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11th (Service) Battalion (Donegal and Fermanagh) The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
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World War 1 One ww1 wwII greatwar great11th (Service) Battalion (Donegal and Fermanagh) The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
The 11th (Service) Battalion (Donegal and Fermanagh) The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was formed at Omagh in September 1914, from the Donegal and Fermanagh Volunteers. The Battalion was attached to 3rd Brigade, Ulster Division until the 2nd of November 1914 when the formation was renamed 109th Brigade, 36th Division.
The men trained at Dufferin and Ava Estate at Clandeboye, County Down and in July 1915, the Division moved to Seaford, in Sussex, England and then to France in early October 1915.
The 36th Ulster Division are most famous for thier action on the 1st of July 1916, when they were one of the few Divisions to reach thier objective. The front lines were at the edge of Thiepval Wood, troops crossed about 400 yards of No Man's Land, entering the Schwaben Redoubt, (close to where the Ulster Tower stands today) then advancing on towards Stuff Redoubt. The men held out for the day but as their stocks of bombs and ammunition dwindled, they were forced to fall back.
The casualties suffered by the 36th Division on the 1st of July were over 5,000 in total. Nine men of the 36th Division were awarded the Victoria Cross on the 1st of July 1916.
The Battalion was disbanded in France on the 21st January 1918.
The Ulster Tower, at Theipval is a memorial to the men of the 36th (Ulster) Division, built as a copy of Helen's Tower at Clandeboye, County Down, where men of the 36th Division trained. There is a small visitor centre with a cafe behind the tower which is staffed by members of the Somme Association. Inside the tower is a small chapel with a number of paintings and plaques from Northern Ireland.
Today Theipval Wood is owned by The Somme Association and guided tours are available of a section of recently excavated trenches.
Please note that Theipval Wood is not open the public, it is used by French huntsmen who use live ammunition and who will shoot, you are putting yourself at risk by entering without permission. Please go to the visitor centre at the Ulster Tower to arrange a guided tour.
A DVD is now available, released for the official opening of the wood for guided tours on the 1st of July 2006, follows the Community Archeology Project, undertaken by The Somme Association and No Man's Land, The European Group for Great War Archaeology.
You can order a copy on-line by clicking the image below:
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Dec 2011
Please note we currently have a large backlog of submitted material, our volunteers are working through this as quickly as possible and all names, stories and photos will be added to the site.
Those known to have served with 11th (Service) Battalion (Donegal and Fermanagh) The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers during the Great War.
Select a story link or scroll down to browse those stories hosted on this site.
- Pte. W. Allan (d.1st Jul 1916)
- Pte. James Baird (d.1st Jul 1916)
- Pte. James Bennett (d.1st Jul 1916)
- Pte. G. Bodle (d.1st Jul 1916)
- Pte. E. Bowen (d.1st Jul 1916)
- Pte. C. Brown (d.1st Jul 1916)
- Pte. W. Carroll (d.1st Jul 1916)
- Pte. John Arnott Taylor Craig (d.1st Jul 1916)
- Pte. H. Eames (d.1st Jul 1916)
- Pte. T. Elliott (d.1st Jul 1916)
- Pte. S. Fairbrother (d.1st Jul 1916)
- Pte. Samuel Gardiner (d.1st Jul 1916)
- Pte. M. Goldsmith (d.1st Jul 1916)
- Pte. James Gourley (d.1st Jul 1916)
- Pte. H. Heslip (d.1st Jul 1916)
- Pte. G. Hoye (d.1st Jul 1916)
- Pte. S. Irvine (d.1st Jul 1916)
- Pte. Angus Johnson (d.1st Jul 1916)
- Pte. T. Knight (d.1st Jul 1916)
- Pte. G. Kyle (d.1st Jul 1916)
- Pte. N. Lowes (d.1st Jul 1916)
- Pte. J. Lyttle (d.1st Jul 1916)
- Pte. John Lyttle (d.1st Jul 1916)
- Pte. John Mackenzie (d.1st Jul 1916)
- Pte. W. R. McCaffrey (d.1st Jul 1916)
- Pte. A. McFarland (d.1st Jul 1916)
- Pte. C. McKendrick (d.1st Jul 1916)
- Pte. J. G. Pearson (d.1st Jul 1916)
- Pte. T. A. Rutherford (d.1st Jul 1916)
- Pte. George W. Spence (d.7th June 1917) Read their Story.
- Pte. W. J. Spence (d.1st Jul 1916)
- Pte. Nicholas Stephenson (d.1st Jul 1916)
- Pte. W. J. Stratton (d.1st Jul 1916)
- Pte. D. Sutherland (d.1st Jul 1916)
- Pte. F. Thompson (d.1st Jul 1916)
- Pte. Samuel Watson (d.1st Jul 1916)
- Pte. H. Weightman (d.1st Jul 1916)
- Pte. J. L. White (d.1st Jul 1916)
- Pte. James Wylie (d.1st Jul 1916)
If you have any names to add to this list, or any recollections or photos of those listed, please get in touch.
Pte. George W. Spence 11th Btn. Royal Inniskilling Fusilliers (d.7th June 1917)
George Spence lost his life on the 7th of June 1917, he is buried at Irish House Cemetery near Wijschate.
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