in the Great WarNewry & Mourne

Following the declaration of war on 4th August 1914, the first men to leave the area were reservists. These were men who had some previous military experience. Afterwards, a massive recruitment drive began to encourage men to volunteer for service. A recruiting committee was established for Newry and District, headed by local solicitors William Johnson and Alexander Fisher.

Men enlisted for a variety of reasons. Some saw it as an opportunity for travel and adventure, while others were driven by economic or political motives. They served not just on the Western Front in northern France and Belgium, but also in Africa, Mesopotamia, Palestine, Salonica (Greece) and other places, on land and at sea, as well as in the air force.

RecruitmentSERVICE&

Images:

1. James Sinclair Fisher was a dispatch rider with the motor ambulance brigade. His uncle, Alexander Fisher, was Honorary Secretary of the Newry and District Recruiting Committee (Image courtesy of John Fisher)

2. Royal Victoria Flute Band, Newry. Local Unionist and Nationalist bands both provided patriotic and military music at recruiting rallies and parades in the area (Newry & Mourne Museum Collection)

3. David Henry Ferris of Windsor Hill, Newry, served as a Surgeon Probationer with the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. He was killed on 31st May 1916 at the Battle of Jutland, the only major naval battle of the war (Image courtesy of Newry Masonic Lodge)

4. Illuminated cover of Newry’s Roll of Honour, which lists 830 men and one woman from Newry who had enlisted by April 1915 (Newry & Mourne Museum Collection)

5. Drawing of Major William Charles Hall of Narrow Water Castle, Warrenpoint. He was killed during a training exercise in 1917 (Image courtesy of Down County Museum)

6. John Bannon of William Street, Newry, in the uniform of the King’s African Rifles. He served in East Africa during the war (Image courtesy of Patrick Bannon)

7. Rev. R. Nevin Lyons (left), minister of Ballenon Reformed Presbyterian Church, near Poyntzpass, served with the Y.M.C.A. in France (Image courtesy of Alec Lyons)

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in the Great WarNewry & Mourne

Local qualified nurses joined the Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Nursing Service, while others joined organisations such as the Voluntary Aid Detachments. These women saw service abroad as well as at home. In 1917 the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps was set up for women to undertake support roles behind the front lines and allow more men to go to the Front.

Many women at home engaged in fundraising activities in aid of wounded soldiers and prisoners of war, as well as for the Belgian refugees housed in the district. Children were also involved with many knitting socks or collecting eggs for wounded soldiers. A separation allowance was paid to soldiers’ dependants. Women had to manage their homes and feed the family on rations which were introduced in 1918.

WomenCHILDREN&

Images:

1. Sergeant Michael O’Leary, Victoria Cross recipient from Cork, pictured with members of 1st Kilmorey Scout Group at an All-Ireland Recruiting Rally in Warrenpoint, 7th July 1915 (Image courtesy of William McAlpine)

2. Margaret Anderson, from Ballinran, Kilkeel, joined Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service (Reserve) in 1916. She was awarded the Royal Red Cross (Image courtesy of Elana Patterson)

3. Molly Best from Cloghinny, Jerrettspass, served as a nurse in France and Egypt, as well as on hospital ships (Image courtesy of Timothy Geary)

4. Newry Municipal Technical School Domestic Department. Within a fortnight of the war breaking out women in Newry formed a Guild to support the war effort. The Guild was granted a room in the Technical School (Newry & Mourne Museum Collection)

5. Florence and John McAllister pictured in 1915 with their sons, Vincent, Aloysius and Raymond. John served with the Post Office Rifles (Courtesy of the McAllister family)

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in the Great WarNewry & Mourne

The HomeFRONT

The fortunes of local industries fluctuated during the war. In particular, the linen industry struggled in the initial years of the war due to a failing supply of flax from the Continent. Workers in many mills found their hours reduced and industrial relations were sometimes strained. Farmers were compelled to cultivate more land and the acreage under flax increased. Farm incomes rose during the war because of problems importing food due to the German submarine campaign. In May 1918 five Kilkeel fishing vessels were sunk by a German submarine. The owners of the vessels received no compensation, creating financial hardship for the families involved.

People were encouraged to save resources by eating less meat and bread and using less coal. To economise fuel, railway restrictions were introduced. Recreational travel, public entertainments and sporting activities were all affected.

Images:

1. Postcard sent to Miss M. Elliott, Whitecross (Courtesy of Beatrice Elliott)

2. Bessbrook Mill. By December 1915 the mill had provided 274 recruits. During the war, the mill secured government contracts, including some to produce aeroplane fabric (Newry & Mourne Museum Collection)

3. Newry Agricultural Show Committee, 1914 (Courtesy of The Newry Reporter)

4. Kilkeel Harbour. Fearing coastal towns might be at risk from bombardment by German cruisers, lights near the coast had to be extinguished or well shielded (Courtesy of Bill Quinn)

5. Site of the War Hospital Supply Sub-Depot, Rostrevor where bandages were produced from sphagnum moss gathered from local bogs. The moss acted as a substitute for cotton wool which was in short supply and very expensive (Newry & Mourne Museum Collection)

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in the Great WarNewry & Mourne

In the years leading up to the First World War, Nationalists and Unionists were opposed over the issue of Home Rule for Ireland. In 1914, both sides armed themselves. The outbreak of the First World War in August 1914 temporarily defused the situation. In Newry and district, there was a unified approach to recruitment, with Nationalist and Unionist bands coming together to give recruits a good send off.

During Easter Week 1916 a small group of more militant Nationalists seized Dublin’s General Post Office and proclaimed an Irish Republic. The only Newry resident to take part in the events was Patrick Rankin, who cycled to Dublin to take part in the rising. After the execution of the key leaders, there was an upsurge of sympathy among some of the nationalist population.

In response to fears that conscription would be extended to Ireland, anti-conscription protests were held in April 1918. Faced with the overwhelming opposition, conscription was never introduced.

In 1918 new legislation gave women the right to vote for the first time.

PoliticalDEVELOPMENTS

1. Members of the South Down U.V.F. marching through Kilkeel (Courtesy of PRONI)

2. The Countess of Kilmorey, in nurse uniform. Lady Kilmorey was commandant of the South Down U.V.F. Nursing Corps (Courtesy of Down County Museum)

3. Group of local Nationalists, including, standing, Frank Aiken (2nd from left), John McCoy (4th from left), and (seated) Padraig Quinn (left) and Ned Fitzpatrick (right). In April 1917, Aiken hoisted a number of Sinn Féin flags around Camlough and in April 1918 he was arrested and imprisoned for ‘illegal drilling’ (Reproduced by kind permission of UCD Archives)

4. Éamon Donnelly and his eldest daughter. On Easter Sunday 1916, Donnelly joined with Volunteers from the north who mobilised at Coalisland, Co. Tyrone. He acted as director of elections in 1918 for the Sinn Féin party in north-east Ulster (Newry & Mourne Museum Collection)

5. Poster for South Armagh by-election, 1918. The by-election provided the first opportunity for an electoral clash in Ulster between Sinn Féin and the nationalist party. Although Sinn Féin lost the election, it helped to boost the profile of the party in the area (Newry & Mourne Museum Collection)

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in the Great WarNewry & Mourne

When the news of the armistice reached Newry and Mourne in November 1918, church bells were rung and thanksgiving services took place. In Newry a torchlight procession headed by all the local bands – Nationalist and Unionist – took place, while in Newtownhamilton there was a bonfire with an effigy of the Kaiser.

Even before the war had ended there was a desire to preserve the memory of those who had died. Special services were held on anniversaries such as the Battle of the Somme and memorial services were held for individuals who had been killed.

After the war, thoughts turned to memorialisation. Churches installed plaques, stained glass windows and memorial organs to commemorate the dead. Schools and organisations, including the Orange and Masonic Orders, also drew up Rolls of Honour. Organisations, such as the Royal British Legion, were established in the aftermath of the war to support ex-servicemen and their dependents.

War Memorials were erected in the area and these continue to provide a focus at annual Remembrance Day ceremonies.

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PeaceREMEMBRANCE

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Images:

1. St Joseph’s Brass & Reed Band was among the bands that paraded through Newry after the announcement of the armistice. Later, the band performed at concerts to raise funds for local war memorials (Newry & Mourne Museum Collection)

2. Memorial card for Sapper Patrick J. Donnelly. Before the war he was a telegraphist in Newry Post Office (Courtesy of Newry Post Office Historical Society)

3. Members of the Newry Women’s Branch of the Royal British Legion at the unveiling of the War Memorial in Bessbrook, 1934 (Courtesy of William McAlpine)

4. Newry War Memorial was erected at Trevor Hill in 1939. It moved to its current location on Bank Parade in 1968 (Newry & Mourne Museum Collection)

5. Kilkeel War Memorial was erected by Mourne Presbyterian Church in 1923 to commemorate members of the congregation who had served and died in the war (Courtesy of William McAlpine)

6. Memorial stained glass windows in St Mary’s Church of Ireland, Newry commemorate ‘those from the parish who gave their lives in the Great War’ (Newry & Mourne Museum Collection)

7. Officers and Committee of the Newry Branch of the British Legion, 1927 (Newry & Mourne Museum Collection)

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