WWI

The Men From Whitehead

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“At the going down of the sun.” The smaller of the two World War memorials in Whitehead was updated last year for the 100th anniversary of the Royal British Legion. The stone (shown last, below) was originally dedicated in 1996, for the 75th anniversary. The plate on the bench reads: “In memory of Mr Royal British Legion, Hector (Sandy) McGregor, 1920-2014. ‘Service not self'”

The larger memorial (shown above) was dedicated in 2019 (Mid&East Antrim) and replaced a smaller memorial which also had the names of the locals who were killed in the world wars. “Greater love hath no man – We will remember them. In grateful memory of the men from Whitehead who gave their lives in World War I & II.” With a wreath from LOL 968.

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The Beautiful Game

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This Tigers Bay house is showing its support for soccer teams in all territories and at all levels: Rangers from Glasgow, Scotland; Northern Ireland internationally; Liverpool from England; and local team Crusaders.

For the UDA memorial garden to the left, see Honur, Loyalty, Liberty, Sacrifice. The remembrance day board was also seen in east Belfast.

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Marching Band

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In this board the Rising Sons Flute Band (“RSFB”) portrays itself as following in the footsteps of the Ulster Volunteers who joined the British Army and specifically the 8th battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles in the 36th (Ulster) Division, which was drawn from east Belfast’s Ulster Volunteers in 1914. The insignia for the battalion is usually shown as dark blue rather than the black shown here – see the mural of 36th Division insignia in Canada Street. There is a similar board outside the band’s practice hall in Castlereagh Street.

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Faces Of Death

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The ‘Hidden Treasure’ wild-style writing that in 2004 replaced the UDA C company mural from the Johnny Adair era on Beverley Street has itself now been partially replaced with the paintings (by emic (web)) of soldiers from the Shankill killed during WWI; the paintings were previously exhibited in the Shankill graveyard.

For more on the Shankill-Falls “peace” line and the early graffiti-art that was used to re-image it, see Visual History 10 – Re-Imaging.

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Village Green Preservation Society

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Part of the most recent development of the upper streets in the Village was not to rebuild the two rows on houses on Ebor and Nubia/Moltke streets and in their place construct a park – the Village Green – and playground. This new board on the outside railings make the park a “community park of remembrance” for WWI, showing an Ulster Banner with a Union Flag in the canton. There was formerly on this site an image of Thiepval Tower and a UVF stone.

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Angels And Faces

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Street artist Emic (web | tw) was commissioned by Up! Culture And Arts (and SASH and the Shankill Somme Association) to produce a series of large portraits – based on photographs from the time – of soldiers from the Shankill who fought in WWI, including brothers William and James McKendry, and Richard Mussen, son of the Richard Mussen whose funeral cortège is painted as a mural lower down the Shankill. The portraits were placed in the Shankill and West Kirk graveyards (the West Kirk photographs include poppies). On March 16th, the photographs were lit up and an ‘Angel Of Mons’ was projected onto the Spectrum Centre (Up! Fb).

Video from the Somme Association set to The Bloody Road To The Somme.

Also from the Shankill graveyard: Reflections On The Somme | Somme Memorial; and from the graveyard: Queen Of Ireland, Empress Of India | Interment | The Great War

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A Heart That Will Forgive

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“In Deo speramus”. “Edgarstown Remembers” “our forty-two fallen sons who made the ultimate sacrifice by giving their tomorrow for our today in the Great War 1914-1918.” “Dear Lord, I am just a soldier, a protector of our land/A servant called to battle when my country takes a stand./I pray for strength and courage and a heart that will forgive/For peace and understanding in a world for all to live./My family’s prayers are with me, no matter where I roam./Please listen when I’m lonely and return me safely home – Unknown”

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Sons Of Edgarstown

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“This park is dedicated to three brothers who made the ultimate sacrifice defending their family, town and country in the Great War: Private Alexander Hayes, Private John Hayes, Private William Hayes.” Lurgan Ancestry would appear to give the third brother as Wesley, rather than Alexander. He and John died on the first day of the Somme.

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The Glorious Dead

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Four of the 700 NHS staff in the UK to die of Covid during the pandemic have come Northern Ireland, the most recent being dementia specialist Alan Henry in Antrim hospital (Express | BelTel | iTV). In the south, Defence Forces have been deployed to three nursing homes while 6,400 health workers are off sick (Irish Times). The mural above shows a masked nurse and doctor among a field of poppies. For the black-and-white boards above, see Connswater Commemorates.

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Rathfern Remembers

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For the centenary of the end of WWI (in November 2018) a small board was added to the UFF’s South East Antrim Brigade mural in Rathfern.

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