Reginald Woodman - Ulster Cyclist Corps

Interested in the Ulster Cyclist Corps noted against Reginald Woodman that appears on a memorial on another bloggers page. I was aware of the UVF having cyclists (and motor cyclists) but not of an Ulster Cyclist Corps.

21 year old Reginald Woodman is listed on the CWGC website as having been killed in 1917 with the Royal Irish Rifles.

Soldiers Died in the Great War shows he was in the Army Cyclist Corps prior to the Royal Irish Rifles

Name:	Reginald Woodman
Birth Place:	Dublin
Death Date:	8 Aug 1917
Death Place:	France and Flanders
Enlistment Place:	Dublin
Rank:	Rifleman
Regiment:	Royal Irish Rifles
Battalion:	9th Battalion
Regimental Number:	9263
Type of Casualty:	Killed in action
Theatre of War:	Western European Theatre
Comments:	Formerly 6896, A. Cyc. Corps.

There is a service record on Ancestry for 6896 Reginald Woodman which has him as a member of the Army Cyclist Corps (36th Division). He enlisted on the 29th April 1915 in Dublin aged 19. Employed as a Clerk and living at 15 Lindsay Road, Glasnevin, Dublin. His father is listed as William George Woodman of the same address with mother (name difficult to read), 3 brothers (Albert George, 27, William James Alexander 25, Clifford 20) and a sister (Kathleen Margaret).

He was transferred to the 15th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles on the 20/5/1916 and then to the 9th Battalion on the 27th June 1916.

He appears on the War Memorials for :

Wesley College

St George's Church

With his 3 brothers. he is on the Roll of Honour for St Thomas's Church and for St George's Church.


The father William George Woodman (1868-1936) appears to be from Burnham on Sea in Somerset originally. The mother Askin Hutcheon Woodman (1868-1950), nee Grimwood,  appears to have been from Scotland but died in Devon.

Clifford appears to have joined the Royal Dublin Fusiliers in September 1914 as 13860. Landed with the 7th Battalion at Suvla on the 7th August 1915. Suffered Malaria during his time in the Army. Discharged to the reserve (Z Class).

William James Alexander appears to have joined the Royal Dublin Fusiliers as 14144. No service record to confirm battalion but he landed in Gallipoli on the same date as Clifford. Commissioned as a 2nd Lt in the Labour Corps, 28th May 1918.  Medal card gives address as Ivanhoe, Lindsay Road, Glasnevin, Dublin. Appears in the London Gazette in 1922 still as a 2nd Lt

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/32574/supplement/354/data.pdf

Albert George Woodman appears in the 1907 London Gazette as a messenger boy for the GPO

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/Edinburgh/issue/11974/page/1029/data.pdf

Currently not sure about who he served with during the Great War.

1911 census for the Woodman family
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Dublin/Glasnevin/Lindsay_Road/16430/

1901 census for the Woodman family
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Dublin/Glasnevin/Hollybank_Road/1273935/


Marriage record for William Woodman and Aksin Grimwood

Baptism record for Reginald

Baptism record for Clifford

Baptism record for William

Baptism record for Albert

Baptism record for Kathleen

High School, Dublin

A nice blog from Michelle Burrowes re research about the staff and students of The High School, Dublin who took part in WW1

The High School Dublin War Stories

ANZAC Irish

A new resource now online re Irish serving with the ANZAC forces during WW1

ANZAC Irish Database

Sgt Patrick Doyle, Leinster Regiment

My youngest son decided to research a namesake for a WW1 project at school re EveryManRemembered.

Decided it's time to blog again and get some additional information re Sgt Doyle

Sgt Patrick Doyle, number 3459, served with the 7th Battalion Leinster Regiment and was awarded the Military Medal.

On the CWGC website he date of death is recorded as the 17th August 1917 (my son was born 18th August and picked up on the proximity of the dates). On the Irish soldiers wills website, his date of death is recorded as the 18th August 1917, died of wounds. His will records 7th Battalion.

Soldiers Died in the Great War has him as 7th Battalion, died of wounds 17th August 1917. Enlisted Heath Camp, Queen's County. Born Mountrath, Queen's County.

Ireland's Casualties of WW1 has him born Mountrath, Queen's County. Died of Wounds 17th August 1917 but with 4th Battalion.

His Medal Index Card shows the award of the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. He didn't serve in a theatre of war early on so no 1914 Star or 1914-1915 Star.

The CWGC website shows he was the son of James and Mrs M Doyle of Mountrath, Queen's County. The census records for 1901nd 1911 show he was an Agricultural Labourer :

1911 census

1901 census

Sgt Doyle is commemorated on the Leinster Regiment Memorial in Portlaoise.

His Military Medal was gazetted after his death on the 19th November

London Gazette

The entry shows his number as 4/3459. No information yet about why he was awarded the Military Medal. As the war progressed, the Gazette listed names but didn't record the exploits of those awarded the MM.

He was probably recruited into and trained with 4th Battalion before joining the 7th Battalion on active service.

Online Records

2 new sets of online records :


RAF Museum RFC casualty cards and 1st April 1918 RAF Muster Roll :

http://www.rafmuseumstoryvault.org.uk/page/26565-home


Red Cross Prisoner of War Records

http://grandeguerre.icrc.org/

I've had a go with the latter and found it a bit difficult to use.

Online Course

September sees the start of an online course (MOOC) on Irish Lives in War and Revolution, touching on the Great War, Easter Rising, War of Independence and Civil War.

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/irish-history

The Irish Home Front

An interesting article/thesis re the Irish Home Front during WW1

http://eprints.nuim.ie/5060/1/Clare_O'Neill_20140620131550.pdf

1916 - Grenade School in Dublin

During the action at Mount Street Bridge, the Sherwood Foresters were assisted by members of the "bombing school" at Elm Park, including Captain Jeffares. (Richard Thorpe Jeffares, Royal Irish Rifles - listed with other Jeffares on a memorial in New Ross, Co Wexford; commissioned 2nd Lt in May 1911)

Grenades were also know as Mills Bombs.

The "bombing school" was the Irish Command Grenade School located in the grounds of Elm Park House, Merrion Road/Nutley Lane, Dublin. Now the site of Elm Park Golf Club whose website indicates that practice trenches are still visible.

The National Army Museum in London appears to have a June 1916 photograph of the instructors amongst its collection.

Sir Alfred Bucknill - Witness Statement re the Easter Rising

Sir Alfred Bucknill provided legal advice to General Maxwell during/after the Easter Rising.

His witness statement provides a note to suggest that the reason Eamon de Valera didn't face the firing squad in the aftermath of the Rising related to the difficult questions being raised regarding the murder of Francis Sheehy-Skeffington.

John Traynor - South Dublin Union

One of the first casualties of the Easter Rising at the South Dublin Union was John Traynor, employed as a messenger at nearby Guinness. Killed within 30 minutes of the start of the fighting at the SDU.

Not quite 18, he had started working at Guinness in 1913.

In the records of the detective hired to assess employees after the Rising, James Traynor is listed as living at 3 Shannon Terrace, Kilmainham with a note that his son was killed by the military at the SDU. John Traynor is listed as employee number 12991, killed at the SDU on the first day of the Rising; father in the engineering department.

1911 census at 3 Shannon Terrace

Grave of John Traynor, Glasnevin

Captain Sheppard - South Staffordshire Regiment

Two Captain Sheppards were with the South Staffordshire Regiment in Dublin during the Easter Rising.

2nd Lieutenant James Sheppard was promoted to temporary Lieutenant in the 23rd July 1915 issue of the London Gazette. On the same page, Lieutenant Robin M Sheppard is promoted to temporary Captain.

Lieutenant James Sheppard was promoted to temporary Captain on the 2nd April 1916 just before going to Dublin to quell the Easter Rising.

Captain R M Sheppard wrote to the mother of Private H Bullock following his wounding during the Easter Rising.

In October 1916, Robin Sheppard is promoted to acting Major. He was wounded in France in November 1917 as Commanding Officer of C Company, 2/5th South Staffordshire Regiment.

Wounds received in Dublin lead James Sheppard to relinquish his commission in November 1917 though he retains the rank of Captain.

Private Bullock - South Staffordshire Regiment

An interesting article on the internet re the effect of the Easter Rising on Private Bullock, a soldier in the 6th battalion the South Staffordshire Regiment.  Wounded in Dublin, Private Bullock was hospitalised and would eventually lose a leg

Private H Bullock

Harold Bullock enlisted on the 8th December 1915 and was discharged as a result of wounds on the 25th November 1916.

Easter Rising : Lance Corporal Harvey, Australian Expeditionary Force

An account of the experiences of Australian (Bendigo) soldier Lance Corporal Harvey during the Easter Rising appeared in the Australian newspapers in July 1916 :

13th July 1916 Bendigonian newspaper report

He appears in the list of wounded from Gallipoli on the 13th October 1915

13th October 1915 Casualty list

His father, Mr R M Harvey, left Bendigo in August 1916

Second Lieutenant G D Helliwell - South Staffordshire Regiment

Listed amongst the officer wounded during the Easter Rising is 2nd Lt G D Helliwell of the South Staffordshire Regiment.

Geoffrey Davenport Helliwell (1899-1954) received his commission as a 2nd Lieutenant on the 9th December 1915

No sign of a medal index card to show that he served overseas but he is recorded on a list of solicitors and articled clerks who served in WW1  :

GEOFFREY DAVENPORT HELLIWELL. 

Articled to J. H. Rothwell, of Brighouse. Joined Dec. 9, 1915, as 2nd 
Lieut., 6th Batt. South Staffordshire Regt., subsequently promoted Lieut. 
Served in France and Italy. 

Capt PS Bayliss - South Staffordshire Regiment

In the 1916 Rebellion Handbook, there are 3 officers from the South Staffordshire Regiment in the list of wounded officers. No officers from the South Staffordshire Regiment are listed as killed.

Captain PS Bayliss appears to be Percival Samuel Bayliss (1881 - 1955).

His medal index card shows he finally entered France on the 27th April 1917, a year after the Easter Rising.

Commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 6th Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment in September 1914 :

London Gazette September 1914

Promoted to Captain in June 1917

London Gazette June 1917

Military Mission secondment in October 1918

London Gazette October 1918

Resigns his commission in January 1921

London Gazette January 1921

His cricket career entry suggests he later went to the USA as part of the British Military Mission and that he was a director of the firm Bayliss, Jones and Bayliss.

The company Bayliss, Jones and Bayliss appear to have recruited a Home Guard platoon during WW2.

C B de la Mare - 5th Armoured Car Company, Tank Corps

In Ambushes and Armour : The Irish Rebellion 1919-1921, W H Kautt mentions the recovery of a Peerless armoured car that had been captured by the IRA during a raid on an abattoir. The armoured car was to have been used in the rescue of Sean MacEoin from prison.

The car was recovered by Lieutenant C B de la Mare of the 5th Armoured Car Company, Tank Corps at Donnycarney House, Malahide Road, Dublin

The 5th Armoured Car Company was the remains of the downsized 17th Battalion that had arrived in Dublin in January 1919.

Lt C B de la Mare appears to be Charles Bertram de la Mare (1896 to 1954). Born in Birkenhead, Cheshire to Godfray and Jane de la Mare.

Temporary 2nd Lieutenant in July 1917

Served with A Company, 12th Battalion, Tank Corps in October 1918 in tank L12

appointed temporary Lieutenant in December 1918

Acting Captain in August 1919 in Equipment Officer role

British Empire Awards in January 1923 (not sure what the award for for - there's little information re de la Mare)

Married in Dublin, 1925



The capture/use of the armoured car appears in a number of Bureau of Military History witness statements

Patrick Lawson

Joseph Byrne

Michael Lynch

Vincent Byrne

William Stapleton

Peter Gough

Patrick McCrea

Joseph Leonard

John Caffrey

Oscar Traynor

Charles Dalton

Joseph Hyland

Katharine Tynan and The Aerodrome

Katharine Tynan's poem "The Aerodrome" is supposed to be a lament for her father's land being sold to become Baldonnel aerodrome (I think the father's land was actually sold to become the aerodrome at Tallaght - now Cookstown Industrial Estate - but have yet to prove this).

A memorial cross to her father, Andrew Cullen Tynan, is still in place on the Belgard Road. A memorial to Katharine Tynan can be found in Tallaght.

Her nephew Gerald Cullen Tynan O'Mahony (father of comedian Dave Allen) joined the Auxiliary Division of the Royal Irish Constabulary (ADRIC aka Auxiliaries) having been commissioned into the British Army via the Dublin University Officer Training Corps (DUOTC). He was later managing director of the Irish Times.

The Tynan's had been actively involved with the Freeman's Journal. Nora Mahony's claim for compensation gives her address as Airfield House, Tallaght while the claim for losses in 1916 is for property in the Freeman's Journal property by the GPO in Princes Street.

1916 Property Losses Committee claim by Nora Tynan O'Mahony

An Cosantoir April 2014

Nice snippet re the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Cumann na mBan by Paul O'Brien in the April 2014 issue of An Cosantoir.

Also reviews of :

Easter Rising 1916 : The Trials by Sean Enright

Ground Truths : British Army Operations in the Irish War of Independence by W H Kautt

The Irish Volunteers 1913-1915 : Recollections and Documents by F X Martin (this is a re-print of a 1963 publication)

Cries from Casement

Another addition to the library today is  David Rudkin's "Cries from Casement as his Bones are Brought to Dublin". An ebay purchase.

This 1974 publication from the BBC is the text of a play broadcast in 1973 dramatising the return of Sir Roger Casement's remains to Ireland.

Not my normal reading material but an interesting point of view.

A Question of Duty by Paul O'Brien

Bought a copy of A Question of Duty by Paul O'Brien re the Curragh Incident in 1914.

A smallish book at approximately 160 pages but a very good read, outlining the characters involved, the potential implications, the organisation of the British Army in Ireland, the mistrust between the Army officers and the British Government, etc.

A good addition to the library.

Machines Guns, UVF, Dublin

There is an awful lot of rubbish on the Internet (and in some books) re the Easter Rising. The following article suggests that members of the UVF were on the streets of Dublin and that machine guns were responsible for the destruction of some buildings :

Easter Rising Myths and Truth article

British Artillery definitely played a part in the destruction of a number of buildings. Looters set fire to some buildings; Irish Volunteers started the fire that destroyed the Linenhall Barracks. It would be hard to think of any building destroyed by machine guns - a shack made of wood etc might fall apart under sustained fire from machine guns (more likely Vickers but possibly Lewis guns) but the buildings in Dublin were brick and stone built.

I've yet to read any witness statements or primary source documents outlining members of the UVF being on the streets of Dublin or of tension being caused by their presence (wasn't there enough tension from artillery fire, machines gun fire, rifle fire and fires). While some individual members of Regiments may have been UVF prior to enlistment, they weren't deployed as a UVF unit. I suspect that the UVF reference is due to recent attempts to raise the profile of the Loyal Dublin Volunteers, an affiliate to the UVF (but defunct by the time of the Easter Rising).

The Aud

The Facebook page of Stair na hEireann carries the following text re the Aud and her attempt to land arms in Co Kerry just prior to the Easter Rising :

Today in Irish History: 9 April 1916 - The merchant ship Aud leaves Germany for Ireland with arms for the Irish Republican Brotherhood.

On 20 April 1916 the Aud, a Norwegian merchant ship, arrived in Tralee Bay off the west coast of Ireland. At dawn the next morning a pilot ship approached the Aud, flying the British flag of war. She was seized and towed towards Queenstown harbour (now Cobh). On route, the crew set off explosions to scuttle the ship and abandoned the sinking vessel, surrendering to the British.

In reality she was not a Norwegian merchant ship, only disguised as one. She was the German ship SMS Libau (previously the British vessel SS Castro captured by the Germans in 1914). And she wasn’t transporting just timber. She had on board an estimated 20,000 rifles, 1,000,000 rounds of ammunition, 10 machine guns, and explosives that were sent by the Germans in aid of Irish rebels planning the 1916 Easter Rising. Due to mis-communication, the cargo would never reach its destination.

The Aud left the Baltic port of Lübeck on this date in 1916. She was captained by Karl Spindler and carried 22 crew, all volunteers. They avoided British patrols as they headed into the North Atlantic before heading south towards the west coast of Ireland. The plan was to rendezvous with Roger Casement, who was instrumental in obtaining the weapons from Germany and was travelling on a U-boat to the rendezvous point. Once Casement was on the Aud the weapons would be transferred to a party of Irish Volunteers on the shore.

When the Aud arrived in Tralee Bay and sent out a signal, it was never answered. Casement didn’t arrive in Ireland until the 21 April and the Aud was already in British custody. Casement was later arrested, charged with treason, and executed on 3 August 1916. The car load of Volunteers who were tasked with collecting the landed weapons crashed on the way and never arrived. Once the Aud was seized Spindler knew he could do nothing but scuttle the ship.

Spindler and his crew were held by the British for the remainder of WWI. The wreck of the Aud was depth-charged and wire swept several times, not only to be sure that the weapons could not be recovered but also to keep the wreck from being used as cover by enemy U-boats. Several exploratory dives have been conducted of the wreck, the most recent one in June 2012 which led to the recovery of two anchors from the wreckage. Some of the rifles carried on the Aud were recovered before she was scuttled. Those rifles are on display in several museums including the Cork Public Museum, the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin, and the Imperial War Museum in London.


While elements are correct, there are a number of errors.

1. She was intercept by HMS Bluebell. Definitely not a pilot ship; HMS Bluebell was a Queenstown based sloop involved in anti submarine work amongst other activities.
2. Would like to know more about the "Flag of War" being flown.
3. The Aud was intercepted by HMS Bluebell and instructed to head to Queenstown. She was not towed and there was no opportunity to recover any rifles before her sinking. The Aud had been boarded previously but her disguise had worked and the cargo of arms and munitions were not discovered.
4. Rifles were recovered from the sunken Aud by Queenstown based diver John Dempsey. A number of these were presented as evidence at the trial of Sir Roger Casement.
5. Sir Roger Casement was charged with High Treason (an offence punishable by death) rather than Treason (an offence punishable by imprisonment). The British legal system had to use an ancient law written before the creation of the British Empire and before Ireland was annexed by Britain's Act of Union. Quite a bit of time was taken up in Sir Roger's appeal interpreting the original statute written in Latin and Norman French.
6. The car load of volunteers travelling to Co Kerry were tasked with radio communications and trying to obtain a wireless set from a Wireless College in Cahirciveen - the Aud had no radio but SM U-19 carrying Sir Roger Casement, Robert Monteith and Daniel Bailey did have a radio. Austin Stack and the Volunteers in Co Kerry were to take charge of the arms and munitions from the Aud and take care of their distribution. One car drove off the Ballykissane Pier on the 21st April 1916 and three Volunteers were drowned - Con Keating, Donal Sheehan and Charlie Monaghan. Denis Daly was in another car with Colm O'Lochlainn. Was the Aud already "in custody" when the 3 Volunteers drowned?


Mortimer O'Leary gives some information about the sighting of the Aud in the bay and of the proposed piloting of the ship into Fenit in his Witness Statement.

The Ulster Covenant - Dublin signatures 2

Given that the Dublin parliamentary division has some addresses outside the Dublin area, I tried "Dublin" in the address field of the PRONI Covenant database and up popped just under 200 entries. A number of these are Dublin addresses. Still a very small number though.

Next task is to put together a list from the 200 that are Dublin addresses and cross check these against the 1901 and 1911 census websites.

A couple of matches

William Clement McKee

Thomas John Curtis

Thomas D Barnett

Arthur Henry Bates (put as W Bates on the database but writing is difficult to work out - looks like A H)

Robert James Black

Robert Henry Calvert

David M Carson

William Clarke

David James Colter


Some that do seem to have gone into the armed forces during WW1 are :

R H Plews (Robert Henry Cunningham Plews)
Served with the Army Service Corps.
Mentioned in Despatches.
Reached rank of Major.

Otto Hamilton Jones
Born in Dublin 20th July 1889
Working in London in the 1911 census as a Warehouseman
Commissioned as 2nd Lt on 2nd September 1916 having been a Cadet (not sure at which unit yet)
His medal index card shows he originally enlisted as a Private, number 19/360, in the 19th Battalion the Royal Irish Rifles.
Died in France 22nd/23rd November 1917 with the 15th Battalion the Royal Irish Rifles

Alec Haines
Son of a Guinness Brewery Manager
Killed in 1915 whilst serving as a 2nd Lieutenant with the Royal Dublin Fusiliers.

Hugh Victor Moore
Killed in 1918

Harry Jeffrey
From Belfast, living in Rathgar, Dublin. Served as a Sapper with the Royal Engineers. Enlisted January 1915.

Claude Braddell
Commissioned into the Royal Irish Rifles in December 1915.
Medal index card shows Royal Ulster Rifles.

He worked for the Northern Bank and apparently had the surname Burbridge originally.

Alfred Caffrey
Born in Dublin 16th March 1871. Father Edward Caffrey; mother Mary Wilkin. Alfred Caffrey joined the Royal Munster Fusiliers in 1888 and served through to 1901, number 2695. Then in the Royal Garrison Regiment, number 4366.  Appears to have re-enlisted during WW1 as 6/303, Sgt Alfred Caffrey. Discharged October 1916 due to sickness.


Two Roman Catholic signatories are :

Alphonsus Jeannette and William Lawrence Vize.

William Vize had joined the Royal Engineers in 1902; rejoined the Royal Engineers during WW1.

The Ulster Covenant - Dublin signatures

In trying to trace members of the "Loyal Dublin Volunteers", a Dublin affiliate of the Ulster Volunteer Force, I've had a look at the Ulster Covenant and Declaration database available to view from the PRONI website. The Covenant was signed by men; the Declaration by women.

A search selecting the Parliamentary Division Dublin produces a list of 768. All women. Not a single male signature. Very odd.

A search with Not Recorded for Parliamentary Division gives 1 Dublin address,

H Brown 57 Percy Place, Dublin

The At Sea entry for Parliamentary Division gives a return for Thomas Gee of Rathgar aboard ship.

In the 1911 census, there is a 13year old Herbert Brown living in Percy Place. Surely not the signatory of the Ulster Covenant?

The signatures of the ladies are a bit inflated with multiple signings and with addresses from outside Dublin e.g.

Ethel Hamilton Wilson gives signs 5 times with addresses in Dublin,  Derry, Belfast, Lurgan and Co Down.

Edith Alexander's address is Derry.

Sarah Apsley's address is Co Antrim

Sarah Jane Armstrong's address is Co Fermanagh

and so on, reducing the actual number of Dublin signatures further.

Why so low? What's happened to the signatures of Dublin men?

A recent leaflet expounding the "Loyal Dublin Volunteers", gives the number of Protestants in the County and City of Dublin as over 100,000. The Loyal Dublin Volunteers was supposed to have had a membership of 2,000 men.

Thankfully, not all Protestants were Unionists and and there were attempts to protest against "the lawless policy of Carsonism".

Arming the Dublin Metropolitan Police

In 1916, most members of the Dublin Metropolitan Police (DMP) were uniformed and unarmed, in contrast to the Royal Irish Constabulary who were uniformed and armed with carbines and bayonets. Members of the political section of the DMP were in civilian clothes and carried a revolver.

The following article by Gregory Allen describes attempts to arm the DMP in the aftermath of the Easter Rising and some of the morale issues within the DMP

Arming the DMP

Staff Sgt A H Ensell

Staff Sgt A H Ensell of the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry was arrested in July 1914 for stealing rifles from Portobello Barracks in Dublin along with arms dealer J W Benson. The intention was to supply the weapons to the UVF.

He appears to have a prison record in Mountjoy :

Mountjoy Prison 1914 : Arthur H Ensell

At the time, the 2nd Battalion King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry were stationed in Dublin. A short while later (16th August 1914) they landed in France to take part in the Great War and were involved in some costly clashes with the German Army.

Arthur Harry Ensell was born in Birmingham in approximately 1879, the son of Aurelius Theodore Ensell and Maria Smith.

Not sure when he was released from prison. He married Ethel White in 1943 when aged 64; less than 10 years later he was dead.

He doesn't appear to have served during WW1 which is surprising.

Cumann na mBan

100 years ago today the Cumann na mBan was formed.

RTE have a nice little feature :

100 Years Old : Cumann na mBan

Father John Heneghan

In reading the witness statements of Irish Volunteers in Galway and looking for information re the shelling by the Royal Navy, the witness statement of Patrick Dunlevy mentions "Fr John Heneghan (killed by the Japs)". Wasn't quite expecting to see a reference to Japanese in the witness statements.

witness statement of Patrick Dunlevy, County Galway

A quick Google finds that Father John Heneghan was killed by Japanese forces in the Phillipines and that he is commemorated on the Mayo Peace Park Memorial along with other priests killed by the Japanese.

Mayo Peace Park - Father John Heneghan

Cesca Chenevix Trench

An interesting article re a Nationalist worker/supporter, Cesca Chenevix Trench, from a Unionist family :

A Young Nationalist in the Easter Rising

The photo is from the 1965 film Young Cassidy rather than an Easter Rising photo.

She mentions her brother Reggie being killed while serving in the British Army.

He appears to have been Major Charles Reginald Chenevix Trench who died on the 21st March 1918 whilst serving with the Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby Regiment).

His military careers appears to have started with the Inns of Court Officer Training Corps in London in approximately 1912.  He joined the 2/5th Battalion Sherwood Foresters as a Captain on the 9th June 1916 and was promoted to temporary Major on the 30th July 1917.

J J Cullen

In a 1919 article, Captain J J Cullen of the barque Bellas in Fremantle described himself as the navigating officer on the sloop Laburnum during WW1. The article states he was born in South Australia.

14th July 1919 - J J Cullen

The Navy List for October 1916 lists a John Joseph Cullen, temporary Sub Lieutenant, assigned to the Laburnum.

The Navy List for 1916 also gives :

Laburnum
Lt Comm William W Wainwright 18th July 1915
Lt RNR (N) John J Cullen (act) 11th August 1915
Lt RNR Harold  J McBride (act) 22nd March 1915
Sub Lt James G Pyke-Knott (act) 21st August 1915
Surg Prob James C Sleigh 29th January 1916
Artif Eng Herbert Stroud 17th April 1915


The London Gazette of 29th June 1915 mentions the temporary commission to Sub Lieutenant of John Joseph Cullen

London Gazette 29th June 1915

James Sleigh appears to have studied medicine at Aberdeen University

James Charles Sleigh

He appears to have served in the RAMC and reached the rank of Lt Colonel according to this notice re his appointment in St Albans

St Albans appointment

James Grenville Pyke-Nott stayed in the Royal Navy until 1949. Later Lt Governor of a region of Nigeria and knighted.

Herbert Stroud served with the Royal Navy until 1939.

Harold Joseph McBride appears to have come from Birkenhead. The son of Thomas McBRride, a tug boat mate from Ireland.

So far, no further information re J J Cullen.

The Shelling of Galway, April 1916

A number of witness statements on the Bureau of Military History site mention the shelling of parts of County Galway by the Royal Navy :


Martin O'Regan of Loughrea
no ship mention unfortunately

Thomas Courtney of Galway
no name but mentions that the guns were 4 inch guns and not big guns following conversation with sailors in Galway. Minesweepers fired shells at Castlegar from the bay. Mentions Leslie Edmonds/Edmunds of the Congested District Board.

Frank Hardiman of Galway
mentions the shelling of Castlegar by the Laburnum. Transferred to HMS Gloucester but no mention of the Gloucester firing her guns. Arrested on the Easter Tuesday and put on the Guillimot. Laburnum seen steaming in on the Wednesday. Guns fired after he had been put on board on the Wednesday. Gloucester and a troop ship steamed in after 2 days on the Laburnum. Transferred to HMS Albion.

Michael O'Droighneain of Furlough, County Galway
mentions a fleet of warships in Galway Bay on Easter Sunday. Taken with Frank Hardiman and put on board Guillemot. Seems to suggest that the shelling was by Guillemot. Suggests 3 days on board before transfer to the Laburnum which is at odds with the statement by Frank Hardiman. No mention of HMS Gloucester but does mention being transferred to HMS Albion and HMS Adventure. Mentions Leslie Edmonds/Edmunds of the Congested District Board.

Patrick Dunlevy of Ballyglunin, County Galway
Arrested and put on HMS Gloucester. Later transferred to HMS Snowdrop and then HMS Albion and finally HMS Adventurer (Adventure?).



Brian Molloy, Castlegar, County Galway
no mention of shelling by the Royal Navy but describes some of the actions of the Volunteers and the encounter with soldiers and RIC.

Michael Newell, Castlegar, County Galway
as per Brian Molloy, no mention of shelling by the Royal Navy but mentions some of the actions of the Volunteers and the encounter with soldiers and RIC.

Thomas Sweeney Newell of Castlegar, County Galway
as per Brian Molloy, no mention of shelling by the Royal Navy but mentions some of the actions of the Volunteers and the encounter with soldiers and RIC.


25th July 1922
Mr Leslie Edmonds of the Congested District Board was shot and killed in the Irish Civil War. The car he was being driven in stumbled upon an ambush of National Army troops by irregulars of the IRA. Mr Edmonds and his chauffeur were killed.

Queenstown sloop commanders

In Admiral Sir Lewis Bayly's book "Pull Together!" he lists some of the sloops active in Queenstown, together with their commanding officers :

Zinnia - Commander G F W Wilson
Bluebell - Commander M A F Hood
Laburnum - Commander W W Hall-Wright
Poppy - Commander Cosmo Hastings
Snowdrop - Commander G P Sherston
Rosemary - Commander R Mayne
Genista - Commander J White
Sunflower - Commander J C Cole-Hamilton
Jessamine - Commander Salisbury Simpson and later S A Geary-Hill
Myosotis - Commander W C Cochrane
Camelia - Commander R Richardson


The Zinnia and Bluebell were involved in the capture of the Aud in the run up to the Easter Rising.

Laburnum was involved in the shelling of Galway during the Easter Rising. The commander William Wybrow Hallwright DSO (1883-1917) was killed in action on HMS Heather (aka HMS Q16) on the 21st April 1917.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission entry to W W Hallwright

Funeral of a Mutiny Veteran 13th April 1916

As reported in the Irish Times, 14th April 1916 :

The funeral took place yesterday, 13th April, at the Military Cemetery, Grangegorman, with military honours furnished by the band and men of the Lancers, of Mutiny veteran ex-Sergeant John Delaney, of the 10th Foot (Lincolnshire Regiment).

He took part in several actions for which he received the Mutiny Medal with clasp for Lucknow.

The Funeral Service was conducted by the Rev Father Nolan, St Kevin's.

The chief mourners were :

Mrs J Delaney (widow)
Sergeant J Delaney ASC and Private Ed Delaney, Lincolnshire Regiment (sons)
Mrs Carney, Mrs Flannery, Mrs Nash and Mrs Clout (daughters)
Company Sergeant Major Nash, Essex Regiment and Sgt Clout, Royal Dublin Fusiliers (sons in law)
Private P Carney Royal Dublin Fusiliers and Rifleman J Murray RIR (nephews)
Scout Leader T Flannery (grandson)
Miss M Flannery and Miss M Carney (granddaughters)
Miss B Carney (niece)

Also present were Mrs John Freeman, Master Dick Freeman and numerous other friends.


Interested to see if it's possible to track down more about John Delaney and his military family.

1901 Census for John Delaney, Army Pensioner

1911 Census for John Delaney, Army Pensioner

Private Ed(ward) Delaney enlisted in the Lincolnshire Regiment 20th August 1908 aged 14/15. He was discharged as a result of wounds 24th December 1917 from 506th Company, Labour Corps. He was awarded the 1914 Star, Victory Medal, British War Medal as well as the Silver War Badge.

John Delaney enlisted in England as T2/016658 on 21st August 1914 with no prior military experience. By 5th October 1914 he had been promoted to Sergeant. Discharged in 1919. Awarded the 1915 Star, Victory Medal and British War Medal.

Sergeant Albert Clout, Royal Dublin Fusiliers, number 11694 survived the war and was awarded the Victory Medal and British War Medal.

Nothing definite re CSM Nash so far.

Margaret Delaney appears to have married Thomas Flannery in 1898. According to the census they had a son Thomas and a daughter Mary which possibly ties in with the Scout Leader and the granddaughter in the mourners. In 1901, Margaret was Roman Catholic; in 1911 she had converted to Protestant.

Flannery Family 1901 Census

Flannery Family 1911 census

Dr J C Ridgway

Dr J C Ridgway, RAMC, appears to have worked with the wounded in Dublin Castle during the Easter Rising and to have attended to the wounded James Connolly.

He suggests that a telegram was sent by the Prime Minister, Asquith, with a postponement for the execution of Connolly.

Dr J C Ridgway RAMC witness statement

He alludes to having avoided being involved in the execution of prisoners.

Not much other information found about him so far :

1901 Census - Ridgway family

Tempt Lt Joseph Chamney Atkinson Ridgway 14th January 1916

17th August 2023 edit

Links to Witness Statement and London Gazette updated.

Born County Waterford on 25th July 1879

Died Dublin 3rd March 1959

An item via Mick O'Farrell on Twitter re his diary coming back to Ireland :

https://twitter.com/MOF1916/status/1691856178601492932

Single and living in Woking, England in the 1939 register

DUOTC Member on Arms and Intelligence gathering

An interesting witness statement from Sean (John Nelson) Beaumont who appears to have been a member of the Dublin University Officer  Training Corps (DUOTC). He appears to have got his brother involved in gathering intelligence from the Auxiliaries (ADRIC) and in an arms gathering operation

Sean Beaumont witness statement

Willie and Sean Beaumont have a short write up in a book called "Michael Collins and the Anglo Irish War : Britain's Counter Insurgency Failure" by J B E Hittle and also in "The Squad and the Intelligence Operations of Michael Collins" by T Ryle Dwyer.

Willie appears to have been openly anti-Sinn Fein originally until his encounter with Blacks and Tans. John/Sean was interested in the Irish language as well as left wing politics and edited a publication called "An t-Eireannach".

1901 Census - Beaumont boys

1911 Census - Beaumont family

Was Willie too young to be commissioned into the Army given the ages on the census?

London Gazette - 2nd Lt William Victor Beaumont commissioned

William Victor Beaumont was awarded the Military Cross :
London Gazette - William Victor Beaumont - For Gallantry

His Medal Index Card shows he started as a Private in the Leinster Regiment, number 2855 before being commissioned. His MIC doesn't list any WW1 campaign medals nor does it mention hi Military Cross.

William appears to have become a police inspector in Jamaica.

Another brother, Henry Foxton Beaumont, served in the British Army during WW1 as a Chaplain. Awarded the 1915 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal.


Sean Beaumont's wife also submitted a witness statement

Mrs Maureen Beaumont (nee McGavock) witness statement

Father James Doyle - Haddington Road, 1916

Nice snippet from the witness statement of Father James Doyle re the wounded members of the GRs (Irish Association of Volunteer Training Corps aka Georgius Rex/Gorgeous Wrecks) being taken to hospital in Baggot St after their ambush on day 1 of the Easter Rising

Father James Doyle witness statement


He makes reference to the death of a soldier called Nolan in the Royal Dublin Fusiliers. The only Nolan appears to have been in the Royal Irish Rifles, number 3/8692 (and he appears to have lived locally)

Rifleman James Nolan

Soldiers Died in the Great War and Ireland's Memorial Records has Private James Nolan has Died rather than Killed in Action or Died of Wounds. Usually this is death by natural causes or illness. He appears on pages 54 of the 1916 Rebellion Handbook under the list of RIR soldiers Killed or Died of Wounds.

He has a Medal Index Card showing the award of the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. No theatre is listed which is odd. As 3rd Battalion was a training unit/depot, not sure if he was entitled to the medals.

Rifleman Mark Bole, number 3/8691, has a Silver War Badge record which shows he enlisted 16th September 1915. James Nolan would have enlisted about the same time.

Edward Handley, soldier in Dublin

An interesting witness statement by soldier Edward Handley re his supplying arms to the Irish Citizen Army after 1916

Edward Handley witness statement

Much of this British Army service tallies with the Medal Index Card and Service Record of  8248, Corporal Edward Handley, who enlisted with the 4th Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers in October 1904, aged 17years 9months. Re-enlisted in November 1910.

Entered France 9th October 1914. Awarded the 1914 Star, Victory Medal and British War Medal for service during WW1.

Reduced to the ranks (Private) after deserting from 3rd May 1916. Court Martialled 27th June 1916.

Received a Gun Shot Wound to the right thigh in December 1914. Later transferred to the Labour Corps (as number 228123) and discharged in March 1919.

Edward Handley gets a mention in the witness statement of James O'Shea for his supply of arms

James O'Shea witness statement

Cadet J McCaughey : Dublin University Officer Training Corps (DUOTC)

I don't collect militaria etc but acquired a number of buttons that relate to Dublin University Officer Training Corps (DUOTC) as well as an identity bracelet for a DUOTC Cadet J McCaughey dated September 1918.

No McCaughey appears in the list of Defenders of Trinity College in the 1916 Rebellion Handbook.

The Irish Times has a 1917 article relating to students at Trinity College winning some prizes and a James McCaughey is mentioned. Possibly the J McCaughey on the identity bracelet.

A bit more research needed to find out what happened to J McCaughey. As the identity bracelet is dated September 1918, it's unlikely that he entered the Army/Navy/RAF in time to serve at the frontline.

Trinity Alumni
In the 1962 Register of the Alumni of Trinity College, Dublin, Reverend James McCaughey is recorded as an MA graduate (1919) living at The Manse, Howth, Co Dublin.

In the 1965 version of the register, his address is given as 3 Sandringham Drive, Bangor, Co Down. He is at this address in a 1970 phone directory.

A reference to Rev James McCaughey "up to 1962" in the following article :

Year of celebration for Malahide Presbyterians

The Misses Gosling

Buried away of page 107 of my copy of the 1916 Rebellion Handbook in a passage relating to the Kingstown Volunteer Corps is a reference to Miss Baird, Miss Nancy Gosling and Miss Lucy Gosling.

Miss Nancy Gosling gave her services voluntarily as typist to the APM (Assistant Provost Marshal).

Miss Baird and Miss Lucy Gosling acted in  the same office as telephone clerks.

I suspect that Nancy Gosling is Annie Eveline Gosling.

On the basis that the Goslings are named and likely related, I decided to delve in to the records to find out who they were. Miss Baird for a later bit of research.

In the 1901 census the Gosling family appear in Kingstown

Gosling family Kingstown 1901 census

The mother, Lucy Eveline, is a 32 year old widow (army Pensioner) with 4 daughters :

Annie Eveline aged 4 born Fermoy, Co Cork
Nellie Elizabeth aged 3 born England
Kathleen aged 3 born England
Lucy May aged 10 months born Dublin

Their religion is described as Congregationalist which is not something I'm familiar with.

As an army family with a deceased father, it's possible the father was killed during the Boer War. My initial delve in Boer War records came up with Colour Sgt George (Henry) Gosling of the 1st Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment who died of peritonitis in February 1901. A war memorial gives his middle initial as A rather than H - always a possibility that an H was badly written and became an A.

A search for marriage records for a Lucy Eveline came up with a marriage for Lucy Eveline Copland to George Henry Gosling.

1896 marriage for Lucy Eveline Copland

1896 marriage for George Henry Gosling

A birth record for Lucy Eveline Copland in 1868, gives the father as Thomas Cooke Copland and Annie/Anna  Porteous.

Birth record for Lucy Eveline Copland

Thomas Cooke Copland appears to have originated from Norfolk, worked in the Accounts Department of Public Works, and was in correspondence with Charles Darwin

Thomas Cooke Copland and Charles Darwin

In the 1911 census, the family are in Kingstown minus Annie but with a visitor, cousin Isabella Annie King

Gosling family Kingstown 1911 census

Annie Gosling 1911 census

The mother of Isabella Annie King is Isabella Porteous from Dublin. Possibly the sister of Annie/Anna Porteous given that she lists her relationship to Lucy Eveline as cousin?

Annie Eveline Gosling was appointed a telephonist in the Civil Service in London in 1920

London Gazette for Annie Eveline Gosling

but possibly married in Ireland in 1921

Marriage record for Annie Eveline Gosling

Isabella Annie King's family appear to have settled in West Ham, Essex/London.

A nephew of Isabella Annie King, John Jackson Porteous King, appears to have been conscripted into the Royal Army Medical Corps, number 99575, in 1916.

Curragh 1914

Paul O'Brien has launched a book re events at the Curragh in 1914 called A Question of Duty. More information from Paul's Facebook page :

A Question of Duty

or the Dublin 1916 Facebook page :

Dublin 1916

RTE have an article and radio interview (link on the page to YouTube) :

RTE article

WW1 Ireland on the BBC

The BBC has put together a series of articles/audio tracks re Ireland and WW1. Particulary interested in the Guinness episode though it doesn't really go into enough detail.

Programmes available at :

BBC World War One at Home

U-Boat Alley

A nice article here re U-Boats in the Irish Sea, lightships and some controversial sinkings.

Flanders Flotilla and U-Boat Alley

Of interest are the mine laying maps for Arklow, Dublin and Liverpool coastlines. These are from 1917 when it was becoming harder for U-Boats to operate.

It is strange that no U-Boat operated in this area during the Easter Rising given that re-inforcements from England would have to travel by sea (Liverpool to Kingstown in the case of the Sherwood Foresters for example).

U-Boat SM U-20

The U-20 appears to have been able to set out to sea shortly after the U-19 and to have sunk 6 ships from 30th April 1916:

30th April 1916 : Bakio (no information re casualties)

1st May 1916 : Bernadette (no information re casualties)

2nd May 1916 : Ruabon 0 casualties

3rd May 1916 :  Marie Molinos 0 casualties

6th May 1916 : Galgate 0 casualties

8th May 1916 : Cymric  5 casualties

U-Boat SM U-19

The U-19 was the u-boat that took Sir Roger Casement, Robert Monteith and Daniel Bailey from Germany to Ireland in 1916.

The task was originally given to U-20 but this vessel developed a fault shortly after starting out and had to return to port.

Having dropped Casement, Monteith and Bailey in Ireland, U-19 ventured towards the Bay of Biscay sinking 6 ships before returning to port :

21st April 1916  : Feliciana 0 casualties

22nd April 1916 :  Jozsef Agost Foherzeg 0 casualties

22nd April 1916 : Ross 0 casualties

23rd April 1916 : Parisiana 0 casualties

23rd April 1916 : Ribston 0 casualties

25th April 1916 : Carmanian 2 casualties (some accounts say 3)

New York Times

The King of Norway awards a silver cup to Father Tom Jones for leading the rescue of some of the Carmanian sailors off the coast of Kerry. Money and scrolls awarded to 3 farmers who aided in the rescue. All 4 receive awards from the Carnegie Trust.

The U-45 was operating nearby and sank 4 ships in the period to 2nd May 1916

27th April 1916 : Industry 0 casualties

30th April 1916 : Vinifreda 0 casualties

2nd May 1916 :  Le Pilier 0 casualties

2nd May 1916 :  Maud 0 casualties


The U-67 operated in the area before U-19 and U-45 sinking 3 ships :

16th April 1916 :  Cardonia 0 casualties

20th April 1916 :  Whitgift  32 dead, 1 survivor

22nd April 1916 : Chanaral 0 casualties


The sinking of the Cairngowan is mentioned in Danger Zone by E Keble Chatterton in a chapter on the Easter Rising. This was sunk by U-69 which appears to have been operating in the area off Kerry and to have sunk 8 ships in the period 15th to 20th April 1916.

Sherwood Foresters Diary

A copy of the Sherwood Foresters diary covering their formation, involvement in the Easter Rising/Ireland and transfer to France, can be found at :


Sherwood Foresters Diary

The Belgian Coast Barrage

At 5am on the 24th April 1916, work began on the Belgian Coast Barrage, a scheme devised by Vice Admiral Sir Reginald Bacon, commander of the Dover Patrol,  to lay mines and mine nets near the Belgian coast. The aim of the barrage was to interrupt the work of the German naval forces at Zeebrugge etc - German U-Boats based here were causing problems and the surface vessels were a constant threat.

A number of merchant ships were converted to minelayers (Orvieto, Paris, Princess Margaret and Biarritz) supported by small trawlers (Welbeck, Carmania, Osta, Shackleton, Ostrich and Russell) and drifters. About 1421 mines were laid.

On the 25th April, UB13 was caught in one of the first nets and destroyed. It should have been helping the German naval ships involved in the raid on Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth.

The German ships heading to Lowestoft were met in the early hours of the 25th April 1916 by ships from the Harwich Force commanded by Commodore Reginald Tyrwhitt. The Harwich Force was weaker than it should have been - 12 destroyers had been taken away to defend the ships laying mines for the Belgian Coastal Barrage.

The Harwich Force ships HMS Conquest and HMS Penelope suffered damage and casualties in the above encounter.

There were a number of incidents during the laying of the barrage :

- the drifter Clover Bank hit one of the newly laid British mines on the 24th April during the barrage laying operation. 18 dead.

- the drifter Au Fait was shelled and captured. Her crew was taken prisoner and the boat sunk.

- Harwich Force destroyers Milne, Medea, Melpomene and Murray were involved in a fight with 3 German destroyers from Zeebrugge on the 24th April 1916 while they were defending the minelayers and drifters. All four ships suffered damage; Medea lost 2 killed in action and 1 who later died of wounds.

The Belgian Coast Barrage was completed 26th May 1916.

On the 27th May 1916, u-boat UC-3, a mine laying u-boat, was destroyed by a mine off the coast near Zeebrugge. Her 18 crew all died. She had destroyed one ship off the Suffolk coast before her destruction, The Golcanda was destroyed on the 3rd June 1916 by a mine newly laid by UC-3.

In September 1916, work began on the Cross Channel Barrage which would work in a similar manner to the Belgian Coast Barrage.


April 24th 1916 was also the date that German u-boats were ordered to cease unrestricted warfare against merchant ships, a result of pressure from the still neutral USA.

Irish Army Vehicles

Just arrived in the post - "Irish Army Vehicles - Transport and Armour since 1922" by Karl Martin.

Some really nice photos of a wide range of vehicles used by the National Army, Free State Army and so on. Lots of data to work through too (and yet another book to source - "Irish Army Armoured Cars" by Karl Martin)

Young Cassidy 1965

One of the problems with films that depict an historical event is that images start appearing from the film and people purporting the images to be from the actual event.

The following picture from Getty Images library appeared in the 2006 Easter Rising supplement for the Irish Times but is actually a photo taken during filming of an Easter Rising scene in the 1965 film Young Cassidy, starring Rod Taylor :

Young Cassidy - Getty Images

The big giveaway is the registration number of the car in the barricade (a 1950's car from Co Kilkenny) and the helmets on a couple of soldiers. Is that a cameraman sitting cross legged in the middle of the street with the Volunteers? The crowd of on lookers at the end of the street would be in danger if those were real bullets flying around.

The clearest version online appears in the following article

A Young Nationalist in the Easter Rising

The photo appears on a Doyle clan page and was being pushed as authentic via the Facebook page of Stair na hEireann. It also appears in a video clip from the Easter Rising Coach Tour Company :

Doyle Clan page

Stair na hEireann Facebook page

1916 Easter Rising Coach Tour

Mrs Frances Gaze

73year old Frances (Fanny) Gaze apparently died of fright on 24/25th April 1916, caused by a German Zeppelin dropping it's bomb load in North Norfolk after an unsuccessful attempt to find it's target under a thick blanket of fog.

Western Front Association article re Frances Gaze

Submarine E22

Harwich based submarine E22 was sunk by German U-Boat UB18 on the morning of 25th April 1916 off the Suffolk coast.

31 crew appeared to have died as a result of the torpedo fired by UB18. 2 crew were picked up by UB18 (Frederick Buckingham and William Harrod) and taken to Zeebrugge as Prisoners of War.

What makes E22 unusual is that it was a submarine fitted with 2 Sopwith Schneider aircraft for use intercepting Zeppelins. E22 had been in a group of 4 submarines travelling on the surface when attacked by UB18.


The following day, UB18 captured and scuttled the Alfred off the coast of Lowestoft. No casualties were inflicted.

UB18 was herself sunk in December 1917.

HMY Goissa - HMS Invincible

After the German Navy withdrew after the bombardment of Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth, ships of the Royal Navy headed home.

HMY Goissa collided with HMS Invincible on the way back to port.

Goissa appears to have suffered 4 dead (William Grimble, Donald McLeod, James Stewart and William Warne) while Invincible suffered 1 death (John Todd)

HMT King Stephen - Q Ship

The ship HMT King Stephen was captured and sunk by the German Navy torpedo boat SMS G41 on the 24th April 1916. She was working as a Q Ship (hidden armament) to lure U-Boats into action but had the misfortune to steam in the German High Seas Fleet involved in the bombardment of Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth.

Lt Phillips RNR and the rest of the crew were taken prisoner and the boat sunk.

The Germans were interested in the crew of this ship as it had left the crew of the Zeppelin L19 to drown (it had been damaged on an air raid and crashed into the sea and 19 crew were counted as being alive). Phillips had to prove that he and the crew were not the men who abandoned the L19 men to die. Phillips and his men had only recently joined the King Stephen after it had been requisitioned by the Admiralty.

German Navy - Easter Rising

While the role of the Castro/Libau (posing as the Aud) and u-boat SM U-19 are generally known about in the context of the Easter Rising, few seem to know about the supporting German Navy/Zeppelin activities and deaths.

Elements of the German Navy (Kaiserliche) and 8 Zeppelins left port on the 24th April 1916. A large group headed towards Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth to bombard the towns (and entice elements of the Royal Navy into battle).

During this operation, the German battleship Seydlitz struck a mine and suffered casualties. Numbers cited are 12 German sailors dead.

The Royal Navy vessel HMS Conquest suffered 25 dead and 13 wounded.  The Horus and Alfred were captured by German vessels with the Alfred being scuttled on the 25th April 1916.

In addition, the submarine UB13 of the Flanders Flotilla departed Zeebrugge on the 24th April 1916 as part of the operation. It struck a mine soon after leaving Zeebrugge and all 17 crew were killed.

The British submarine E22 was also sunk along with 2 aircraft it was testing as part of an anti-Zeppelin experiment. 31 crew were killed; 2 of the crew were captured and taken aboard u-boat UB18.

For a list of Royal Navy casualties from this operation go to :

https://johnny-doyle.blogspot.com/2016/03/royal-navy-casualties-easter-1916.html

The following is a nice document from 1927 that goes into detail re the German raid on Lowestoft :

http://www.navy.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/Naval-Staff-Monographs-Vol.XVI_opt.pdf




SMS Seydlitz dead :

http://www.denkmalprojekt.org/2016/kaiserl-marine-sm-grosser-kreuzer-seydlitz-wk1.html

 

UB13 dead :