Lives of the First World War

Source information

ID: 2474414

Reference: WO372/7

Title: Medal Index Card

Description: Medal index cards were created by the Army Medal Office towards the end of the First World War. They record the medals that men and women who served in the First World War were entitled to claim.

URL: http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/Details?uri=D3488400
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UPP: GBM/MCI/2477092

Credit: © The National Archives

Source information

ID: 7389273

Reference: CWGCCASUALIWM

Title: Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) Casualty Records

Description: The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) commemorate First World War servicemen and women and members of some civilian organisations who died before 31 August 1921 while in Commonwealth military service or of causes attributable to service.

Connected by: Imperial1

URL: http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/859396/
IWM is not responsible for the content of external websites. Please note that some sources will require payment to view.

UPP: GBM/CWGCCASUALIWM/684319

Additional: This record has been automatically matched to the Life Story by IWM, using rules based on name, rank, number, regiment and service.

Credit: © Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Source information

ID: 8749790

Name: The National Archives Reference WO 95/1421/3

Reference: The National Archives

Title: War Diary of the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Irish Regiment, August 1914-February 1915

Description: An official record of the day to day movements, dispositions and battles of the 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Regiment between August 1914 and February 1915

Connected by: Patrick63223

Source information

ID: 8749792

Name: By Br. General Stannus Geoghegan CB

Reference: on-line

Title: The Campaigns and History of the Royal Irish Regiment Vol.II from 1900 to 1922

Description: A thorough, if somewhat dry, account of the doings of the battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment between 1900 and 1922, with particular attention given to their Great War service. Published by Blackwood and Sons Ltd. Edinburgh and London, 1927.

Connected by: Patrick63223

Source information

ID: 8749793

Title: Royal Irish Regiment Cap Badge

Description: WW1 Royal Irish Regiment cap badge

Connected by: Patrick63223

Source information

ID: 8749794

Title: Royal Irish Regiment Cap Badge

Description: WW1 Royal Irish Regiment cap badge

Connected by: Patrick63223

Source information

ID: 8749818

Reference: gbm_wo363-4

Title: British Army Service Records 1914-1920 Transcription

Connected by: Patrick63223

UPP: GBM/WO363-4/7307032/21/593

Credit: © The National Archives

Source information

ID: 8749820

Reference: wwisd

Title: Soldiers died in the Great War 1914-1919 Transcription

Connected by: Patrick63223

UPP: GBM/WWISD/0267318

Credit: © Naval and Military Press Ltd

Source information

ID: 8749822

Reference: ire_nat_rollofhonour1914-1920

Title: Ireland: National Roll of Honour 1914-1921 Transcription

Connected by: Patrick63223

UPP: IRE/MIL/NATROLLHONO/1007959

Credit: Courtesy of Findmypast

Source information

ID: 8749826

Reference: ire_nat_rollofhonour1914-1920

Title: Ireland: National Roll of Honour 1914-1921 Transcription

Connected by: Patrick63223

UPP: IRE/MIL/NATROLLHONO/1007960

Credit: Courtesy of Findmypast

Source information

ID: 8749852

Reference: gbm_wo363-4

Title: British Army Service Records 1914-1920 Transcription

Connected by: Patrick63223

UPP: GBM/WO363-4/7307032/21/603

Additional: Most of the items in this record refer to Private Fitzgerald but there are a few other items relating to other soldiers mixed up with them.

Credit: © The National Archives

Source information

ID: 8750882

Title: Cork in 1883

Description: Cork in 1883. John James Fitzgerald was born in Cork in 1882.

Connected by: Patrick63223

Additional: Downloaded from: http://www.myirelandtour.com/ireland-then-and-now/cork.php

Source information

ID: 8752422

Title: Front of Royal Hibernian School Chapel

Description: Front of Royal Hibernian School Chapel. John James Fitzgerald was a pupil of the school in 1893

Connected by: Patrick63223

Additional: Downloaded from: https://www.yelp.ie/biz_photos/royal-hibernian-military-school-chapel-phoenix-park?select=dVrNkdy-Fp5wGy8rqMbqmQ

Source information

ID: 8756575

Title: 2nd Battalion R.I.Rgt. Memorial, Mons.

Description: The Memorial to the Royal Irish Regiment at Mons overlooks the ground on which the 2nd Battalion fought on the 23rd August 1914. It was unveiled by Lord Ypres on 11th November 1923.

Connected by: Patrick63223

Additional: own photo

Source information

ID: 8756576

Title: 2nd Battalion R.I.Rgt. Memorial, Mons.

Description: The plaque at the base of the Mons memorial to the 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Regiment. The memorial was unveiled on 11th November 1923 at La Bascule crossroads.

Connected by: Patrick63223

Additional: own photo

Source information

ID: 8756578

Title: Rue Leon Save, Mons, Belgium.

Description: The road south on the western edge of Bois La Haut, Mons. The Royal Irish Regiment were hotly pursued down this road by the Germans on the afternoon of the 23rd August 1914.

Connected by: Patrick63223

Additional: own photo

Source information

ID: 8756581

Title: The fields between Caudry and Audencourt

Description: The fields between Caudry and Audencourt where the fighting between the Royal Irish Regiment and the advancing Germans took place on 26th August 1914.

Connected by: Patrick63223

Additional: own photo

Source information

ID: 8849073

Title: La Bascule crossroads, Mons, Belgium

Description: La Bascule crossroads, Mons, Belgium, where a small detachment of the Royal Irish Regiment held out for hours against a superior enemy force.

Connected by: Patrick63223

Additional: own photo

Source information

ID: 8849075

Title: Restaurant Leon on Chausee de Binche

Description: Restaurant Leon on Chausee de Binche on the site of the former Chateau Gendebien which was used as a Red Cross hospital at the time of the Battle of Mons

Connected by: Patrick63223

Additional: own photo

Source information

ID: 8849076

Title: The area to the east of Mons

Description: The area to the east of Mons where the Royal Irish Regiment first came in contact with the enemy

Connected by: Patrick63223

Additional: own photo

Source information

ID: 8849080

Title: The road cutting south west of Audencourt

Description: The road cutting south west of Audencourt where Lieutenant Colonel Cox, Commanding Officer of the 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Regiment was severely wounded at around 10 am on the morning of 26th August 1914.

Connected by: Patrick63223

Additional: own photo

Source information

ID: 8849081

Title: Map of the Battle of Mons

Description: Map of the Battle of Mons from The Campaigns and History of the Royal Irish Regiment, Vol. II (drawn by Major St.Leger)

Connected by: Patrick63223

Source information

ID: 8849083

Title: Map of the battle at Caudry/Audencourt

Description: Map of the battle at Caudry/Audencourt from The Campaigns and History of the Royal Irish Regiment, Vol. II (drawn by Major St.Leger)

Connected by: Patrick63223

Source information

ID: 8849084

Title: Map of the actions at Le Riez and Le Pilly

Description: Map of the actions at Le Riez and Le Pilly from The Campaigns and History of the Royal Irish Regiment, Vol. II (drawn by Major St.Leger)

Connected by: Patrick63223

Source information

ID: 8849090

Title: Courcelles

Description: Courcelles where the 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Regiment rested and refitted after the Battle of the Aisne

Connected by: Patrick63223

Additional: result of internet search

Source information

ID: 9508975

Name: ISBN: 9781843421108

Reference: Through the internet

Title: "There's a Devil in the Drum" by J.F.Lucy

Description: An account of the enlistment and basic training of two brothers from Cork, Ireland, in the pre-war British Army and their subsequent service on the Western Front. Published by The Naval and Military Press 1993.

Connected by: Patrick63223

Additional: Although J.F.Lucy served with another regiment, he was a member of the 3rd Division and his memoir provides a clear picture of what the experience of enlistment and training and subsequent active service would have been like for the men of the 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Regiment.

Source information

ID: 9508976

Name: By David Ascoli, published 1982 by Book Club Associates by arrangement with Harrap Limited.

Reference: own copy

Title: “The Mons Star: The British Expeditionary Force 1914”

Description: “The story of the despatch of the British Expeditionary Force to France in August 1914 until the fall of the curtain in November of that year after the first battle of Ypres, by which time ‘the best-trained, best organised and best-equipped British Army that ever went forth to war’ had virtually been destroyed.”

Connected by: Patrick63223

Additional: The book refers directly to the actions of the 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Regiment at Mons, Le Cateau and Le Pilly. (pages 66, 110 and 198)

Source information

ID: 9508977

Name: published by Edward Arnold and Co. 1933

Reference: The internet through AbeBooks.co.uk

Title: “Within Four Walls” by Major M.C.C. Harrison and Captain H. Cartwright

Description: The experiences of two British WW1 officers who repeatedly tried to escape from German POW camps. In chapter one, Michael Harrison describes his experiences during the first two months of the war, including the destruction of his regiment, the 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Regiment, at Le Pilly on the 20th October 1914. This is the "Kingfisher Library" edition. Pp.xii,304. Numerous illustrations. Double-page map.

Connected by: Patrick63223

Source information

ID: 9508978

Name: Ronan McGreevy in the Irish Times, Tuesday, October 14th 2014

Title: The Battle of Le Pilly

Description: “An Irishman’s Diary on a dark day for an Irish regiment in the first World War.” A description of the Battle of the Le Pilly.

Connected by: Patrick63223

URL: https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/letters/the-battle-of-le-pilly-1.1962035
IWM is not responsible for the content of external websites. Please note that some sources will require payment to view.

Source information

ID: 9508979

Name: A video narrated by Ronan McGreevy. Made in association with the Irish Times.

Title: Ireland and the First World War - the Battle of Le Pilly

Description: The video concerns the Battle of Le Pilly on October 19th and 20th, 1914 which ended in the virtual destruction of the 2nd battalion of the Royal Irish Regiment. Evidence of the battle can still be seen today.

Connected by: Patrick63223

URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I59rLg4-FKE
IWM is not responsible for the content of external websites. Please note that some sources will require payment to view.

Source information

ID: 9508980

Name: Ronan McGreevy in the Irish Times, Monday, October 22nd 2018

Title: Le Pilly honours 177 Irish men killed in first World War battle.

Description: Triptych in blue stone marks three days of carnage in 1914 on ‘the forgotten front’: An account of the unveiling of a permanent memorial to those who fell at Le Pilly.

Connected by: Patrick63223

URL: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/le-pilly-honours-177-irish-men-killed-in-first-world-war-battle-1.3671010
IWM is not responsible for the content of external websites. Please note that some sources will require payment to view.

Source information

ID: 9508981

Name: By Ronan McGreevy, published by The History Press Ireland, 2016.

Reference: Through the internet

Title: Wherever the Firing Line Extends

Description: A book which “looks at those places where the Irish soldiers made their mark and are commemorated to this day in the monuments, cemeteries and landscapes of France and Flanders”. Chapter 3, “The Celtic Cross at La Bascule”, describes the actions of the 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Regiment at Mons. Chapter 6, “The Railway Station at Le Pilly”, describes the battle of Le Pilly and its aftermath.

Connected by: Patrick63223

Source information

ID: 9508983

Reference: gbm_pow_gallip

Title: Prisoners of War 1914-1920 Transcription

Connected by: Patrick63223

UPP: GBM/POW-GALIP/01054908/XE

Additional: This is the POW record of John Luke Jackson who was an RAMC officer with the 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Regiment at the time when Drummer John James Fitzgerald was killed in action.

Credit: © The National Archives

Source information

ID: 9599019

Title: The Guardhouse at Raglan Barracks, Devonport

Description: Raglan Barracks, Devonport, where the 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Regiment was based prior to their embarkation for France in August 1914.

Connected by: Patrick63223

Additional: own photo

Source information

ID: 9599024

Title: SS Herschel

Description: SS Herschel, the ship which transported the Royal Irish Regiment across the channel to France. They disembarked in Boulogne on 14th August 1914.

Connected by: Patrick63223

Additional: Downloaded from: http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/topic/203538-5th-infantry-brigade-war-diary/

Source information

ID: 9641925

Title: The fields between Le Pilly and Le Riez

Description: The view across the fields from Le Pilly to Le Riez

Connected by: Patrick63223

Additional: own photo

Source information

ID: 9641932

Title: The station where the wounded were treated

Description: The station building in Le Pilly where Lieutenant Jackson of the RAMC tended to the wounded after the battalion had been overwhelmed.

Connected by: Patrick63223

Additional: own photo

Source information

ID: 9641945

Title: Location of the ditches occupied by RIRgt

Description: The location of one of the ditches which were occupied by A Company of the Royal Irish Regiment at Le Pilly on 19th/20th October 1914 and where they were surrounded and eventually “wiped out”.

Connected by: Patrick63223

Additional: own photo

Source information

ID: 9641956

Title: Rue du Pilly, Herlies, Nord

Description: Rue du Pilly, Herlies, Nord, where the 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Regiment met its destruction

Connected by: Patrick63223

Additional: own photo

Source information

ID: 9641961

Title: Unknown Royal Irish Regiment Soldiers

Description: Unknown soldiers of the Royal Irish Regiment buried in Cabaret Rouge British Cemetery

Connected by: Patrick63223

Additional: own photo

Source information

ID: 9642043

Title: Le Touret Memorial

Description: The Le Touret Memorial commemorates those who fell in this sector of the Western Front from the beginning of October 1914 to the eve of the Battle of Loos in late September 1915 and who have no known grave. It was designed by John Reginald Truelove and unveiled by the British Ambassador to France, Lord Tyrrell on 22nd March 1930. The soldiers of the 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Regiment are to be found on panels 11 and 12.

Connected by: Patrick63223

Additional: own photo