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R.I.R.'s Neuve Chapelle, 1915
Come, please just pay attention, and a story I will tell
Of how the gallant R.I.R.'s were the first in Neuve Chapelle;
Colonel Laurie gave the order to advance,
And when they met the Germans our boys did make them dance.
In 1911, shortly after his coronation, King George V and Queen Mary were on an official tour of India. Major Henry Ball Holmes was then an officer in the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Irish Fusiliers appointed to serve as an equerry on the Royal Train and at the Delhi Durbar. The Delhi Durbar was a mass gathering held to mark the coronation of a British King or Queen during the time of empire. In appreciation of this service the King presented him with this diamond encrusted monogrammed stick pin.
This regimental seal for the 2nd Battalion The Royal Irish Rifles was presented by Captain Vincent Joseph Kelly who served with the Regiment from 1888 to 1906, including during the Boer War when he was badly wounded.
This ornate silver snuff box was presented to the Officers Mess of the 86th Foot by Captain Richard Jebb Posnett who had served with the Regiment for ten years until his retirement in 1868.
Whenever the opportunity arose, British soldiers in the trenches of the First World War collected souvenirs or booty. The most prized souvenir was the German pickelhaube helmet, but second was a German bayonet and many thousands such as this one were brought home.
When an artillery shell was fired during the First World War, the brass shell case was ejected from the artillery guns and discarded or recycled. The Gunners became expert at engraving and shaping the shells, which they then sold to other soldiers. This one has a tunic button of the Royal Irish Fusiliers and replicates the khaki peaked cap worn by all British soldiers.
During the First World War, an Irish soldier in hospital recovering from wounds made this teddy for the nurse who looked after him. The nurse was Mrs S F McConnell who came from Lisburn, Co Antrim. As part of their recuperation soldiers were encouraged to embroider, sew and make decorative items.
During the First World War soldiers manning the Front Line trenches and before an attack, were given a tot of rum. The 40% proof rum arrived in two gallon stone jars marked SRD for Services Rum Diluted, but was known by the soldiers as Seldom Reaches Destination. The tot was about a tablespoon and on a bitter cold morning or evening in the trenches when the soldiers were standing in mud, water or snow it must have been quite literally a life-saver
Throughout the history of The Royal Irish Regiment and its antecedent regiments the images of the harp and the crown symbolise the identity, ethos, loyalty and service of this illustrious Regiment.
There were many significant ‘actions’ listed by our antecedent Regiments at the end of the First World War. Each of the ‘Regimental Committee on Battle Honours’ considered actions that could be awarded as a ‘Battle Honour’. The Royal Irish Rifles listed some forty actions that led to the award of ten Battle Honours; one of the actions was TELL ‘ASUR in Palestine.
