On 20 August 1943, second pilot Sergeant John Erskine and the Liberator crew of seven others failed to return from a convoy patrol of the west of Ireland (59 Squadron). Erksine and 28 others from WWII (and one from the Korean War) are commemorated in a new mural in Erskine Park, Ballyclare. It’s not known if the street name is connected to Sergeant John.
The left-hand portrait is of Edward Girvan, from Ballynure, who was killed on the H.M.S. Repulse, when it was attacked by Japanese aircraft and struck by torpedo bombs in the South China Sea on December 10th, 1941 (WP).
The soldier in the centre of the mural wears the emblem of the Royal Ulster Rifles, Parachute Regiment on his cap. William Johnston 7018189 and George Williamson 7022501 are listed (on the right) as riflemen in airborne battalions of the RUR, but this appears to be a reproduction of an original painting of an RUR major.
Like the WWI Ballyclare & District mural, the UDA are on the side wall – see the wide shot, below.
Click image to enlarge
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