No 7 Officer Training Battalion

In February 1916 Officer Training Battalions (aka Officer Cadet Battalions) were introduced to improve the training of new officers going to the frontline.

Cadets entering the battalions were either from the ranks with experience or from the various Officer Training Corps units around the UK.

Cadet George MacKay had been with the Inns of Court OTC before joining with No 7 Officer Training Battalion based at Moore Park, Fermoy, Co Cork (though MacKay looks to have been at the Curragh for his training).


Problems appear to have arisen early on with Fermoy being declared out of bounds for a while, with a question being raised at Westminster.


Some links re soldiers identified as No 7 OTB and the unit in general collected so far :

Lt Michael O'Donnell

Lt R A Whittle

2nd Lt Charles Cooney

Frank Laird

2nd Lt James Kennedy

2nd Lt H M Hughes

2nd Lt James Furniss

2nd Lt A K Chesterton (Journalist, later worked with Oswald Mosley and British Union of Fascists)

2nd Lt Philip Ward

2nd Lt Walter Newton

2nd Lt Cecil King

Easter Rising and the Arrest of the Kent Family
Cadets from the unit appear to have been involved in the arrest of Thomas Kent and the shooting of his brothers after the Easter Rising (Witness Statement of RIC Constable Frank King who took part in the arrest) : 

Arrest of Kent Family, Co Cork


A magazine called The White Band or The Whitest Band (a reference to the band generally on the Cadets hat) appears to have been produced by the unit and is referenced on the IWM site but lacking detail.

Who Do You Think You Are (WDYTYA)

The WDYTYA episode re Judi Dench's father Reginald Dench missed the document that showed he was in Fermoy during the Rising and most likely a member of this unit. The programme didn't touch on the address of Reginald Dench's wife at the time of their marriage in 1924 - 29 Northumberland Road, Dublin - and the proximity to the battle that took place around number 25.

The Surrender

In the Irish Times 1916 Irish Rebellion Handbook, the surrender of Eamon De Valera is mentioned as follows :

Dr. Myles Keogh, who, in company with Mr. 
L. G. Redmond Howard and others, acted so 
bravely in rescuing the wounded, tells of the 
actual incident of the surrender of De Valera 
near Ringsend. Dr. Keogh had just returned 
at half-past twelve from Glasnevin Cemetery, 
where he conveyed under the Red Cross flag 
the remains of a civilian who had been fatally 
wounded at Mount street Bridge. Dr. Keogh 
had dismounted from the hearse and entered 
the hall of Sir Patrick Dun's Hospital, when 
two men came out of the Poor Law Dispensary 
opposite, in which the Sinn Feiners were 
installed. One was a military cadet who 
had been captured by the Sinn 
Feiners, the other was the Sinn Fein leader 
De Valera. "Hullo!'' cried De Valera. 
"Who are you?" replied Dr. Myles Keogh. 
The response was, " I am De Valera," from 
one, and from the ether it was; "I am a 
prisoner for the last five days. They want to 
surrender." De Valera asked permission to use 
the hospital telephone, in order to communi- 
cate with the military authorities. Dr. 
Keogh sent for Sir Arthur Ball, M.D., who 
informed De Valera that the telephone com- 
munication had been cut off, and suggested 
that he should proceed to the nearest mili- 
tary position, at the head of Grattan street, 
off Lower Mount street. 


The military cadet mentioned is George Frederick MacKay from the previous blog post.

After the surrender, MacKay was arrested and taken with the Volunteers to the Royal Dublin Society showground and held for a short while as a prisoner once again.

The Dr Myles Keogh mentioned in the surrender text above speaking with De Valera and Cadet MacKay was a Dental Surgeon who helped with the wounded of all sides at the fighting at Mount St. He was a Justice of the Peace and witnessed Kevin Barry's statement in Mountjoy Prison and campaigned for clemency for Barry. Keogh was later a TD.

The L G Redmond Howard mentioned in the surrender is Louis George Redmond-Howard, nephew/biographer of Irish Nationalist leader John Redmond and author of "Six Days of the Irish Republic" amongst other books.

Cadet G F Mackay

A number of Easter Rising books/documents touch on a British Army Cadet G F Mackay as being captured at the start of the Easter Rising and held at Boland' Mill until the end of the Rising :

Max Caulfield's The Easter Rebellion

http://archive.org/stream/irishrebelliona01joygoog/irishrebelliona01joygoog_djvu.txt

http://lenus.ie/hse/bitstream/10147/46224/1/956.pdf

There is an actors voiceover providing a recording of Cadet Mackays' experiences (based on an account in the Ampleforth Journal of 1916)

http://www.museum.ie/en/exhibition/list/audio-accountsbooklet.aspx?article=1f3ddf7c-22f6-4380-a635-74a7dc555dbd

In an educational resource pack, he appears to have written to Eamon De Valera congratulating his former captor on becoming President in Ireland; he appears to have become a Lt Colonel

http://www.ria.ie/getmedia/fe3d1c0d-d046-4543-9cdb-9c603951b3da/Documents-resource-pack-for-dev.pdf.aspx

He stated he was 18 in 1916.

The nearest name that matches is George F(rederick) Mackay in the 1901 census for Ireland

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Wexford/Courtown/Courtown_Harbour/1794027/

This chap and his brother Charles (Joseph) MacKay are at Ampleforth school in the 1911 census and are then referenced in the Ampleforth Journal re war service, both in the Leinster Regt and then RFC (G F Mackay is also referenced as RAF). In the 1911 census, George is listed as born Co Cork and Charles born in Co Westmeath.

http://www.archive.org/stream/ampleforthjourna23yorkuoft/ampleforthjourna23yorkuoft_djvu.txt

A digitised record for George Frederick MacKay from the UK National Archives gives his date of birth as 7th June 1897, Mitchelstown, Cork/Limerick. Shows addresses in  Hove, Sussex and Accra, Gold Coast, West Africa.

His RFC record has not been digitised yet.

There is a WW2 war grave that mentions a Lt Col G F Mackay living in Jersey.

http://twgpp.org/information.php?id=2815537

and this appears to be George Frederick MacKay.

George Frederick MacKay died in Brighton, England in 1968 aged 71. His wife Sonia Mary MacKay died in 1978 aged 76.

Books re Naval activity in Ireland during WW1

I managed to pick up a copy of Secret Victory by Liam Nolan and John Nolan on a visit to Dublin last year. While I had a vague awareness of the role of the Helga and other ships in the Easter Rising, the sinking of the Lusitania and RMS Leinster and a passing awareness of anti submarine operations by air ships I didn't have a good grasp of naval activity in Ireland, either British or American.

The following books have now been acquired and read :

Pull Together by Admiral Lewis Bayly
Danger Zone by Edward Chatterton
My Mystery Ships by ADmiral Campbell
Liffey Ships and Shipbuilding by Pat Sweeney (the Helga claimed to have sunk a U boat off the Isle of Man on 4th April 1918)
The Sea Hound by Daire Brunicardi
RAF and US Naval Air Service in Ireland 1913-1923 by Karl Hayes

All good reads offering different insights into naval issues in Ireland during WW1 (and beyond in the case of The Sea Hound and Liffey Ships and Shipbuilding).

Kevin Barry, Dublin, 1920

Kevin Barry was just 18 when he was hung by executioner John Ellis in Dublin in November 1920.

The 3 British soldiers who died as a result of the raid on Monk's Bakery where Kevin Barry was captured were :


Private Harold Washington, aged 15 (born Salford, Lancashire on 4th October 1904). Died at the scene of the raid.

http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/378591/WASHINGTON,%20H

Findagrave


Private Marshall Whitehead, aged 20, born 3rd quarter (July to September) 1900. Died of wounds.

http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2751877/WHITEHEAD,%20MARSHALL

Findagrave


Private Thomas Humphries, aged 19. Died of wounds.

http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/411232/HUMPHRIES,%20T

Findagrave


A wide range of propaganda was generated re the young age of Kevin Barry. The British don't appear to have countered this propaganda very well - there doesn't appear to have been too much done to use the age of Private Washington in relation to pressure re Kevin Barry's age (Harold Washington's death registration lists him as 19). 

Children killed during the Easter Rising

Links to a couple of articles by Joe Duffy at RTE re the children killed during the Easter Rising

30 children :
http://www.rte.ie/radio1/liveline/generic/2013/0215/367956-special-features/

30 children
http://www.herald.ie/news/joes-easter-rising-search-29088039.html

38 children
http://www.rte.ie/radio1/the-history-show/programmes/2013/0324/376691-the-history-show-sunday-24-march-2013/?clipid=1030745

There is an entry above mentioning George Playfair. George wasn't a reservist (reservists were called up in 1914 to become regulars) but he was a Civil Servant. I did an earlier blog re his father.

Missing from the list was 16year old Neville Fryday who was a member of the Canadian Army and on leave in Dublin at the time of the Rising. Neville had lied about his age when enlisting. Joe Duffy had now added Neville to his list but John Jessop has dropped off (he was older than originally thought) so the list is still at 38.

An old document listing the members of the Fianna killed during the Rising can be found here :

http://digital.ucd.ie/get/ivrla:30626/pdf

Hugh Coffey Love

In October 1916 (Reverend?) Hugh Coffey Love (5th December 1871 to 31st May 1948) was appointed Secretary of the Rebellion (Victims) Committee following the Easter Rising. The address given for correspondence was 13 St Stephen's Green, Dublin.

He also gets a mention in James Joyce's book Ulysses as a priggish clergyman. He also appears to have won a Royal Humane Society Bronze Medal in 1917 for rescuing a woman who had thrown herself into the River Liffey.

1871 Born in Belfast, father John Love (1836-1887), mother Mary Jane Love, nee Coffey, (1840 - 1920)

April 1888 exam in Belfast

April 1888 Boy Clerk in the London Gazette

May 1888 Post Office appointment in te London Gazette

December 1890  exam in Belfast

1899 Baptism of his son where he is listed as a Civil Servant

January 1891 posting in the London Gazette

1901 Census for Hugh Love and family

1911 Census for Hugh Love and family

1916 National Archives Procedure of the Rebellion (Victims) Committee

1925 appointment to Ministry of Education in Northern Ireland

1948 Died in Belfast