Ireland's Military Story

Category: Irish Defence Forces

  • Irish Soldier, Aviator, Pioneer – Colonel James M.C. Fitzmaurice D.F.C. 1898-1965

    Irish Soldier, Aviator, Pioneer – Colonel James M.C. Fitzmaurice D.F.C. 1898-1965

    Irish Soldier, Aviator, Pioneer – Colonel James M.C. Fitzmaurice D.F.C. 1898-1965

    By Michael J. Whelan – Curator: Irish Air Corps Museum (Images courtesy of Irish Air Corps Photographic Section)

    Published Winter 2015

    It is impossible to invest in an article of this size the magnitude of the career James Fitzmaurice who, during an adventurous lifetime; had survived the trenches of the Great War, was one of Ireland’s first military flying officers and had become a world famous aviator and an early pioneer of aviation’s potential in Ireland and abroad. But his eventful and courageous life during the dawning of the aviation story in the first half of the 20th Century has all but been neglected.

    James M.C. Fitzmaurice D.F.C.

    Early Life

    James was born on 6 January 1898, when the family – Michael Fitzmaurice and Mary Agnes O’Riordan – were living on the North Circular in Dublin City. When he was aged four, in 1902, the family moved to a house on the Dublin Road in Portlaoise, Co. Laois, where James attended St. Mary’s Christian Brothers School until shortly before his sixteenth birthday. But James had a hankering for adventure and the life of a soldier was a good place to find it.

    Ireland at this time was still part of the British Empire and much of the politics of the day centred around the possibilities or otherwise of Irish autonomy. James seems to have paid particular attention to the political scene and the seismic events happening around the world and their impact at home. By 1913 Irish society was fracturing over the divisive issue of Home Rule with the Ulster Volunteer Force being formed to oppose its introduction and the Irish Volunteers to defend it.  Both movements had started in earnest to covertly procure weapons and train thousands of volunteers for the possibility of civil war.

    The Great War

    In early 1914, James was said to have joined the Irish Volunteers and may have taken part in the landing of weapons at Howth Harbour. In August of that same year the Great War broke out and he immediately enlisted in a cadet company of the 7th Battalion Leinster Fusiliers, he was sixteen years of age. His father, discovering this, managed to pull him out. The required age for enlistment in the army was a minimum of nineteen years but many boys had lied about their age in the rush to take part in the war. James, however, was adamant and by 1915 he had re-enlisted in the 17th Lancers – the Death or Glory Boys – famed for their part in the actions at Balaclava during the Crimean War. He was still very much underage when he reported to the Curragh Camp in Co. Kildare for training, where he would learn the skills of the mounted soldier. James must have made an impression as he was soon promoted to Lance Corporal. But he soon discovered that the skills of a well-trained mounted trooper would not lend themselves to the warfare being conducted in the trenches of the Western Front.

    News of the ever-worsening conditions at the Front must have been received with anxious trepidations when James arrived at the vast infantry training camp at Etampes in France in May 1916. James, now seventeen years old, was given the news that they would be going into the trenches as ordinary infantry soldier. The opposing front lines of the two warring armies were separated in many cases only by mere yards of No-Man’s Land. The arriving drafts of Lancers were split up and sent to various infantry units. The urgent need for replacements in formations due to the attrition of the fighting meant that Irishmen didn’t always end up in Irish Regiments and after handing in his Lance, sword and kit he was posted to the 7th Battalion the Queen’s Royal (West Surrey) Regiment, the Second Regiment of Foot, which at the time formed part of the 55th Brigade of the British 18th Division who had been in almost continuous action since arriving in theatre ten months earlier. The regiment’s survivors were by now very seasoned soldiers and after a crash course on how to be an infantryman James felt he would benefit from their experiences.

    By this time plans were well advanced for the greatest assault of the war, which would turn out to be one of the bloodiest battles in the history of warfare. James’ first exposure to actual warfare involved transporting food, equipment and other essentials up to the front lines over the broken ground of earlier battles, the detritus marking the routes with dead bodies, his first experience of seeing death. But he would go on to fight in many actions including the long Battle of the Somme, the first day of which saw over 60,000 casualties alone and in September his battalion took part in the successful but costly assault on the infamous and well defended German enclave known as the Schwaben Redoubt. In this and later actions James was noted for his daring and courage, often volunteering for night patrols and trench raids but he himself put these down to: ‘only going on those nerve-wracking expeditions because I dreaded staying in the trenches’.

    Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force

    He was injured twice during his active service on the Western Front. By the last months of the war James had received a commission and was successful in applying for pilot training with the Royal Flying Corps. By November 1918, he was eager to return to the Front but when his orders for sailing came through on the 11th, it was too late. Armistice meant James’ war was over but he did however serve in the Army of Occupation in 1919 with the Army Air Corps and it was during this period that he was selected to undertake the First Night Mail Flight (Folkstone to Bologne) and later for the Cape to Cairo Flight, the latter never getting off the ground. The experimental Air Mail Service ended soon after and between September and November 1919 James commanded the 6th Wing Working Party of the Royal Air Force assigned to the selling off of surplus useful materials and paying and demobilising of staff at six de-activated aerodromes in England. In December his orders came through and James was a civilian once more, spending the best part of the next two years selling insurance for North British and Mercantile Insurance Company. He was recalled to the newly formed Royal Air Force on a short-term commission of four to six years in May of 1921 with No. 5 Fighter Squadron but resigned again in August of that year.

    The Fledgling Irish Air Corps and the Crossing of the Atlantic

    The all metal Junkers W.33 aircraft ‘Bremen’ prior to take off in Baldonnel Aerodrome. (Image courtesy of Irish Air Corps Photographic Section)

    In 1922 James joined the fledgling Irish Army Air Service in Dublin following the end of the War of Independence and the formation of the Irish Free State. The first dozen pilots were all Great War veterans. He served for the duration of the Irish Civil War and by October 1925 he was second in command in of the now named Irish Air Corps based at Baldonnel Aerodrome. On 16 September 1927, his first physical attempt at crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by air with Captain R.H. MacIntosh ‘All Weather Mac’ in their single engine Fokker F.VII called, Princess Xenia, G-EBTS aircraft was beaten back by weather after 500 miles. However on 12 April 1928, he once again took off from Baldonnel as co-pilot on the first successful East-West non-stop transatlantic flight with Herman Koehl, a German Great War veteran, and Baron Gunther Von Hunefeld as navigator in an all metal Junkers W.33 aircraft registered D-1167 named the Bremen. On route to New York and roughly half way across the Atlantic, the Bremen encountered severe weather conditions and mechanical problems and as a result the crew found themselves somewhat off course and worried about the success of their mission. Changing course the crew landed on a frozen reservoir on Greenly Island in Newfoundland 39 and a 1/2 hours after departing Baldonnel placing themselves and Ireland on the romantic mantle of world aviation history. They would be given many accolades beginning with United States President, Calvin Coolidge, presenting the crew with the Distinguished Flying Cross, the first to be awarded to non-American Citizens. On returning to Dublin they were given the Freedom of the City before briefly meeting the abdicated Kaiser in Holland.

    Captain James Fitzmaurice with Herman Koehl and Baron Gunther Von Hunefeld after their successful Trans-Atlantic Flight. (Image courtesy of Irish Air Corp Photographic Section)

    Later Years

    Captain Fitzmaurice was promoted to Major and in August to Colonel, his new rank backdated one year with pay. In February, the following year he resigned from the Irish Air Corps and spent some years in the United States and Europe, while involved in trying unsuccessfully to get a number of aviation related ventures off the ground. During the Second World War he operated a club for servicemen in London and in the late 1940s returned to Ireland in pursuit of work. Although celebrated in Europe at various times for his courageous feat over the Atlantic in 1928, James felt that he was forgotten at home in Ireland. He had always felt that the Irish authorities neglected his achievements and pursuits. Fitzmaurice, possibly because of post-independence Irish nationalistic conditioning towards anything English, was to a certain extent the victim of his own successes and what was said to be his invented English accent and persona.

    Remarking on his earlier application to the Irish authorities to back an all Irish transatlantic bid using the Martinsyde type A, MkII aircraft – the ‘Big Fella’ (famed for being purchased and kept on standby to retrieve Michael Collins from London during the possible failure of the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations in 1921 and being the first airframe owned by the Provisional Irish People and subsequently the Irish Air Service in 1922), he was quoted:

    On Sunday, 27 September 2015, Brigadier General Paul Fry – General Officer Commanding the Irish Air Corps, during a ceremony in Portlaoise town, laid a wreath on behalf of the Air Corps at the Fitzmaurice Memorial to remember the life and career of Colonel James Fitzmaurice on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of his death. (Photo by Airwoman Laura McHale, Irish Air Corps Photographic Section)

    ‘If you have the misfortune to do anything useful for Ireland, they (the Irish) do everything possible to destroy you. Then when you are dead, they dig you up and laud your praises as a bolster to their own mediocrity’.

    By the early 1960’s James had become frail and was living in Dublin at lodgings of various standards. The Irish Air Corps Museum collection holds a handwritten letter from James dated 1962, in which he thanks the officers for not forgetting him in his infirmities and for sending a £10 Hamper sent to tide him over the Christmas after they had discovered his rough circumstances. Soon afterwards he visited his old command at Baldonnel (by this time renamed Casement Aerodrome) and met some old comrades from the Bremen days. James died in Baggot St. Hospital on Sunday 26 September 1965, age 67. He was given a State Funeral, his coffin covered by the Irish Tricolour, and buried in Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin.

    The Irish Air Corps are home to several artefacts and paraphernalia related to Fitzmaurice’s military career as well as the marked site of the Bremen departure in 1928. South Dublin County Council has also marked a number of sites using Fitzmaurice as a place-name in the county. In 1998 Portlaoise County Council erected a monument in the shape of the Bremen wing to their adopted aviator. The memorial has been recently refurbished and is cared for at Fitzmaurice Place by members of the Irish United Nations Veterans Association.

  • MEMOIRS OF A PEACEKEEPER – CoY SGt Henry ‘Harry’ Mulhern (Retd)

    MEMOIRS OF A PEACEKEEPER

    A Tour of Duty with 49th Infantry Battalion UNIFIL

    Company Sergeant Henry ‘Harry’ Mulhern (Retd) tells his story

    Published in Winter 2015

    The Irish Defence Forces peacekeeping role in South Lebanon is renowned throughout the world for its professionalism and bravery. At times under harrowing conditions the Irish peacekeepers have helped bring stability to a war-torn region. The first Irish infantry battalion (43rd Infantry Battalion) deployed to South Lebanon serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in May 1978. The following are the personal accounts of Harry Mulhern in South Lebanon in the period March-November 1981 while serving with the 49th Infantry Battalion UNIFIL. They represent a window into the work of Irish peacekeepers working thousands of miles from home in the cause of peace at a time when communication home was no more than newspapers and letters from family. At the time Harry was a Company Sergeant with 2nd Garrison Supply & Transport Company in Mckee Barracks. Aged 35, Harry had previously served twice with the United Nations (UN) in Cyprus.

    The Last Day in Before Deployment

    On 27 April 1981, at Cathal Brugha Barracks, Rathmines, Dublin, the second contingent of the 49th Infantry Battalion were preparing for departure to South Lebanon. This last day of departure would be the culmination after weeks of preparation and training. It involved bringing together hundreds of soldiers from barracks around the country to form a single unit, all of them volunteers. By the time of departure, the soldiers, who would be working closely together for the duration of the six-month tour were well acquainted, had formed a bond and were ready for the challenges ahead. This last day would be filled with mixed emotions. Some of the personnel were seasoned travellers, having served a number of tours previously in Lebanon and elsewhere.

    Company Sergeant Henry ‘Harry’
    Mulhern,

    ‘The replacement of a Battalion or Infantry Group overseas is processed in three stages known as Chalks to allow for familiarisation and adaptation. This final day of preparation was a busy one for the administrative and operational supervisory staff. One of their priorities was to ensure that everyone due to leave presented themselves and final preparations were made for transport to Dublin Airport. Those reporting for travel came from every corner of the country having made their farewells to family and friends. Kit and baggage were already at the airport and loaded’.

    As the peacekeepers went through their final preparations, reports came in to Army Headquarters of a serious incident in the Irish Area of Operations (AO) in South Lebanon, with casualties involved. It did not take long for this news to filter down to the awaiting peacekeepers in Cathal Brugha.

    Later in the evening verification came that the incident in Lebanon earlier in the day involved a shooting and abduction of Irish personnel. ‘The casualty, a young soldier from Chalk One of our battalion was dead. This was shocking information. The young soldier who died was less than two weeks into his tour of duty. All of this information would have been included on evening news bulletins with names withheld. In 1981 there were no mobile phones and anxious families around the country started ringing military barracks asking questions following the public release of the report. A sombre cloud descended over all at Cathal Brugha Barracks’.

    A religious service was held in the Barrack Chapel. It was customary and traditional; on this occasion it was attended by the overwhelming majority of those leaving and was particularly poignant. It was later confirmed that Saighdiúr Singil Caomhán Seoighe (Kevin Joyce, 48th Infantry Battalion) and Private Hugh Doherty who had only arrived with Chalk One, had been attacked at their Observation Post (OP) and abducted. Doherty was later confirmed killed. Seogihe was never found.

    Despite the bad news the morale among the troops still held well. There was no question of people deciding not to go. That night all of the men enjoyed a final drink and sing along in the various mess bars and a good Irish steak.

    ‘A separate building in the airport was used in those times for military departures and with only those travelling present it was a quiet farewell to homeland. However, as we walked to the aircraft a group of women shouted and cheered through a side entrance, heart-warming stuff it was. We learned afterwards they were airport staff. We flew throughout the night into the early dawn and were well tended to during the flight by staff of Aer Lingus’.

    Lebanon or Israel?

    Originally due to land in Beirut, the flight had to be diverted to Tel Aviv, Israel. ‘We landed there safely and disembarked in beautiful sunshine. Officials kept us away from airport buildings while we waited for the transport convoy to Lebanon and the AO for the Irish Battalion. On the airport campus at Tel Aviv everyone was armed, military, civilian police and civilian airport workers. It was noticed that we still wore black berets and these had to be removed quickly as they resembled those worn by elements in the Middle East who were not friendly towards the Israelis’.

    In the early evening, the Irish peacekeepers departed for the Israeli/Lebanon border. There were long delays at the Naqoura crossing into Lebanon while diplomatic negotiations took place and the Israelis satisfied themselves that the Irish were indeed who they claimed to be. UNIFIL HQ was situated at Naqoura.

    ‘In the end they relented and we crossed into Lebanon where a heavily armed escort awaited. The final part of the journey was via a rural climbing landscape toward South Lebanon. Arriving late after dark, we were quietly welcomed by our comrades in position there. The atmosphere was sombre and tense, but by that time we were very tired and ready for sleep’.

    This was the beginning of Harry Mulhern’s six-month tour of duty.

    Valley of Total and the Transport Element

    At that time, the main Irish base was at Camp Shamrock on the outskirts of the village of Tibnin. The Irish Battalion was structured into HQ Company, three infantry companies (A, B and C), and an armoured Force Mobile Reserve (FMR). Peacekeepers rotated from this camp to outlying OPs. Camp Shamrock was well laid out with modern dining facilities, sleeping quarters, and showers. The area of Tibnin had its beauty and charm and the local people were warm toward anything Irish. The Irish peacekeepers were well respected as they watched over areas which were volatile and liable to flare up at any moment; the local and background knowledge they possessed; and the ability to communicate anticipated trouble all helped to prevent incursions into the area by armed factions.  

    Harry was based at the Valley of Total, the base of the Transport Element of the Irish Battalion and the Fuel Supply Depot for the entire UN force in Lebanon. The Valley at Total was situated about one kilometre from Camp Shamrock and the village of Tibnin. There was a petrol station with one resident family. The garage attached to the petrol station was used as workshops and technical stores by the transport element of the battalion. It was side-of-the- road operations with little facilities.

    ‘We had a fleet of very old American M50 and M35 Trucks, three Cherokee Jeeps, three water tankers, a couple of run arounds and a recovery vehicle. All of the vehicles (with the exception of the Cherokees) were old and in need of replacement. Conditions for the mechanics were very basic with major repairs and parts replacements taking place at the side-of-the-road and under very hot or very cold conditions depending on the time of year’.

    Harry with members of the 49th Infantry Battalion’s Transport Element

    The best-known vehicle and one of the most important for the Irish battalion logistically, was the MAM Diesel – a heavy duty tractor unit with two refrigerated containers. The MAM travelled daily to the Israeli border collecting supplies for the battalion. With a heavily armed escort it would travel daily out of the Battalion AO to Naqoura on the Israeli Border. This journey involved passing through territory, towns and villages under the control of the various armed elements including the Peoples Liberation Organization and Phalangists (members of the Kataeb party originally a Maronite paramilitary youth organisation). The Transport Element also operated a fuel supply service for all of UNIFIL.

    ‘Overseas the role of senior NCO has more responsibilities for example: maintaining the discipline and morale in far more difficult conditions than at home, keeping close contact with all of the men and dealing with any issues they might have in a supportive way. We lived in three prefab buildings; a primitive shower had been built and a television had been bought. There was nowhere to go in a mission area such as this apart from the danger of leaving the camp area, so you had to make your own entertainment. Weapons were always near at hand. Drivers carried loaded weapons at all times’.

    The Dangers of the Job

    Mid-summer, high in the mountains of South Lebanon, brought with it very high temperatures. The evenings though because of the altitude brought cooler conditions. In the Valley of Total those cool summer evenings brought welcome relief. ‘In the course of one of those evenings I was alerted by screams and shouting coming from the vicinity of the fuel supply area’. The Irish Transport Group held bulk stocks of petrol and diesel fuel and were the supply source for the various contingents of troops serving there at the time. Two underground tanks held in the vicinity of 9,000 litres of fuel. On this evening a Dutch military fuel tanker was loading fuel. It was pumped through an extending arm from source by an electrical pump. ‘

    ‘This pump had to be primed before use and was poor side-of-the-road technology. The Dutch driver was having trouble with the pump. It had stopped halfway through the fill. Trying to restart it he was joined by the Irish Petrol, Oil and Lubricants Sergeant, Paddy Denton, who was returning with a supply convoy from Naqoura. Paddy, familiar with the apparatus, set about re-priming the pump when it suddenly exploded covering him and the Dutch driver with burning fuel. A building which served as an office for the fuel Supply Staff quickly also caught fire’.

    Harry and the Transport Element at Total

    The bulk of the Irish transport personnel who were within shouting distance in the nearby football field heard the commotion and came running. At this time, the pump was ablaze and also part of the feed pipe to the tanker. It was a potentially serious and dangerous situation.

    ‘I had summoned help through the Battalion Operations Room (Sergeant Dave Abbott) who acted immediately. With the exception of three NCOs and myself all of the personnel were sent out of the danger area. Two of these NCOs, Sergeant Tom Flynn and Corporal Pat Looney ran towards the fire. While Sergeant Flynn mounted the vehicle, Corporal Looney ran to the end of the feed pipe (which was at this time on fire) and with heroic courage disconnected it from the tanker. Not having a normal ignition and start control Sergeant Flynn had some difficulty starting the vehicle. But in due course he succeeded and managed to move the vehicle out of the danger area. A third NCO, Sergeant Jim Burns stopped a passing armoured vehicle and loaded the injured aboard. By coincidence this vehicle was also Dutch’.

    The injured were brought to the Irish Medical Facility at Tibnin. Sergeant Denton had serious burn injuries to his upper body while the Dutch driver had significant but less serious injuries. A nearby Norwegian camp had a Fire Engine which was dispatched to the scene. It brought the fire under control before it could endanger the main fuel storage site. If the peacekeepers had lost control of the fire the outcome for the valley and the nearby village would have been grave.

    The events of that evening were one of many life-threatening situations encountered regularly on active duty in South Lebanon. But this critical situation was met with calmness and professionalism and in the case of Sergeant Flynn and Corporal Looney, with great courage and heroism. Commendations for the actions on the night by the NCOs who remained at the scene were received from the Commander of the Dutch Contingent and of course, the Irish Commander who received the personnel and personally congratulated them.

    ‘For the Irish Commander it was a relief, that rapid and decisive effective actions prevented a more serious outcome. This battalion had already incurred casualties in the course of the tour’.

    Incidents an incursions

    There were incidents and incursions on a daily basis during that period of UNIFIL. The effects of the 1978 Israeli invasion still lingered and tensions remained high across the border. Lebanon’s Civil War continued. As a result of both UNIFIL personnel regularly got caught in the middle of firefights, shellings, mines, and roadside bombs.

    ‘There were regular casualties as a result of these incursions. I remember the Fijian Battalion suffering more than most.  But the list of Irish casualties is a long one. At night we witnessed Israeli jets attacking targets in surrounding villages. Drones overhead gathering intelligence was a daily occurrence. On the coast Israeli gunboats would appear on the horizon to shell coastal towns and villages. The ancient city of Tyre suffered from these attacks because of its coastal location. I witnessed one of those attacks from the sea myself.

    Two members of the Irish Battalion attached to UNIFIL in a village close to Battalion Headquarters, Tibnin. May 1st, (UN Photo Archive/John Isaac)

    On one occasion three officers returning to the battalion area from Naqoura were attacked while travelling through the village of Qana. They came under fire from militia and two of the officers took cover while the third and most senior, Commandant Tony Egar, approached the militia trying to calm the situation. The armed element had just taken a casualty from another UN contingent and wanted revenge. A rocket was fired in the direction of Commandant Egar. It missed him and demolished a nearby house.  The Commandant tried to speak to them in French. The militia beat him with iron clubs. Eventually an older and senior member of the militia group appeared and stopped the attack.

    On another occasion two drivers travelling in a water truck were attacked by an armed man who jumped onto the running board of the truck and attempted to fire into the cab. They only escaped by driving through a barrier into the camp of another contingent. When they returned to Total the indents of the bullets fired could be seen in the rear of the truck’.

    The battalion suffered one more fatality after a driver from C Company was killed in a road accident.

    A visit by Minister James Tully TD

    During mid-Autumn the 49th Infantry Battalion received a visit from the Minister for Defence, James Tully TD. He was due to visit both Camp Shamrock and several of the outlining posts including Valley of Total. A major clean-up of the area was initiated and the men prepared their best uniforms, boots and weapons for inspection. 

    There was already some excitement among the Transport Group as one of their comrades (a young newly married man) had just received a communication that his wife had delivered their first child.

    ‘The lad was in a very emotional state and arrangements were being put in place for him to speak with his young wife by radio. (No mobile phones or Internet in those days) apart from letters it was total isolation from all matters to do with home for the duration of the tour. Visitors from home were, in those circumstances, very welcome.

    There was one local family living at Total, who looked after the small commercial petrol station located there. They were requested to stay away from the inspection area for the duration of the minister’s visit and readily agreed’.

    The Minister duly arrived around midday and was invited to inspect the assembled troops and accommodation. ‘As he walked through the troops, he stopped occasionally to speak to one of them.  “Is everything going well, can I do anything for you”? The answer invariably was ‘yes Sir everything is fine’. That is until he reached the young man who had just become a father who answered: “My wife and I just had a baby, could you get us a house”. A great silence descended on those assembled as the Minister looked to the senior officer accompanying him who also looked to his junior. However, the surprise only lasted seconds and the Minister smiled at the man saying, “I will see you before I leave the area and we’ll talk.” A sigh of relief all round and the visit proceeded’.

    This, however, was not the only surprise as the Minister prepared to leave one of the children of the family living at Total suddenly appeared. Dressed in her Sunday best she presented the visitor with flowers saying “my father and mother have prepared something for you upstairs” Again the Minister smiled and proceeded up the stairs to the balcony of the house. For security reasons these situations are avoided in the AO but in this instance the Minister agreed. Upstairs on the balcony he was presented to the whole and extended family, who were quietly slipped in earlier in the day. A feast of local Lebanese food and drink combined with the warmest of welcomes. It was a great coup for the family and the whole village would be impressed. Of the photographic record of the visit, this reception would add a pleasant memory’.

    After the Minister Tully’s visit to Lebanon, he continued to other arranged destinations and cultural visits in the Middle East. In that capacity he travelled to Cairo as Ireland’s representative in Egypt’s annual October 6th military victory parade. While in the reviewing stand, next to President Anwar Sadat, Minister Tully suffered a shrapnel injury to his face after Sadat was assassinated by members of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad who had infiltrated the Egyptian Army.

    ‘It was and is a very complicated area of conflict. The role of the UN peacekeepers is to keep the peace and maintain as far as possible a tolerable life for the population while politicians and diplomats try to make the permanent peace. The Irish are committed to this role’.

    Company Sergeant Henry ‘Harry’ Mulhern (on right) pictured at this years Michael Collins commemoration at Cathal Brugha Barracks. Harry is pictured with Eddie Burke and the 2nd Field Artillery Regiment Association mascot Corporal Kealagh.

    Harry returned home safely at the end of his tour. He retired from the Defence Forces in 1986 after 24 years service. To this day Irish peacekeepers still serve with UNIFIL in South Lebanon. You can read more about 2nd Garrison Company and stories about its members on: www. friendsofgarrison.com

  • A JILDY SOLDIER – Pte Patsy O’Neill

    A JILDY SOLDIER – Pte Patsy O’Neill

    Patrick ‘Patsy’ O’Neill, 2015. (Photo by his daughter Maureen O’Neill)

    A JILDY SOLDIER

    Interview with Emergency veteran Patsy O’Neill

    By Wesley Bourke

    Published in Winter 2015

    Over our first four issues we have been fortunate enough to have been able to bring you the harrowing eyewitness accounts of several veterans who took part in World War II. Recent months have remembered the sacrifice made during the Battle of Britain in which Irish aviators played their part. At this time, we should also remember that 75 years ago, while war raged around the world, Ireland declared a State of Emergency. This resulted in a massive expansion of the small Irish Defence Forces which prepared to defend the island from a looming invasion. There are still veterans from this time in Ireland still alive today. Their service should also be remembered. It is only when a grandparent passes away that we realise the stories we grew up listening to will never be told again. This editor is fortunate to have one grandparent left alive; this is his Emergency story.

    Emergency is Declared

    Patrick ‘Patsy’ O’Neil from Glebe House, Crumlin Village, Dublin, was born on 1 August 1921. Patsy has seen many changes in Ireland from the early days of the Free State, the birth of a Republic, and on to the Celtic Tiger. In Ireland the war period was known as the Emergency; a State of Emergency was proclaimed by Dáil Éireann on 2 September 1939, allowing the passage of the Emergency Powers Act 1939 by the Oireachtas the following day. It allowed for measures such as censorship and internment.

    Remaining neutral, Ireland braced itself for war. Money and equipment was scarce. Food, fuel, tea, cigarettes were all rationed. Turf battalions were formed to make sure homes, schools, and hospitals remained heated in urban areas. Air-Raid wardens patrolled the streets at night enforcing a black out. The worst outcome was prepared for with gas masks being issued to the general public.  Patsy recollected:

    ‘At the outbreak of the war I was studying carpentry in Bolton Street College. There was much talk of the war in Europe. As German armies moved east and west nobody knew whether Ireland would join the Allied powers or wait and see if the Germans would come over to us’.

    On the outbreak of World War II Patsy joined the rapidly expanding Irish Army At the wars’ outbreak the Irish Defence Forces (at the time consisting of the Army, Air Corps and the newly formed Marine and Coastwatching Service) was small in size. The regular Army only numbered 5,915 regulars and 14,470 in the reserve. By 1943 the Defence Forces reached a peak of 56,000 regulars while a reorganised reserve, known as the Local Defence Force (LDF) numbered 106,000. Volunteers like Patsy were known as E-men (Emergency men) or Durationers (those who had enlisted for the duration of hostilities). A private soldier received fourteen shillings a week less ten pence deduction for laundry and haircutting.

    Patsy Enlists and life in the Curragh Camp

    With this expansion, the Army was reformed into two divisions and two independent brigades. The 1st Division, under Major General M.J. Costello, had its headquarters in Cork while the 2nd Division, under Major General Hugo McNeill, had its headquarters in Carton House, Maynooth, Co. Kildare. The independent 5th and 8th Brigades were based in the Curragh Camp, Co. Kildare and in Rineanna (today Shannon Airport) Co. Clare, respectively. Patsy joined C Company 25th Infantry Battalion, 5th Brigade. The Curragh Camp, which is still a military base today, is a large military camp south of Naas beside Newbridge and Kildare towns. Its common plains are well known for horses and sheep. For a Crumlin man, Naas (a large town in North Kildare) was considered the frontier.

    “As German armies moved east and west nobody knew whether Ireland would join the Allied powers or wait and see if the Germans would come over to us.”

    ‘Sheep shit and soldiers are what I remember about the Curragh Camp. The only nice thing about it was the trees as you drove in. There was no doubt about it; training was hard. We were expecting war. We enjoyed it all the same. There was camaraderie amongst everyone. We were issued with the British pattern uniform, helmet and forage cap. We had another name for the forage cap which I won’t repeat. You’ll see pictures of other Irish soldiers wearing a German style uniform. This was the Vickers helmet that had been issued back in the 30’s along with a German style uniform. No wonder some pilots that crashed here got confused. You made friends with men like 62 Sanders. We called them by their last name and their army number. The Curragh had a picture house and the units put on shows and sporting competitions to help pass the time. We were issued the Lee Enfield .303” rifle. Lovely weapon. The drill on this rifle was really impressive. I remember it clearly. On parade was the best “Fastuigh –Beaignill” (the Irish command for Fix Bayonets). When you saw a whole battalion doing that movement together in one motion it was an amazing sight. We were very Jildy’. (Jildy was a slang term at the time for good appearance)

    With the rapid expansion the Defence Force ordered new armoured vehicles, weapons, aircraft, and patrol boats from abroad. With the war on, the numbers required did not reach Ireland. To augment its arsenal, the military modified truck chassis’, such as Ford and Dodge, and turned them into armoured cars. For the infantryman many of the weapons still in use were of a World War I vintage.

    Pictured on left, Private Patrick ‘Patsy’ O’Neill, C Company 25th Infantry Battalion, on guard in the Curragh Camp circa 1941. (Image courtesy of family)

    ‘The Enfield was my favourite. They weren’t all in good condition as some were old and had to have repair work done. Ten-round black magazine and one up the breech. One of my proudest days was being awarded the marksmanship badge. With the Enfield you didn’t pull the trigger, you squeezed it gently. I also did a course on the Lewis and Vickers machine guns. With these machine guns; like today, you had to have a crew. The Lewis was on a bipod and had a round magazine whereas the Vickers was on a tripod and was belt fed. They were impressive weapons to use’.

    25th Infantry Battalion was mainly tasked with guarding K-lines and Tintown. These were the camps where the Allied, Axis and Irish Republican Army (IRA) internees were kept during the Emergency period. Ireland of course was neutral so any Allied or Axis sailors or aviators that happened to crash or end up on Irish soil were interned. Over the course of the war some 170 aircraft crashed or force landed on Irish territory. Along with the surviving aircrew sailors such as the 164 German seamen rescued by the MV Kerlogue in the Bay of Biscay found themselves in the Curragh.

    ‘In the camps all the sentry posts were elevated. So you would have full view of your section of the camp you were guarding. There were two men in each box. Nine boxes in total. A guard house on the gate. There were also PAs (Poliní Airm the Irish for Military Police) knocking about which you had to watch out for. It was very monotonous. You got very tired both physically and mentally doing this day in day out. The guard commander used to do spot checks on us to see if we had fallen asleep. Two hours on four hours off. One thing all prisoners had in common was giving you the sign for a cigarette. We knew it as getting a fix. A friend might say ‘give us a fix’ and it would break your heart to break a cigarette in two’.

    There was a big difference between the Allied, Axis and IRA internees.

    ‘We rotated around the German, Allied and IRA camps. Now there was a different arrangement for the different prisoners. The Germans and Allies used to get day passes and as the war went on some even got jobs in the local areas in Kildare town, Newbridge or Kilcullen. The Germans were an intimidating bunch. I remember one time escorting a German officer down to the Military Hospital. I was ordered not to let him out of my sight. Now I was only 5,4”, looking up at him he didn’t look too impressed’.

    The IRA on the other hand was locked up 24/7 and did not have the same privileges as the Allied and Axis internees. ‘They did terrible things back then and the government were determined not to let them get up to anything while the war was on. In saying that the IRA was always trying to tunnel out of their camp. There were some very ingenious engineers in their ranks. We’d watch them for days and weeks digging away and then catch them just before they finished it. It kept them busy and we were amused so we didn’t mind. One or two did manage to slip past us though’.

    Nowadays the Curragh Camp is only 40 odd minutes in a car from Crumlin on the motorway. Back then it took a little bit longer. As the war continued however leave home for soldiers even in the neutral Irish Army was not very frequent.

    ‘For the most part we didn’t get much leave. It all depended on how the war was going in Europe. My sisters came up a few times to Newbridge on the bus. I would go and meet them and they’d bring some food or a clean shirt. If they brought food this was the best. The food in camp was terrible. I remember the Company Quartermaster Sergeant counting out three potatoes that were black. That was dinner. We lived off loaves of bread, butter and jam. The canteen in the camp sold everything for a penny. A bun and a cup of tea or a piece of Gurcake. Now if you had 2pence you could get a Wad; this was a big cake with cream in the middle’.

    Ireland may have been neutral but this did not prevent both military and civilians suffering fatalities and injury. During the Blitz in Britain, on several occasions; German Luftwaffe bombers mistakenly ended up in Irish airspace and jettisoned their payload. Bombs fell on Borris in Carlow, Wexford, Dublin, and the Curragh. In Borris three people were killed. The worst raid came on the night of 30/31 May 1941, on Dublin’s Northside. Thirty-eight people lost their lives and seventy houses were destroyed on Summerhill Parade, North Strand and the North Circular Road.

    ‘One sad story I remember from 1941 was when we were all playing football one day and got the call to report to the hospital to give blood. There had been a training accident in the Glen of Imaal in Wicklow. 16 lads had been killed. When the bodies came in, we had to carry in the bodies. There was blood all over the truck. We all got a reality check that day’.

    ‘The Blackwater Manoeuvres

    For most of the Emergency, C Company 25th Infantry Battalion was stationed in the Curragh. However, it regularly took part in exercises outside of their area. Taking the young men to parts of the country they had never heard of or been to. Cork, the Blackwater River, Castle Annagh Camp New Ross, Abbeyleix, Bawnjames. The exercises took part around potential scenarios Ireland may face in case of an invasion. In the early days of the Emergency nobody knew if invasion would come from the Germans in order to gain a backdoor into the United Kingdom or from the British who with the Battle of the Atlantic, had their eyes on Ireland’s strategic ports.

    ‘In the summer of 1942 we took part in several big manoeuvres. Now we marched everywhere back then. There wasn’t enough transport anyway. Our objective was to cross the Blackwater River. The march down took us through places we’d never heard of or been. We were regularly allowed bivouac in old estates like Silversprings House Piltown, Co. Kilkenny. That was in July. We then went on to Wexford where we stayed in a camp in Bawnjames. We didn’t mind marching through the countryside. It got us out of the Curragh and away from guarding prisoners and out soldiering. We could buy things like good food off the locals and the girls were always very pleasant to us’.

    Members of 25th Infantry Battalion taking a break from manoeuvres at Silversprings House, Pilltown, Co. Kilkenny, 25 July 1942. Patsy is seen in the centre row second on the left with a cocked helmet. (Image courtesy of Irish Military Archives. Image colourised by John O’Byrne)

    The Blackwater Exercise in 1942 involved elements from all the commands in Ireland. The 2nd Division, along with elements from 5th Brigade, moved south to attack the 1st Division in based in the Munster region. One of the largest obstacles in their way was the Blackwater River; a natural defensive barrier around Cork City. They remain the largest military exercises the Irish State has ever conducted.

    ‘The Blackwater manoeuvres took place in August and September of 1942. We had to cross the Blackwater River with full battle dress. Most lads couldn’t swim so we had to form human chains. The current would try and grab your legs. Sometimes a chain would break upstream and lads would come drifting down and we’d have to catch them. We didn’t catch them all’.

    Crossing the Blackwater. (Image courtesy of Military Archives. Colourised by John O’Byrne)

    The exercise was followed by the largest-ever military parade which was held in Ireland in Cork City on 13 September.

    Patsy’s Emergency Medal.

    As the war raged on around the world the Axis powers began retreating. An invasion of Ireland became less and less likely. The Defence Forces were still on high alert. German U-Boat activity off the coast was monitored, rationing and blackouts continued. For the Army, training was maintained and those Allied and Axis aircrews and mariners that still managed to end up in Ireland had to be rounded up and interned. Internment continued until the end of the war, but bit by bit the Allied personnel were allowed drift off either making their way to Northern Ireland or catching a boat from Dublin bound for Britain. The internees had nowhere to go even if they wanted to. 

    End of the Emergency and Demobilisation

    By 1945 the war in Europe was coming to a close. Although the Emergency in Ireland continued until 1946 the Defence Forces began to scale down.

    ‘Near the end of the war I was given indefinite leave to finish my apprenticeship. My Commanding Officer called me in and explained because the war was winding down I was approved to go finish my trade so I would have it finished for when I was discharged. Now I had just completed my NCO’s course and I wanted to get my corporals stripes. With demobilisation looming there was no need for any more corporals. Alas back up to Dublin I went to finish my studies on full pay. I was lucky to get such an opportunity. I reported back to the Curragh 18 months later for demobilisation. Battalion after battalion was paraded and stood down. I was handed my discharge papers and the offer of a Martin Henry suit. I took two shirts, two trousers and a pair of boots instead for work. I never got to find out whether I passed my NCO’s course or not. Everyone was being demobilised. For our service we were awarded the Emergency Medal and the Taoiseach, Éamon de Valera, gave us a 100 pound. That was it, the Emergency was over’.

    Patsy still lives in his home in Walkinstown, Dublin, aged 94.

    This article first appeared in An Cosantóir – the Irish Defence Forces magazine in February 2012.

  • TEN DAYS IN ÉLISABETHVILLE – Interview with CQMS Jimmy Clarke

    TEN DAYS IN ÉLISABETHVILLE – Interview with CQMS Jimmy Clarke

    TEN DAYS IN ÉLISABETHVILLE

    Irish Peacekeepers on the Offensive

    Interview with Congo Veteran CQMS Jimmy Clarke (Retd)

    First published in Spring issue 2015.

    (Archive images and photos courtesy of Irish Defence Forces Military Archives and A Company Association.)

    Anyone familiar with the Irish Defence Forces United Nations (UN) service in the Congo during the 1960’s will be familiar with A Company, 36th Infantry Battalion and the Battle of the Tunnel. For ten days in December 1961, the 166 soldiers of A Company were thrown into a war none of them would ever forget. The battle would cost the unit 4 killed and 15 wounded. For their actions that day 14 Distinguished Service Medals (DSM) would be awarded, making A Company the highest decorated company in the Irish Defence Forces. A veteran of the battle, Company Sergeant Quartermaster Jimmy Clarke (CQMS) gives us this eyewitness account.

    After nearly 100 years under Belgian rule the Republic of Congo gained its independence on 30 June 1960. Almost immediately the country fell into chaos. With Belgian support, two states, the mineral rich Katanga and South Kasai, seceded. Moïse Tshombé was declared prime minister of Katanga. The UN established Opération des Nations unies au Congo (ONUC) under UN Security Council Resolution 143 on 14 July, and soon after a peacekeeping force was deployed. One of the countries to volunteer peacekeepers was Ireland. Irish Defence Forces’ Lieutenant General Seán MacEoin DSM, was appointed Force Commander of ONUC on 1 January 1961, serving in that appointment until  29 March 1962.

    CQMS Jimmy Clarke proudly wearing his medals. Jimmy is a member of the Sergeant Paddy Mulcahy, DSM, Branch Organisation of National Ex-Servicemen and Women. (Photo by Billy Galligan)

    Jimmy joined the Irish Defence Forces in 1959. After initial training with the 7th Infantry Battalion in Collins Barracks, Dublin, he went on to serve with 2nd Garrison Supply and Transport Company in Mckee Barracks. ‘When I volunteered for UN service in 1961 Ireland had already deployed four infantry battalions to the Congo; starting with the 32nd Infantry Battalion. The newspapers were full of stories about the Irish peacekeepers. Soldiers coming home filled the barracks with tales of Africa and what it was like out there. The Niemba Ambush, which cost the lives of nine Irish soldiers, and the Siege of Jadotville, where a whole company had held out for a week before surrendering, was in all our minds. I volunteered’.

    A map showing the Congo in the heart of Africa.

    “It was pitch black and pouring rain. You didn’t know where you where. The rains had filled the trenches with mud and water. It wasn’t long before we heard the ping of small arms over our heads.”

    In November 1961 the 36th Infantry Battalion formed up for deployment to the Congo. After tactical training in the Glen of Imaal the battalion was reviewed by the then Taoiseach, Seán Lemass, TD, in McKee Barracks on 4 December. Transported by United States Air Force Globemasters, the Irish found themselves in the heart of Africa two days later. Little did they know what lay ahead.

    ‘Most of us had never been outside of Dublin, let alone on a plane. No in-flight movies back then. The Globemaster was a big plane. Two tiers of soldiers with cargo in the middle. For the flight we were given a carton of milk, a sandwich, an apple and an orange’

    The first stop for the peacekeepers came after being ten hours airborne. Landing at Wheelus Air Force Base in Tripoli, Libya where they were provided with a welcome meal and a stretch. Then back in the air, flying across the Sahara Desert to Kano, Nigeria and then onto the Congolese capital Léopoldville (today known as Kinshasa). After being transported to the infamous Martini Transit Camp the peacekeepers were introduced to the common enemy – the dreaded mosquitoes. ‘We were eaten alive’. The 36th Infantry Battalion was originally meant to be deployed to area of Albertville and Nyunzu in the North East.

    ‘We were not long after arriving in the transit camp when a full muster parade was called. No exceptions. We were informed our destination had been changed to Élisabethville. The situation there had dramatically changed. We were told to expect warlike conditions. Still taking this in, our Chaplains came out on parade. Reverend Fathers Cyril Crean, (Head Chaplin to the Forces), and Colm Matthews. They imparted Absolution on the entire battalion. You can only imagine what most of us thought to ourselves’.

    In an instant their mission had changed from peacekeeping to peace-enforcement.

    Élisabethville was another long flight. Some 1,200 miles away. Waiting in the city was the 35th Infantry Battalion whose tour of duty had run over and they were eager to return home. Approaching Élisabethville in darkness and torrential rain the planes came under fire. ‘The plane ahead of us had two engines knocked out and two fuel tanks punctured. By some miracle no one on that plane was injured. Thankfully my plane was not hit at all. When we landed the crowd crews were frantic. There was fuel everywhere from the punctured fuel tanks on the first plane. We were wearing hobnailed boots and there was a fear our boots would spark and ignite the fuel. Fearing an inferno we double quick timed out of there’.

    There was no rest for the peacekeepers at the airfield. They were loaded onto trucks and transported to the 35th Infantry Battalion positions. ‘It was pitch black and pouring rain. You didn’t know where you where. The rains had filled the trenches with mud and water. It wasn’t long before we heard the ping of small arms over our heads’.

     

    A view from the Tunnel.

    Facing the UN force around Élisabethville were well equipped and trained mercenaries and Katanganese Gendarmes. Holding key strategic positions the Katanga forces gave the peacekeepers no rest and rained small arms and mortar fire on the UN positions around the clock. For the next ten days it never stopped.

    ‘I was part of the company Transport Section. Along with Dan McGivern and Pat ‘Chalkie’ White. We operated behind the front lines conveying food and supplies to the forward positions and casualties to the Medical Aid Centre at Leopold Farm. We carried out these duties under great danger. At times under heavy mortar and sniper fire’

    The Irishmen were only in their positions two days when they lost their first comrade. 18 year old Corporal Mick Fallon was killed by a mortar on 8 December. Over the next few days the Irish pushed out their lines and consolidated their positions taking objectives such as Liege Crossroads. At Liege the Irish came under heavy fire for four days solid. ‘I can recall some close encounters during this prolonged bombardment. I was in my trench one night when I got a call from Company Sergeant Mick Harte to help the cooks deliver food. As I jumped out of the trench Captain Harry Agnew jumped in. A split second later a mortar landed. Captain Agnew was hit. He lost a finger’.

    In the middle of the constant sniping and mortar fire the cooks kept the men fed. Every veteran of A Company remembers Sergeant Tom ’Nobby’ Clarke, and Privates Danny Bradley and Jim Murray, DSM. The menu consisted of powdered eggs, powdered milk, powdered potatoes, bullied beef, and dog biscuits. As Jimmy recalls, ‘You had two choices: take it or leave it’.

    It was during one of these attacks that Sergeant Paddy Mulcahy, DSM, was wounded for the first time. On 14 December, he was hit again, this time badly. ‘Paddy was one of those casualties I brought back to the Medical Centre. The Company Sergeant there said “who have you got this time”. “It’s me again”, Paddy said before I could answer. He was still conscious even though his leg was ripped apart. He died of his wounds on the 16th’.

    On 16 December, the UN around Élisabethville was given orders to push the Katanganese Gendarmes and mercenaries from the city. Known as Operation Sarsfield, the coming battle would be the first time an Irish Defence Forces peacekeeping unit would be ordered into offensive operations.

    A Company machine gun post.

    In a torrential downpour the battle began at 04:00. A Company’s task was to attack and hold the ‘Tunnel’. This was a strategic railway bridge over a major road into the city. The Katanganese were well positioned. They had fortified the railway carriages, erected concrete emplacements, and had well dug-in heavy machine guns and anti-tank positions. The Irish announced the battle by opening up with a mortar barrage. A Company moved forward with B Company in support. Other UN forces also took part in the operation, including the Ethiopians and Indians.

    Coming under continuous heavy fire the UN were made fight for every inch of ground. Over a 12-hour period A Company advanced, took a position, consolidated, re-supplied and advanced again. During the final assault on the ‘Tunnel’, No. 1 Platoon’s Lieutenant Paddy Riordan and his radio operator Private Andy Wickham were killed. ‘Seeing his two comrades fall, Sergeant Jim Sexton immediately ran forward and took over the platoon. The attack did not falter’.

    Both sides took casualties. The engagement broke the back of the Katanganese and they withdrew from the city. By the end of the month the UN forces had full control of the city and things began to return to normal for the local people.

    The Christmas Menu for the Irish peacekeepers.

    For their action that day, 14 members of A Company were awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, including Paddy Riordan. ‘Many of us believe there should have been two more, including Jim Sexton for taking over the attack and Andy Wickham for staying beside his platoon commander under fire’.

    Irish Defence Forces personnel bring their fallen comrades home.

    With some of their casualties being repatriated home due to their wounds, the remaining men of A Company, 36th Infantry Battalion settled down to routine peacekeeping for the next five months. ‘After those first ten days. Everything was quiet in comparison. There were a few more skirmishes but nothing as serious. We helped the locals as best we could. We learned languages such as French, Kongo, Swahili, and Tshiluba. Sadly, Corporal John Power died in March of natural causes. For £1 I bought myself a box camera and brought back some photographs for everyone at home to see’.

    Jimmy Clarke retired from the Irish Defence Forces after 43 years service with the rank of Company Quartermaster Sergeant. After his tour of duty with 36th Infantry Battalion he served again with the UN in the ONUC Headquarters, Cyprus and Lebanon. Today Jimmy is one of the main organisers of the A Company Association. Every year on the closest Sunday to 16 December, veterans of A Company and their families hold a commemoration at the Irish Defence Forces plot at Glasnevin Cemetery, to honour their fallen comrades.

    ‘Some went out as boys and came back as men. Some went out as men and came back better men. Today more than half a century later, many are Grandfathers, some are even Great Grandfathers.’

    Sadly CQMS Jimmy ‘Nobby’ Clarke passed away in November 2016.

  • War Along the Suez – Major General Vincent Savino

    War Along the Suez – Major General Vincent Savino

    WAR ALONG THE SUEZ

    Major General Vincent F. Savino (Retd) talks about his time along the Suez Canal as a UN Military Observer

    Cover image: A view of Observation Post Red, April 22, 1973, located East Side of the Suez Canal in Israeli-occupied Sinai. The U.N. vehicle in the foreground was destroyed during the 1969 shelling. (UN Photo/Yutaka Nagata)

    First published in Winter 2014 issue.

    Following the Israeli victory in the Six-Day War in June 1967 – the entire Egyptian Sinai Peninsula up to the eastern bank of the Suez Canal was left in Israeli hands. Egypt was determined to regain its lost territory. Rebuilding its military Egyptian President, Gama Abdel Nasser, launched the War of Attrition along the Bar Lev Line (a chain of fortified Israeli positions on the Eastern bank of the Suez Canal) on 8 March 1970. Back in Ireland, then Captain Vincent Savino was stationed in Defence Forces Headquarters and dealing with the emerging Troubles in Northern Ireland.

    President of IUNVA, Major General Vincent F. Savino (Retd) (Photo by Pat Nolan)

    “1969 saw the Defence Forces mobilising due to the situation in the North. I was located in the Quartermaster General’s office and believe me when I tell you it was mayhem. In the middle of all this, officers were being sought for a one-year tour of duty with the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO). I’d been in the Middle East before while serving in Cyprus some years previously and it caught my attention. We had had people wounded in the region and people were reluctant to go. Along with two others I volunteered in December of that year”.

    UNTSO is the UN’s oldest mission. It was founded on 29 May 1948, to monitor the ceasefire agreements following the Arab-Israeli War. Since then, UNTSO has expanded to supervise the General Armistice Agreements of 1949 and the observation of the ceasefire in the Suez Canal area and the Golan Heights following the Six-Day War of June 1967. To carry out its mission UNTSO deploys unarmed Military Observers. Following the Six-Day War, 90 such observers were deployed in the Suez Canal Sector.

    Selling his car and packing up his wife and six children Captain Savino headed off to Israel.

    “In those days there weren’t the allowances that there are now. Hence why I had to sell my car. We were given a $1½ extra a day.  I settled my family just outside Jerusalem in the Jordanian administered sector.” In Jerusalem, the observers were given a week to acclimatise at UNTSO HQ. They met up with other new observers and were briefed on the mission. The other new observers came from all over the world including Argentina, Austria, Chile, Finland, France and Sweden. “We met UNTSO Chief of Staff Lt Gen Odd Bull from Norway who went through the current situation. “I often think back to that week. Nothing could have prepared us for what we were about to go through.”

    At the end of the week the new observers left Jerusalem for duty along the Canal at 5am driving south to the UNTSO Control Centre at Kantara, which was some 40km from the line of Observation Posts (OPs). This leg of the journey took four hours. The Control Centre was responsible for all OP’s along the East Suez; of which there were seven at the time. Each OP was designated by a colour; Blue, Copper, Pink, Green, Silver, Orange, and Violet, On the West Suez in Egypt UNTSO OP’s were designated by the phonetic alphabet such as OP Echo and OP Foxtrot.  In theory, observers were meant to rotate between the OPs and the Control Centre every five days. They would soon learn this was not always to be the case.  “We received a briefing ‘you are going to OP Pink’. Myself and an Austrian officer were paired up. An armed Israeli Lieutenant was assigned to us as our liaison. Grabbing our kit bags and rations we were off again. Our convoy consisted of four jeeps. It was another two-hour drive to OP Pink. We were coming up close to our destination when over the radio, ‘Patrol Pink stop your vehicles firing ahead’. Stopping our vehicles we got out, put on our flak jackets and got in behind a sand wall. From the other side all we could hear was sounds of mortar fire and machine gun fire. I thought what the…. there’s a war going on. What am I doing here?”

    The Suez Canal links the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea. It is 193.30km (120.11miles) long, 24m (79ft) deep and 205m (673ft) wide. Its length and width have proven formidable obstacles during the conflicts between Israel and Egypt. “In parts you actually look up at the Canal. Because of the war the Canal was closed and several ships were trapped. In the desert you were looking up at a ship. It was bizarre.”

    With the Egyptians poised on the West Bank and the Israelis poised on the East Bank both militaries positioned themselves near to UN OPs in the hope that the opposing side wouldn’t fire on an area where the UN were located.

    A view of Observation Post PINK, 1973, located on the Eastern shore of Little Bitter Lake in Israeli-Occupied Sinai. (Photo: UN Photo/Yutaka Nagata)

    OP Pink was only a few hundred yards from the edge of the Canal located on the Eastern shore of Little Bitter Lake. It consisted of no more than a rundown caravan with a radio mast and a sandbagged bomb shelter. This was home for Captain Savino’s first week along the Suez. “There we were in the middle of a war radioing back to Kantara reporting on the shelling and airstrikes. Our first tour of duty lasted only seven days due to the constant shelling. We spent most of our time in the shelter which was an iron beehive construction with sandbags all around it. Crouched inside with the Austrian and the Israeli officer you had to sit there and listen to the shells landing all around. During long periods of shelling you were left with only army rations to eat. It was stressful at times”.

    OP Pink was eventually relieved after seven days and the observers rotated back to Kantara. Six days in Kantara and then back to the Canal. Daily routine in the OP’s began at 07:00. At this time Kantara transmitted the music of Lillibullero across the airwaves to wake everyone up. The OP’s responded by sending in their situation reports which gave the number of observed air attacks, tank and artillery shellings and small arms fire. “While on OP Copper I concluded my report by saying, ‘this is the 100th air attack reported by this OP.’ That was just over a six-day period.” To constitute an air attack the attack had to last 15 minutes, otherwise it was just a bombing.

    Officers at work in the Operations Room of Kantara Control Centre, originally located in Kantara East and now resited at Rabah in Israeli-Occupied Sinai. They are (foreground to background) Capt. Bjorn Dahlman of Sweden, Lt. Col. E. Lehtovirta of Finland, Officer-in-Charge, Kantara Control Centre, Capt. Fraz Foidl of Austria, and Capt. Yrjo Helanen of Finland. (Photo: UN Photo/Yutaka Nagata)

    The Egyptians primarily used Soviet made equipment, while the Israelis primarily used Western made equipment. In the air the observers witnessed Egyptian flown Russian made Mig’s and Sukoi’s up against Israeli flown Fouga Magisters, Mirages and Skyhawk’s. “We would watch as the Egyptians tried to build surface to air missile emplacements. The Israelis would fly in and take them out. One time we were sent to a crash site of an Israeli spy plane which had been shot down. When we got there parts of the plane and bodies were all over the place. We found parts of a Russian made missile with Cyrillic writing which had clearly shot down the plane”.

    “We saw it all. Heavy artillery fire, raids across the canal, aircraft coming in and dropping napalm, tank and artillery duels. All we could do was report each incident. When the firing started hitting close to us we would radio our fellow UNTSO observers on the Egyptian side and try and get them to tell the Egyptians to stop firing at us. I was lucky I never got hit bar a few scratches. During my time there we suffered five casualties. A Swedish officer and Argentinean officer were killed and three others badly wounded. We had several other minor injuries.”

    With the Israeli positioning themselves close to UN positions damage from Egyptian aircraft, artillery and tanks was inevitable. Kantara was so badly damaged that it had to be abandoned and a new Control Centre was established at an old railway station in Raba. At Raba, the observers had to work under canvass. Across from them was a Bedouin village. Two OPs were also withdrawn leaving five in operation.

    A relief party unloading food and petrol supplies at Observation Post PINK located on the East Side of the Suez Canal in Israeli-Occupied Sinai. Each Observation Post (OP) is manned by two UN Military Observers, generaly of different nationalities. The tour of duty at OPs is normally 6 days at the Kantara Control Centre area (KCC) and 4 days in the other areas. The longer tour of duty at the KCC OPs is due to the road distance between UNTSO Headquarters and the OPs. After each tour of duty at OPs, UNMOS return to the residence area for a few days of rest. (Photo: UN Photo/Yutaka Nagata)

    “The Israeli tank commanders would roll up on ramps behind the sand wall along the Canal. The minute their turret cleared the wall they’d fire and roll back down. This would go on and on. Once I saw this young tank commander in his turret with his head up. His tank rolled up the sandwall; he took out a can of coke, drank it and fired. They were doing this to provoke the Egyptians to return fire and give away their positions. During my time the Israelis were losing at least one soldier killed every day.”

    In the middle of rotating from OP to OP Vincent was able to take leave to Jerusalem to visit his family. “Having the family there was wonderful and a great relief. Once we got accommodation and schools sorted, they all had a lifetime experience. When I got leave we used to travel all over Israel, up into Damascus, Lebanon and over to Cairo in Egypt. I am delighted to say that the travelling bug has not left any of my children since”.

    The War of Attrition continued until August 1970 and ended with a ceasefire. The ceasefire lines remained the same as when the war began and with no real commitment to serious peace negotiations. With the end of the war the Suez became much calmer. Tensions however remained high between Israel and Egypt and sporadic firing across the Canal still took place. The UNTSO observers found themselves having to rebuild their bombed OPs and getting on with their mission. At the end of year one, now Commandant Savino was a Special Duties Officer responsible for looking after and improving the OP’s. “I was given the task of trying to improve the OPs. We were mixing cement, sometimes under fire, trying to make the shelters and living conditions that little bit better. This is all with a backdrop of the Canal, heat, sun and sand. Back then there was no internet or satellite TV. The people at home had no idea what was happening. It was some experience. One which I’ll never forget”.

    Commandant Savino then volunteered for an extension of another year. During that time he became an Assistant Operations Officer in the Control Centre and in the last few months an Operations Officer in charge of the area. In 1973 the region was torn apart again during the Yom Kippur War. Today UNTSO observers are still carrying out their mission in the Middle East. Over the years 18 observers have lost their lives in the service of peace, two of whom were Irish. Commandant Thomas Wickham was shot dead in Syria in June 1967 and Commandant Michael Nestor was killed by a roadside mine in September 1982 in Lebanon.

    Vincent Savino went on to serve until 1989 retiring at the rank of Major General. He is currently President of the Irish United Nations Veterans Association.

    “Peacekeeping is not a job for soldiers, but only soldiers can do it.”

    Kofi Annan, UN General Secretary 1997-2006

    Timeline of Events

    1859

    Construction starts on canal

    1922

     Egypt gains independence from Great Britain

    1948

     State of Israel declared

    First Arab/Israeli War

    UNTSO established

    1952

     Military Coup in Egypt

    1956

     Britain gives up Suez Canal after 72 years of occupation

    General Nasser is elected president of Egypt

    Suez Crisis

    1967

    Arab/Israeli Six Day War

    UNTSO extended to Suez Canal

    1970

    Captain Savino deployed to UNTSO

    Egyptian/Israeli War of Attrition

    1973

    Yom Kippur War