding the Line

12th Mar 1918 Reliefs

22nd Mar 1918 Fighting Retreat

23rd Mar 1918 Fighting Retreat

24th Mar 1918 In Defence

25th Mar 1918 In Defence

26th Mar 1918 In Defence

27th Mar 1918 Fighting Withdrawal

28th Mar 1918 Holding the Line

29th Mar 1918 Holding the Line

30th Mar 1918 Holding the Line

31st Mar 1918 Holding the Line

1st Apr 1918 Holding the Line

2nd Apr 1918 Holding the Line

3rd Apr 1918 Holding the Line

4th Apr 1918 Reliefs

5th Apr 1918 On the March

8th Apr 1918 Reorganisation

9th Apr 1918 On the March

10th Apr 1918 On the Move

11th Apr 1918 On the March

12th Apr 1918 On the March

15th Apr 1918 100 men receive suspended court-martial  One hundred men of the 7/8 Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers received a suspended court-martial on the same day. The battalion was being disbanded and they went on strike to prevent it. The high number of non Irish soldiers striking shows the camaraderie and respect these merged replacements had for a regiment they previously had no attachment to. The unusual event was remarkable in that the sentence normally punishable by death was suspended. They all went back to fight the following day.

1st of September 1918 Operations Begin  location map

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Those known to have served with

7th/8th Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers

during the Great War 1914-1918.

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  Pte. Thomas McBrine 7th/8th Btn. Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (d.31st Marc 1918)

Thomas McBrine was killed in action on the 31st of March 1918, aged 26 and is buried in the Fouquescourt British Cemetery in France. He was the son of Thomas and Mary McBrine, of Stralongford, Irvinestown, Co. Fermanagh.

s flynn






  Cpl. John James McKenna 1st Btn. Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers

John McKenna served with the 1st Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers from 1900 to 1908 and saw action in the Second Boer War 1900-1903 He was awarded the Queens South Africa Medal with 5 clasps, Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Transvaal, and South Africa 1901 and 1902 He then transferred to the 2nd Battalion R.I.F. and served until 1912 when he re-enlisted to complete 12 years service. He was posted to Home Duty, Omagh, and Devonport, England and received an Honorable Discharge.

In The Great War he served with the British Expeditionary Force, III Corps, 4th Division, 12th Brigade as a Private in the 2nd Battalion R.I.F. and saw action in the First Battle of the Aisne, First Battle of Messines, Battle of Armentieres, First Battle of Ypres Battle of Neuve Chapel, Battle of Aubers Ridge and the Battle of Festubert

On 15th of February 1915 he joined 7th Battalion R.I.F. and saw action in the Battle of Hulluch, Battle of the Somme, Battle of Guillemont, Battle of Guinchy and the Battle of Messines. The battlion then became the 7th/8th Battalion R.I.F. and John was in action at the Battle of Saint Quentin where he was severely wounded on the 30th of March 1918.

He was transferred to the 3rd Reserve Battalion for hospitalization and recuperation then received an Honorable Discharge

He was awarded the 1914 Medal (Mons Star), Victory Medal and British War Medal This the Service Record I have extrapolated by comparing Pension Medical Records, available British Army Service Records, and Official British Military Operations Records

My Grandfather, John James McKenna was born in Emyvale, Co Monaghan, Ireland in 1883. His Father was a shoemaker. In 1900 He enlisted to fight in the Second Boer War. His steady income from soldiering enabled his father to purchase the farm they had been leasing for many years, and to put on a new slate roof. In 1912 he married and returned to civilian life in Belfast where he was a tram driver. Swept back into service in 1914, he survived the conflict and went on to serve in the Irish Republican Army, and Irish National Army from 1920 to 1923. Unable to reclaim his job in Belfast, they departed Ireland. In October 1923, he and family of six arrived in the United States aboard the USS Samaria. They settled in Lockport, Illinois, where he worked mostly as pipe fitter with the railroad. He passed in December 1950 in Sacramento California. Though he was only 5 feet 4 inches and 115 pounds when he enlisted, he proved to be a formidable warrior, and ultimate survivor.

Sean McKenna






  Sgt. John J Slator 7th/8th Btn. Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers

Jack Slator served with the 7th/8th Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. He was a Prisoner of War, POW no. 21920







  CSM. H. Barlow 7/8 Btn., B Coy. Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers

I own CSM Barlow's binoculars. The details above are inscribed on the bottom of the case. If anyone knows about him I'd appreciate more information.

Ian Sutherland






  Pte. Joseph Skillen 7th/8th Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers

Joseph Skillen is listed as receiving the Victory Medal, British War Medal, the Star was only issued to men who arrived in a Theatre of War in either 1914 or 1915, so I assume that he arrived in Theatre of War in 1916 or later. Red Cross records confirm he was taken prisoner outside St Quentin in Ronssoy on the 21st of March 1918 during German Operation Michael, Western Front Offensive 1918. He was held prisoner in Cassel.

J Skillen






  Pte. Ernest Harold Froom 7/8th Btn Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers

Private Ernest Harold Froom was my grandad from Somerset. He was in the 7/8 Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. On the 15th April 1918 he was one of a hundred people to receive a suspended court-martial on the same day. The regiment was being disbanded and they went on strike to prevent it. The high number of non Irish soldiers striking shows the camaraderie and respect these merged replacements had for a regiment they previously had no attachment to. They were formed into the unit to replace lost soldiers and to form a unit from their own disbanded units. The unusual event was remarkable in that the sentence normally punishable by death was suspended. They all went back to fight the following day. He later fought in the Inninnskillin black and tans in Ireland after the end of the war in Europe so he must not have had too bad a punishment in 1918.

Peter Smith






  Pte. William Birney 7/8th Btn. Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (d.20th Jan 1918)

William Birney was born in Dublin and enlisted in Clydebank, Dumbartonshire, Scotland. He died of wounds in France and is buried in Tincourt New British Cemetery.

S Flynn






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