My new account of Somme

[Desmond7]

Please correct times or any other things which need sorting out ... please

The 12th Royal Irish Rifles (Central Antrims) on July 1, 1916

BY far the largest number of men from the Ballymena area served with the 12th

(service) Battalion of The Royal Irish Rifles - also known as the Central Antrim

Volunteers.

The 12th Rifles found themselves in the thick of the fighting on the Western Front with their true baptism of fire coming on Saturday, July 1, 1916.

In the days before the opening of the Battle of the Somme, the 12th Rifles and the 9th Royal Irish Fusiliers manned a line of trench which stretched between two strongpoints - the ‘William’ and ‘Mary’ Redans (forts).

These two battalions of 108 Brigade were separated from the remainder of their comrades in the Ulster Division by the marshy valley of the River Ancre - a zone deemed impossible for troops to operate in because of the nature of the ground.

Their objective was a triangular fortification of German trenches which defended the approaches to Beaucourt Railway Station, a main supply and communications centre of the Kaiser’s army in the Thiepval area.

At this point on the front, no-man’s land was about 400 yards deep - roughly the length of four football pitches - and, about half way across was a seventy yard wide ravine with twenty feet deep, steeply sloping sides.

At zero hour, the 9th Royal Irish Fusiliers (Armagh, Monaghan and Cavan Volunteers) attacked ‘in fine style’.

In fact, the first wave got away with few casualties but succeeding waves were advancing onto ground which was now a cross-fire zone for the elite German machine gun teams who had raced to their emplacements the moment the British bombardment had ceased.

Despite their losses, the Fusiliers charged on, by this time ignoring all previous orders to advance at a walking pace, and swept over the German front line. One platoon in the right centre company, under Major T.J. Atkinson, ‘carried all before it’ and fought their way forward through the trenches to their objective, Beaucourt Station.

Not one of those who reached that objective ever returned. Observers could see their marker flags in position but there were no reserves to exploit their success. Those who could make it back to their jump-off point did so, many, many others were incapable of saving themselves.

On the left of the Fusiliers, 12th Royal Irish Rifles began the assault with shouts of ‘No Surrender’ and then dashed forward in the words of one officer ‘to get the job done’. However, the wire around the German fortifications, which thrust out into no-man’s land had not been completely destroyed by the massive pre-attack bombardment.

In fact, the men encountered ‘great rolls of wire with barbs as long as a man’s thumb’. Gaps had been cut but these openings were to prove deadly killing zones exploited to the full by German machine-gunners who sprayed the Ulstermen with maxim bullets as they funnelled down these corridors between the wire.

Beaten back at the first rush, the 12th Rifles were now also without their only ‘saving grace’ - the British artillery’s so-called creeping barrage had advanced far beyond them. Now there was nothing to keep the Germans’ heads down.

Some men did get into the German lines - most of those who did were next to the 9th Fusiliers and a few small groups fought with the Armagh men during their harrowing struggle towards Beaucourt Station. Others attempted to clear a breach for their comrades who were hampered by the uncut wire but the fight was unequal and the battalion’s war diary makes it plain that the attack was now doomed to failure.

German infantry was now filtering in from the flanks and soon the Ulstermen in both battalions were under fire from both sides and their front. The situation was even worse for those fighting grim little actions in the German trenches - they were also being fired at from behind.

Nevertheless, the remnants of the Rifles twice re-formed under fire and renewed the attack. Led by the remaining officers they advanced two more times but as the bodies began to cover no-man’s land, all chances of a successful attack melted way.

One Ballymena man whose bravery on the day earned him a mention in the official ‘war diary’ of the unit and praise from his platoon officers was a non-commissioned officer from Hill Street, Corporal R. Herbison.

Herbison made it through the carnage of 1st July and wsas promoted to the rank of Sergeant. He died a little less than two months later on August 27th and his passing was marked by a heartfelt letter to his sister from a fellow Ballymena man, but from the other end of the social scale, Lieutenant W. B. Stuart.

In his letter, the young lieutenant explained how Corporal Herbison refused to give up the fight on 1st July.

“I have known your brother personally for nearly two years and I feel that I have lost a real friend as well as an excellent sergeant. I have never met anyone whom I trusted more than your brother. He was absolutely fearless and could always be depended upon to do anything.

“Perhaps you have heard that he was recommended for bravery at the battle of the Somme, when, after three attempts had been made, he collected eight men of his platoon and was going to make another attack, when, luckily, he was stopped as the chance was hopeless.”

As the last few officers and NCOs re-organised their men for ‘one last push’ a messenger arrived breathlessly at the Rifles’ forward position.

Divisional HQ had been informed that the Germans were back in control of their front line.

Substantial numbers of both attacking battalions were dead or wounded, the remainder were trapped. The slaughter could not be allowed to continue.

An unidentified officer read the note from HQ which the runner thrust into his hands.

The soldiers preparing themselves for another dash across the corpse strewn ground must have watched intently as the officer noted the contents.

“Stand where you are,” he told them. The order undoubtedly saved many lives and now the Rifles could concentrate on treating their wounded, many of these still lying in open view of the German trenches.

The remainder of the morning would be devoted to providing covering fire for those still trying to escape the German trenches. The attack which had held so much promise had become a damage limitation exercise.

Philip Orr, in his magnificent account of the Ulster Division, ‘The Road to the Somme’ records how those men who had breached the enemy line came back, retreating one by one, or paying the price as the enemy attack swept over them.

One eyewitness recalled: “There was a wee runt of a man from Ballymena, even when standing on a box he could hardly see over the parapet, but a powerful hard wee man. I saw him lying dead with his bayonet stuck into a big German officer twice his size. The German still held in his hand the pistol he shot Jimmie with”

As the morning grew hotter with the rising sun, a trickle of men arrived back in the British positions. Some, slightly wounded, pulled other more serious cases behind them. Others, like Victoria Cross Winner, Rfn. Robert Quigg of Bushmills, went out into no-man’s land again and again to search for casualties.

The attack north of the River Ancre had been a military failure. The bombardment had failed to cut the wire properly and had not destroyed the deep German dug outs. In 1916, officers could not request artillery support to deal with a particular problem. The barrage was totally inflexible and the gunners themselves inexperienced.

Even the ground was against the two battalions. The ravine had been far too difficult to negotiate and its steep sides slowed the advance allowing the Germans to win the race to mount and fire their machine guns.

Above all, nothing less than a massacre could have been expected if the Division to the north of the Ulstermen failed to take out the multiple machine gun nests at Beaumont Hamel. When that attack failed, the Rifles and Fusiliers were cut down in swathes.

Rifleman Ben Millar from Harperstown, Cullybackey, was one of those who had an

extremely lucky escape on July 1.

In a letter to his father, Ben masks much of the horror of that day with what can only be termed a ‘boys own’ account of his battle experience.

Such letters are common. Most soldiers preferred to keep their own families and loved ones ‘innocent’ of the stark realities of the war.

He wrote: “At 7.30 on the 1st July morning we were all standing in the trenches, waiting for the word of command. We got it, and in fine style we drove them back over the third and fourth line, but not without heavy losses - but the Hun’s losses were heaviest of all.

“We held their fire for an hour or two but we had to retire as we couldn’t get reinforcements up in time. It was then we got the cutting up. I got buried up twice; the second time I lost my senses, my nerves got ahead of me. Two chums pulled me out and brought me back to our own line.”

With these matter of fact sentences, Ben Millar describes one of the greatest fears of any soldier of the Great War - being buried alive.

It seems that Rfn. Millar was amongst those who made it into the German trench system, bombing and bayoneting their way through the traverses of the fortifications. He states that the action itself only lasted three hours at the most for him.

By around 10.00am he was among the few still fighting for their lives. For most, the battle had ended within minutes - perhaps even seconds - of leaving their own lines.

And his next statement pragmatically sums up why the entire attack was such a gross failure.

“We had to retire because we couldn’t get reinforcements up in time.” says Rfn. Millar.

Quite simply it was impossible to advance over open ground. To do so meant death.

And, as so often in battle, many casualties occurred when men had to leave the cover they had sought to ‘fall back’. It could be argued that those who made their way back to the British lines

despite wounds and trauma on July 1 were amongst the bravest of the brave.

While in the trenches they were at least sheltered from the hail of machine gun fire and shrapnel which swept the open ground. But going ‘above ground’ almost guaranteed a wound of some kind.

Millar was one of those who made the desperate bid to escape the counter-attacking Germans.

During that dash, German artillery observers called down hundreds of shells in an attempt to cause maximum casualties to what their own accounts describe as the ‘English troops’.

“I got buried up twice,” says Millar. Can you imagine the sheer horror of being covered in stinking soil? And not just on one occasion. It is little wonder, as he admits, that Rfn. Millar lost his senses. Apart from the concussion of the blast, his reaction was probably a mental fail-safe to stop him from going entirely crazy.

As he states quite frankly: “My nerves got ahead of me.”

Bobby Letters, another Cullybackey man, had an equally lucky escape on the morning of July 1.

From a modern stand-point, his account is an amazing insight into the character of the men who fought in the Great War.

We look back now on ‘crosses, row on row’ and ponder how men could stand up to such punishment be they British, Irish, German, Turk or any of the other nationalities which struggled for supremacy during the conflict.

In an article headlined ‘His rifle smashed by a bullet’, the Observer recorded:

“A thrilling description of the fight was forwarded by Rfn. Bobby Letters, Central Antrims. He is a son of Mr. R. Letters of Cullybackey who is serving with the Royal Field Artillery. Mr. Letters senior is an old soldier who has been through the Boer War.

“He writes:- I was through it all on Saturday when the Division attacked the German trenches at Thiepval on July 1. Where I was, the fighting was severe, but we advanced in their third lines and inflicted losses on them and captured a great many prisoners.

“We suffered some losses and I have to mourn for a few of my comrades who have fallen. Lieut. T. Haughton is amongst those from Cullybackey who have fallen. But they died doing their duty - upholding the honour of the 36th Division. The 1st July will be a day never forgotten in Ulster; it will live in my memory for ever, and the sights that I have seen.

“I lived under a bombardment from the 24th June until the 3rd July when we were relieved. You will be glad to know that I and a chum captured 15 Germans ourselves - two in one of their own dug-outs. I brought them out at the point of the bayonet and ran them across ‘no man’s land’ into our lines.

“When I was going across with them a German machine gun opened fire on us and a bullet from it struck my rifle and smashed it. I have the bullet as a souvenir and also a German cap and pipe and a small book which one of the prisoners gave to me. I will try and send them home soon as a memento of the 1st July.”

Bobby Letters was a master of understatement. For home consumption, he has obviously played down the impact the battle had on all ranks of the 12th Royal Irish Rifles.

“I have to mourn for a few of my comrades,” he states, as if only a handful of men had died.

Rifleman Bobby Letters received the Military Medal for conspicuous bravery on 1st July.

The final death toll for the 12th Rifles as a result of the first day’s battle on the Somme was a truly appalling figure of 256 officers and men. Few in the battalion escaped without one kind of physical wound or another. It is doubtful if any escaped what we now know as post traumatic stress syndrome.

While the vast majority of casualties in the 12th Rifles were drawn from the rank and file, the percentage of officers killed and wounded was extreme.

‘Tommy’ Haughton - already mentioned by Rfn. Bobby Letters - was just one of many young subalterns who led their men into action that hot July morning.

Lt. Haughton had already sent several letters home to the next of kin of soldiers in his unit who had been killed or wounded in the months leading up to the Somme. Now it was his brother officers who had to tell young Haughton’s relatives in Cullybackey of how he met his death..

One such letter was sent by Lt. Robbie Hanson, a Larne man also serving with the 12th Btn.

He wrote to Lt. Haughton’s brother, Samuel:

Dear Sammy - I know Dempster Wilson has written to you about Tommy, but I just want to write a line and say how awfully sorry I am for you all. I have lost practically all my best friends, and can, perhaps, realise just a little what his own people are suffering.

Tommy died like a hero leading his men in a grand charge for the German lines. I think he would have liked that death best. His name will never be forgotten by his friends in the battalion.

I went up the night before last with the adjutant to try and find him but we couldn't get out, the shelling was too heavy. The adjutant and I both got hit but not badly.

If I can find out any more or get up there again I'll let you know.

Lt. Robbie Hanson, 12th Royal Irish Rifles

It was not the only letter received by Sam Haughton. Another had come from a Ballymena soldier, Rfn. Jack Anderson of Princes Street who himself was wounded in the attack.

Anderson, who had worked in Kane’s Foundry in Harryville before the war, had been ‘batman’ to Lt. Haughton. On receipt of the letter, Sam Haughton felt moved to publish its contents in the ‘Ballymena Observer’.

He told the editor:- “I quote freely from a letter which has drawn a veil of comfort over the great sorrow of our loss, in the hope that those same words may help many another aching heart throughout this countryside.

My brother's servant, Rfn. Jack Anderson, has written home from a hospital, Lonaghan Lodge near Sheffield and gives a wonderful account of what took place.

He was in my brother's platoon which met such deadly machine gun fire. Rfn. Anderson actually reached the German lines but, as he puts it, so few of his comrades were left that he immediately missed my brother.

Regardless of the ruthless fire he went back into the open and after searching for some time, found his officer. Bending over his master to bandage his wounds, he himself was hit and I now realise intensely with what justice Tommy often said that Anderson was 'one of the best'.

Having done everything he could and realising that all need for human aid was passed, Rfn. Anderson thought of his own hurts.

No medals or words can repay in full such things and we can but hope that the inner knowledge of real self sacrifice brings with it an ample measure of recompense.”

Jack Anderson was among many wounded who crawled across no-man’s land in an attempt to regain their own lines that day. Many fell exhausted into a shellholes and, in the words of one officer, took out their Bibles and family pictures and died.

Jack was obviously a tough customer, he reached the wire in front of the British trenches and , lying on his back, pulled himself under the barbs. On the brink of safety he must have fainted and was finally being brought into safety by a comrade when utterly exhausted.

There were remarkably few British prisoners taken on the first day on the Somme. Most of those who were captured were cut-off in the German lines without ammunition or water. Many were wounded and expected little mercy from their German opponents.

Scare stories about the ‘murderous hun’ were still prevalent and trench fighting was a bloody, close quarter affair - in the heat of battle it was a lucky man who escaped a swift bayonet thrust to the guts.

Rifleman Alex. Greer of Mill Street, Ballymena, was badly wounded ‘about an hour after the start of the offensive.’ He was captured and spent the rest of the war as a POW.

It was not until the third week in August that his father, Alex. Greer snr. found out what had happened to his only son who had been reported killed by several of his comrades.

The Ballymena Observer reported: “Rifleman Alex. Greer, writing home to his father from Lazarette Camp Hospital, Minden, Germany, states that he was hit by a rifle bullet on the left forearm just about an hour after they (12th RIR) started the offensive. The bullet is in his arm yet and he fears it will be of little use until removed.”

Perhaps surprisingly - and maybe to give a little extra hope to the families of other ‘missing men’ - the paper also reported: “No-one could have been kinder to him than the men who captured him. They gave him cigars, cigarettes etc. and he has nothing to complain of as regards treatment. The only other Ballymena man he saw was Rfn. William Stevenson who was along with him on the German Red Cross Train.”

Billy Stevenson, from Railway Street, was another who had been reported ‘missing’ in the aftermath of the attack. We can only imagine the relief felt by his wife when she received his Red Cross postcard from the Minden Camp.

Such accounts of the battle can now be read in a historical context. We now know that the attack of the 12th Rifles and the 9th Fusiliers was defined, by their own commanders, in the following terms: “The action on the north side of the Ancre was separate from the other (the main divisional attack) and of lesser importance.”

In strictly military terms, this was true at the time. The battle planners wanted to concentrate the greater number of Ulster troops against the ‘impregnable’ Schwaben Redoubt which dominated the ground on the south bank of the Ancre - it was the major target for the division.

Looking back now, it is possible to argue (and ‘what ifs’ are the spice of life for military history enthusiasts) that if there had been reserves to support the Fusiliers at Beacourt Station, they could have flanked the Germans who took such a heavy toll of the Central Antrim men in the 12th Rifles.

From there, a whole host of historical possibilities become apparent. But it was not to be. Such a manoeuvre needed to be accomplished fast and with the communication techniques available in 1916 there was simply no way to re-direct the much needed reserves on time.

In any case, even if the Fusiliers and the Rifles had managed to secure their objectives, they would have found themselves flanked in turn by the Germans in the next sector who had slaughtered the proud regulars of the 29th Division - many of them Irishmen - on the slopes at Beaumont Hamel.

It is now apparent from released military diaries and trench maps that soldiers who believed they had been fighting in the 3rd and 4th German lines were in fact barely on the periphery of the fortifications on the south bank of the Ancre.

Those small groups who did penetrate to the German’s rear lines were virtually out of ammunition and water. Their supporting arms were inadequate to deal with the German troops who were swiftly rushed into the counter-attack.

For the 12th Royal Irish Rifles , those two hours on the morning of Saturday, July 1, 1916, spelled the end of their identity as the boys of the Ulster Volunteers.

From then on, the battalion of pals would never be the same again. A pre-1916 soldier’s marching song sums up the effect which the Somme had on so many units:-

If you want the old battalion

I know where they are,

I know where they are,

I know where they are

If you want the old battalion, I know where they are

They’re hanging on the old barbed wire

We’ve seen them, we’ve seen them .. hanging on the old barbed wire.

We’ve seen them, we’ve seen them .. hanging on the old barbed wire.

Note: There are simply too many references to this incident from all manner of sources for it to be a work of

fiction. Individual soldiers mention it in letters home. Officers, too, recount the incident and, given the fact

that the Ulster Division was formed around a core of UVF men, it is not exactly surprising that such slogans

would come to the fore at the time.

Edited 14 May , 2004 by Desmond7

[Desmond7]

More to add - updates to do. New info. cheers all

Edited 10 April , 2004 by Desmond7

[Guest Desmond6]

Realise it's a long post - but any feedback would be welcome. I can take it. Off forum to my desmond7 e-mail if you want!? Lonesome Des wonders if he should have a red face?

[Max]

Hello Mate

I think its a fantastic piece of research and very well put together. I have saved it to my computer for a re-read at my leisure. Posting something like this here is very brave and has encouraged me to do something similar in the future.

Thanks

Andy

[Promenade]

Hi,

I read your posting with interest as I am writing up my research for a book on Officers Died on the Somme 1/7/16. I believe that seven officers were killed with 9 Royal Irish Fusiliers and seven with 12 Royal Irish Rifles. I thought you may be interested in my write-ups of both Atkinson and Haughton. Do you know the location of a photo of Major Atkinson? - a photo pf Haughton appears in Our Heroes. Again many thanks for taking the trouble to share your research with us.

Regards

Joe

Major Thomas Joyce Atkinson 9 Royal Irish Fusiliers

Thomas Joyce Atkinson was born in Ireland on 30 January 1878 the only son of Wolsey Richard Atkinson and Alice Atkinson who lived at Eden Villa, Portadown, Ireland during the war – he had two sisters. Thomas was a graduate of Dublin University where he studied Law later taking up a position as a solicitor. On 15 September 1914 he enlisted in Portadown into the Royal Irish Fusiliers as Private No 13963 and subsequently applied for a commission. He stated that he was unmarried, was 5’ 11” tall, weighed 151lbs, gave his permanent address as that of his parents but his address for correspondence was given as the Officers Mess, Royal Irish Fusiliers, Claudeboye Camp. He also added that he had served in the Ulster Volunteer Force as a Company Commander. According to eyewitness reports Major Atkinson was killed soon after leaving the British trenches at 7.30am on 1 July and his body lay amongst the British wire. He now lies in Ancre British Cemetery, Beaumont-Hamel, Plot VIII. Row A. Grave 5. In his will he left £4,725 11s 7d, £2,000 of which was bequeathed to his fiancée Miss Dongan.

Lieutenant Thomas Greenwood Haughton, IV Platoon, ‘A’ Company, 12 Battalion Royal Irish Rifles.

Thomas Greenwood Haughton was born on 2 June 1861 the youngest son of Thomas Wilfred Haughton and Catherine Isabel Haughton who were living at ‘Hillmount’, Cullybackey, Co. Antrim at the time of the Great War. He had a brother Samuel Gilmer Haughton. Thomas was educated at Edgbaston Preparatory School, Birmingham and at St Edwards School, Oxford where he was a member of the Officer’s Training Corps. On leaving school he joined the family firm, Frazer & Haughton Ltd, who were Linen Manufacturers and Bleachers of Culleybackey. On attaining the age of 21 the employees of the firm presented him with a gold watch and chain. Thomas eventually became a Director of the family firm. In January 1913 he was appointed Company Commander of ‘E’ Company, 1 Battalion, North Antrim Regt (Ulster Volunteer Force). On 26 September 1914 Thomas applied for a commission in the Army and was subsequently gazetted 2nd Lieutenant in 12 Battalion Royal Irish Rifles (Central Antrim) proceeding to France in October 1915. An eyewitness, No 207 Rifleman W Gray of 12 Royal Irish Rifles, reported that, on 1 July 1916, at about 8am, in No Man’s Land, Thomas Haughton had just got to the top of the ridge out of the Sunken Rd when he was killed instantly by an explosive bullet. It went through the base of his skull and although Gray immediately went over and examined his officer he was already dead. Thomas Haughton is buried in Hamel Military Cemetery, Beaumont-Hamel, Plot I. Row A. Grave 15. In his will he left £1997 10s 4d.

[Desmond7]

Sorry - can't help imediately with Atkinson but I do have a pretty good picture of the officers of 12RIR including Lemon, Jenks, MacNaghten etc plus the unit's war diary for that day.

It's a pretty big file so if you send me an e-mail here I'll send it back off forum.

I should have said that I'm trying to keep this story as 'local' as I can - I've got details on all the other officers but for my purposes I really concentrate on men and officers from Ballymena and district. Many of the other towns and villages in Co. Antrim have already been 'covered' in various publications.

And thanks to Max too - at least here I'll get a sympathetic hearing!

[stiletto_33853]

Desmond,

Nice piece of research.

Andy

[Ralph J. Whitehead]

Thomas Haughton had just got to the top of the ridge out of the Sunken Rd when he was killed instantly by an explosive bullet. It went through the base of his skull and although Gray immediately went over and examined his officer he was already dead.

I have heard of accounts like this before but from all of the research that I have completed on the XIV Reserve Corps that included the 99th RIR defending Thiepval there has never been a single mention of the use of explosive bullets, just ordinary rifle and machine gun ball cartridges. I have also come across accounts of the extensive damage caused to men from the impact of a high powered rifle bullet fired at close range.

Just thought I would mention it.

Ralph

[Promenade]

Ralph,

You are quite right to point this out. I was quoting literally from an contemporary eyewitness report. I will remove the word explosive from my text. Tks for pointing this out.

Joe

[Ralph J. Whitehead]

Joe,

I thought it was from an historical text, so you should keep it in for that reason. I was just pointing out that the known facts do not support the feelings of the day, not as any criticism.

Ralph

[Guest Desmond6]

re - explosive bullet. The war diary of 12th RIR mentions the nature of Haughton's death. I'm sure it will be of some help. This is the section in which he is mentioned

'A' COMPANY'S ATTACK

'A' Company who were on the extreme left of the Battalion front, were in touch with the 29th Division. They left their new Trench before Zero and assembled along the SUNKEN ROAD. At Zero they began to advance, and at once came under very heavy Artillery and Machine-gun fire. No. 4 Platoon led the attack, and were badly cut up, but what men remained entered the German front line.

They were closely followed by No. 3, who at once reinforced them. The wire was well cut here but there were two Machine-guns on each side of the gap and three or four In the Salient, as well as a German bombing party. Lieut. McCluggage at once collected his men and tried to rush on to the German second line but was killed in the attempt. The Germans in the front line it was noticed all wore caps while those in the second line wore helmets. The German second line was full of men and there was a very considerable number at the back of the large mound on the left. All these men fired at Nos. 1 and 2 Platoons while they were advancing and threw bombs at Nos. 3 & 4 while in the German front line. The men of Nos. 3 & 4 Platoons bombed three Dugouts and shot a good many Germans. All these four Platoons suffered very heavily from exceedingly intense Machine-gun fire. An order to retire was passed along, and as there were no supports on the spot 'A' Company did so. Lieut. T. G. Haughton had been wounded in the leg soon after leaving our front line but led his Platoon on. He was wounded a second time during the retirement and killed. The Company then retired to the SUNKEN ROAD when 2/Lieut Dickson, who was the only officer left assembled the men there and ordered another advance. The men advanced again but were met with a terrific fire from all the Machine-guns in the Salient (Q.17.B.) and had to ultimately retire to the New Trench. Rfmn. McMullen, being the only man left of his team of Lewis Gunners, entered the German line with Lewis Gun and two magazines and fired from his shoulder at the Germans in the second. line. He retired with the company and brought the Gun with him.

[Desmond7]

FOR JAMES COOPER

Sorry e-mail acting up - had to paste on to forum.

James - thanks for comments - I'm not finished yet, still have some accounts

to edit in. Now, as to Hugh Kerr. I've taken a quick glance over the old

Ballymena Observer files again and he doesn't spring out. I have not checked

him out on CWGC - does it give a next of kin, address etc.? I only have a

John Kerr from Ballymena area in Royal irish Rifles as KIA. However, it is a

very common Co. Antrim name. If you can pin him down to locality any

further, well and good. If not, I have to do a complete re-check on old

papers anyway which will be looking at men on periphery of the Ballymena area to see if I can 'justify' including them in my 'local' piece. I'll see what that throws up.

In meantime, suggest you make an appeal for anyone on the forum who has

access to 'Ballymoney Heroes' or 'Bushmills Heroes' which have very valuable

details, pics etc. I don't have a personal copy of either, but I will sneak

into Easons and flick through both to see if I can find him.

Cheers Des.