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5th Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers
5th (Service) Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers was raised at Armagh in August 1914 as part of Kitchener's First New Army and joined 31st Brigade, 10th (Irish) Division. After training in Ireland they moved to Basingstoke, England in April 1915 for final training. On the
7th of July 1915 they sailed from Liverpool for Gallipoli via Mudros.
They landed at Sulva Bay on the 7th of August 1915 and made an attack on Chocolate Hill on the 7th and 8th. They were withdrawn from Gallipoli on the 29th of September 1915 to Mudros, moving to Salonika, landing between the 5th and 10th of October. On the 7th and 8th of December they were in action at Kosturino, in the retreat from Serbia. Some units of the Division were in action at the Karajakois and Yenikoi in late September and early October. In October 1915 they moved via Mudros to Salonika and on the 2nd of November 1916 absorbed the 6th Royal Irish Fusiliers. In September 1917 they moved to Egypt for service in Palestine. Between April and June 1918, many British units of the Division were replaced by Indian units and on the 30th of April 1918 the 5th Irish Fusiliers left the Division and sailed from Port Said to Marseilles arriving on the 27th of May. They travelled by train to the Somme and joined 66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division on the 23rd of July. On the
24th of August they transferred to 48th Brigade, 16th (Irish) Division and absorbed the 11th Irish Fusiliers. They were in action in The Final Advance in Artois.
22nd Aug 1915 Reliefs
16th Oct 1915 The Derby Scheme
1st Dec 1915 Derby Scheme Armlets
11th Sep 1915 Last day of Derby Scheme Recruitment
10th Jan 1916 Group System Reopens
9th February 1916 Call Ups
13th May 1917 Bombardment
15th May 1917 Attack Made
16th May 1917 Counter Attack
18th August 1917 Orders
1st Sep 1917 On the Move
5th Sep 1917 On the Move
22nd Sep 1917 On the Move
21st Jul 1918 On the Move
22nd Jul 1918 In Camp
28th Jul 1918 Football
If you can provide any additional information, please add it here.
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| Want to know more about 5th Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers? There are:5246 items tagged 5th Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers available in our Library
These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Great War.
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Those known to have served with5th Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers during the Great War 1914-1918. - Arnold T.. Pte. (d.30th Sep 1918)
- Bearney Patrick. Pte. (d.4th Dec 1915)
- Best Hugh. Fus.
- Briscoe Henry Whitby. 2nd Lt. (d.15th Apr 1917)
- Fennessey William.
- Frazer John. CQMS
- Geddes R. Pte. (d.20th Mar 1918)
- Goggins Joseph. Pte
- Higgins Patrick. Pte. (d.10th Aug 1915)
- Langley George. Pte. (d.1 July 1916)
- Nairn MID William John. Pte.
- O'Brien John. Pte. (d.28th September 1914)
- Sherrington Edward. Pte. (d.23rd February 1918)
All names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed,
please Add a Name to this List
Records of 5th Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers from other sources.
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Pte. Patrick Higgins 5th Btn. Royal Irish Fusiliers (d.10th Aug 1915) I had always heard from my Mother that an uncle of hers died in the first world war. We only recently found out about him.
Patrick Higgins joined the Royal Irish Fusiliers against the wishes of his family. He was 25 and only married a few months.
My mother told the story that he only lasted a few weeks, which is true.
He was in the 5th Battalion and his unit landed in Gallipoli on the 7th of August after sailing for a month. He died on the 10th of August.
His wife's name was Marie Higgins of 3 Laurel Hurst, College Road, Cork. He was the son of the late Peter Higgins of Maudlin St, Kells, Co. Meath.
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Pte. William John Nairn MID 5th Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers William Nairn of Clones, Co Monaghan, Ireland joined the 5th Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers in 1914.
He landed with the Regiment at Suvla Bay on the 7th of August 1915. He took part in the Battle for Chocolate Hill where he was wounded. He was evacuated back to a hospital in England.
He next was sent to France in 1916 with the 7th Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers. He was Mentioned in Dispatches for conspicuous gallantry according to one of his brothers.
In Febuary 1918 he joined the North Irish Horse
He was captured after 6 days of continuous fighting, in retreat, by the German Army, on 27th of March 1918, in or near the French Hamlet of Margny aux Cerises, South of Erches.
He was a POW in the German Camp at Stendal. He was released at the end of 1918 and returned to Britain and Ireland.
He emigrated to New Zealand from Ulster in 1924.
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Pte. John O'Brien 5th Btn. Royal Irish Fusiliers (d.28th September 1914) Private O'Brien is buried near the south-west corner of the Ballintra Cemetery in Co. Monaghan, Ireland.
He was the husband of Mary Moore, Patrick Street, Armagh.
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Pte. George Langley 5th Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers (d.1 July 1916) George Langley was born in Lurgan, Co. Armagh in 1888, the son of John Langley and Margaret McMahon. His parents were married on 21 May 1882 in St Peter’s RC Church in Lurgan. George was a linen weaver like his father before enlisting in the Army.
According to his medal card, George was enlisted in the 5th Battalion of the Royal Irish Fusiliers and served at Gallipoli in 1915.
He was serving with the 1st Battalion when he was killed on the first day of the Somme Offensive, 1 July 1916. George has no known grave and is commemorated on Pier and Face 15A, Thiepval Memorial, France and also on the Lurgan War Memorial.
It seems likely that George joined 5 RIF as a volunteer when it was formed as part of Kitchener's New Army in September 1914 and later transferred to 1 RIF. He may have been with the Irish National Volunteers before enlisting.
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Fus. Hugh Best 5th Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers Hugh Best joined the 5th Bn. R.I.F. during its formation at Portobello Barracks, Dublin, during August 1914.
His home was at Lonsdale St. Armagh, were he lived with his wife Margaret (nee Armstrong) and six children (ages 2 to 16 approx.)
After training in Ireland, the Btn. along with the rest of the 10th (Irish) Div. were moved to Basingstoke, Hampshire, England in about May 1915. The 5th Bn. embarked at Devonport (nr. Plymouth) on the 11th July '15. The ship sailed on the early hours of the 12th of July (as per War Diary for 5th Bn. and not the 7th of July as mentioned in other reports). After the journey via Gibraltar, Malta, Egypt and the Greek Islands the 5th Btn. were landed at Suvla Bay, Gallipoli on 7th of August 1915. Hugh was wounded on or after this date and it is assumed that he went through the medical evacuation process and eventually arrived in Armagh. Meanwhile during his time away his wife Margaret died from cancer. Hugh remarried before the war was over and details on his marriage certificate stated that he was serving with A Company, 1st. Bn. Royal Irish Fusiliers. This Battalion was in France and Flanders. I do not know when he joined, where he served or when he left the 1st Bn.
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Pte. T. Arnold 5th Btn. Royal Irish Fusiliers (d.30th Sep 1918) Private T Arnold lost his life aged 27 on the last day of the Final Offensive in Salonika, most likely during the passage of the Vardar river and pursuit to the Strumica valley (22-30 September). He is buried in Plovdiv Central Cemetery, Bulgaria.
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2nd Lt. Henry Whitby Briscoe 3rd Garrison Btn. Royal Irish Fusiliers (d.15th Apr 1917) Henry Briscoe served with the Royal Irish Fusiliers. His unit is recorded as the 3rd Garrison Battalion but that unit served only within the UK and would have provided reinforcements to other regular battalions. It is likely that he served with either the 5th or 6th Battalions as both were involved in the Gallipoli Campaign and then moved to Salonika.
He was the son of Arthur Wellesley Briscoe, of Leinster Rd., Rathmines, Dublin and husband of Mary Zoe Briscoe, of 6, Duncairn Terrace, Bray, Co. Wicklow. Henry was a Civil Servant (Irish Land Commission), barrister-at-law.
He was drowned at sea age 34 when the HM Transport Arcadian was torpedoed and sunk on the 15th April 1917 while en route from Salonika to Alexandria.
He is remembered on the Mikra Memorial in Greece.
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Pte. Patrick Bearney 5th Btn. Royal Irish Fusiliers (d.4th Dec 1915) Patrick Bearney was born in Kingstown, Dun Laoghaire, Ireland and also enlisted there. After action in Gallipoli Private Bearney died of wounds in Salonika. He is buried in Salonika in Lembet Road Military Cemetery.
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Pte. R Geddes 5th Btn. Royal Irish Fusiliers (d.20th Mar 1918) Private R. Geddes was the son of Robert and Anna (nee Torrance) Geddes of 5 Melville Street, Lochgelly, Scotland. In September 1917 he and the 5th Battalion were deployed to Egypt for involvement in the Palestine Campaign. On 9th March 1918 a new offensive began towards Jordan, and it was shortly afterwards that he lost his life aged 29. Private Geddes is buried at the Alexandria (Hadra) War Memorial Cemetery in Egypt.
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Pte Joseph Goggins 7th Btn. Royal Irish Fusiliers My paternal grandfather Pte Joseph Goggins enlisted in the 5th Btn Royal Irish Fusiliers and was posted to the 7th.
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