Friday 18 January 2013

Victory Parade Dublin 1919


Following the signing of the Treaty of Versailles bringing WW1 to an end officially, a number of Victory or Peace Parades were organised by the allies in a number of towns and cities e.g. London, Paris, Toronto, New York to name a few.

The parade in Dublin took place on the 19th July 1919. According to "Ireland, the Great War and the Geography of Remembrance" by Nuala Johnson, the parade gathered in the yard at Dublin Castle between 9:30am and 10:30am. The order of march was sorted with a view to departing at 11:30am. Johnson suggests that there were 20,000 in the parade including 5000 demobbed soldiers and sailors.

Order of march :

Mounted Troops, DMP
Irish Guards Pipe Band
Demobilised Sailors and Soldiers
General Pagan, GOC, and Staff
P Battery and R Battery, Royal Horse Artillery - Lt Col Foreman
888nd Battery, Royal Field Artillery, Major Fletcher RFA
Detachment Royal Engineers, Capt Bleiben
3rd Battn, King's Own Lancashire Regiment, Lt Col B Evann
3rd Battn, Yorkshire Regt, Lt Col C R White DSO
5th Battn, Worcester Regt, Lt Col B R Roche OBE
3rd Battn, South Lancs Regt, Lt Col H G Roberts
3rd Battn, Royal Berks Regt, Lt Col North DSO
3rd Battn, Wiltshire Regt, Lt Col L W Spiller
3rd Battn, Gordon Highlanders, Colonel T L G Burnett CMG DSO
Detachment (Depot) Royal Dublin Fusiliers
Detachment GHQI Science School
11th Reserve Battn, Machine Gun Corps, Lt Col Plimpson DSO
Trench Mortar Battery
866 (HT) Royal Army Service Corps
Detachment Royal Army Medical Corps
Detachment Royal Army Ordnance Corps
Detachment Royal Army Veterinary Corps
Detachment Royal Air Force
Royal College of Surgeons' OTC
Trinity College OTC, Major Tate
St Andrew's College OTC
1st Cadet Battn, Royal Dublin Fusiliers
Detachment Women's Legion and WAAC
Detachment Women's Royal Air Force
Red Cross VAD
Armoured Cars
Tanks Corps
Armoured Lorries
Light Tanks
Heavy Tanks

The tail end being the 17th (Armoured Car) Battalion Tank Corps (possibly with elements of the 6th Battalion Tank Corps).

The route passed the Bank of Ireland building where the salute was taken. There were large crowds around Trinity College, Colllege Green etc

http://www.flickr.com/photos/53095570@N05/4904413958/

Johnson's book carries a map with the route leading to St Stephen's Green and notes that it did not pass along Sackville (O'Connell) Street, scene of the Easter Rising (and later route of Easter parades). Possibly a political statement, possibly a reflection that Sackville Street and surrounds were still not rebuilt (the GPO only finally restored in the late 1920's).

No comments:

Post a Comment