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13th (1st County Down) Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles
The 13th (1st County Down) Battalion was raised in County Down in September 1914 from the Down Volunteers. They trained at Clandeboye and joined 108th Brigade, 36th (Ulster) Division. The Ulster Division was formed from the Ulster Volunteer Force in August and September 1914, a process complicated by the tension surrounding the issue of Home rule. In July 1915 they moved to Seaford, Sussex in England. They proceeded to France in the first week of October, landing at Boulogne. The 36th (Ulster) Division concentrated near Flesselles, north of Arras. With training and familiarisation, including periods in the trenches with 4th Division in the front line north of the River Ancre near Albert. On the 21st of October they moved to the area around Abbeville. The 36th Ulster Division took over the front line in Spring. In 1916 they Division suffered heavily on the first day of the Battle of the Somme where they attacked at Thiepval. In 1917 They were in action at The Battle of Messines, capturing Wytschaete and in the The Battle of Langemarck during the Third Battles of Ypres and the The Cambrai Operations where the Division captured Bourlon Wood. On the 13th of November 1917 the Battalion amalgamated with 13th Btn to form the 11/13th Royal Irish Rifles. In early 1918 the army was reorganised and the 11/13th battalion was disbanded in France on the 18th of February 1918 with the troops transferring to 22nd Entrenching Battalion.
The Ulster Tower, at Thiepval is a memorial to the men of the 36th (Ulster) Division, built as a copy of Helen's Tower at Clandeboye, County Down, where men of the 36th Division trained. There is a small visitor centre with a cafe behind the tower which is staffed by members of the Somme Association. Inside the tower is a small chapel with a number of paintings and plaques from Northern Ireland.
Today Thiepval Wood is owned by The Somme Association and guided tours are available of a section of recently excavated trenches.
Please note that Thiepval Wood is not open the public, it is used by French huntsmen who use live ammunition and who will shoot, you are putting yourself at risk by entering without permission. Please go to the visitor centre at the Ulster Tower to arrange a guided tour.
A DVD is now available, released for the official opening of the wood for guided tours on the 1st of July 2006, follows the Community Archeology Project, undertaken by The Somme Association and No Man's Land, The European Group for Great War Archaeology. You can order a copy on-line by clicking the image below:
1st September 1914 Recruitment of 16th (Service) Battalion Royal Irish Rifles 16th (Service) Battalion Royal Irish Rifles (Pioneers).
[Second County Down Volunteers]
Introduction: This summary of the history of the 16th Battalion from September 1914 to May 1919, is recorded mainly on a monthly basis with events listed on the 1st day of each month except in circumstances requiring further breakdown when details of other dates entered will be listed on the 1st of each month as a guide to the reader.
The actual War Diaries did not commence until the move to France in October 1915. Since I do not have direct access to the diaries, I have, by kind permission of the Somme Heritage Centre, used extracts from the book "The Terrors" by Lt.Col SN White (deceased)as the source.
Formation:
At the outbreak of war in 1914 the Home Rule Issue in Ireland had a considerable effect on volunteer recruitment. The Ulster Volunteer Force had over 80,000 armed volunteers in its ranks, but there was a reluctance to enlist due to the Home Rule concerns which existed at the time. It was thought that resistance to Home Rule would be weakened by reducing the force available should armed opposition prove necessary. The issue was eventually set aside for the duration of the war and it was then agreed between Lord Kitchener and Sir Edward Carson that 10,000 volunteers would be raised in the war effort with uniforms and equipment ordered for that number. Home Rule meant a parliament in Dublin at which Ulster Protestants felt they would be outnumbered and they might eventually finish up as a minority in a Catholic State separate from the United Kingdom.
1st October 1914 Recruitment of First County Down Volunteer 16th Bn Royal Irish Rifles.
The First County Down Volunteer call was to mobilise existing Militia and Ulster Volunteer Force members into what was to become the 13th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles which assembled at the Clandeboye Estate in Bangor, County Down for military training alongside other units of the Ulster Division.
1300 men from County Down were recruited in this initial call. However many of the UVF did not respond because of the perceived need to defend Ulster against Home Rule. On the 20th October plans were agreed to raise a unit separate to the Ulster Division, but it was to be a Service Battalion directly at the disposal of the GOC, Ulster Division and not a reserve battalion used merely to supply trained men as reinforcements for regular battalions.
The Ulster Division, later called the 36th (Ulster) Division, consisted of three Brigades and other supporting elements including Artillery units, Medical units and 2 Companies of Royal Engineers under the command of a Chief Engineer (CRE), the standard model for divisions in the British Army at the time.
Division Formation.
107th Brigade.
- 15th (Service) Battalion (North Belfast), the Royal Irish Rifles.
- 8th (Service) Battalion (East Belfast), the Royal Irish Rifles.
- 9th (Service) Battalion (West Belfast), the Royal Irish Rifles.
- 10th (Service) Battalion (South Belfast), the Royal Irish Rifles (until February 1918).
- 1st Battalion, the Royal Irish Fusiliers (from August 1917 until February 1918).
- 1st Battalion, the Royal Irish Rifles (from February 1918).
- 2nd Battalion, the Royal Irish Rifles (from February 1918).
- 107th Brigade Machine Gun Company (from 18 December 1915, moved into 36th Divisional Machine Gun Battalion on 1 March 1918).
- 107th Trench Mortar Battery (from 1 April 1916).
- In August 1917 the 8th and 9th battalions of the Royal Irish Rifles amalgamated to form the 8/9th Battalion, which disbanded in February 1918. Between November 1915 and February 1916 the brigade swapped with the 12th Brigade from the 4th Division.
108th Brigade.
- 9th (Service) Battalion, the Royal Irish Fusiliers.
- 12th (Service) Battalion (Central Antrim), the Royal Irish Rifles.
- 2nd Battalion, the Royal Irish Rifles (from November 1917 then moved to 107th Brigade. in February 1918).
- 11th (Service) Battalion (South Antrim), the Royal Irish Rifles.
- 13th (Service) Battalion (County Down), the Royal Irish Rifles.
- 1st Battalion, the Royal Irish Fusiliers (from 107th Bde. February
- 1918).
- 108th Brigade Machine Gun Company (from 26 January 1916, moved into
- 36th Divisional Machine Gun Battalion on 1 March 1918).
- 108th Trench Mortar Battery (from 1 April 1916).
- In August 1917 the 11th and 13th battalions of the Royal Irish Rifles amalgamated to form the 11/13th Battalion, which disbanded in February 1918.
109th Brigade.
- 9th (Service) Battalion (County Tyrone), the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers.
- 10th (Service) Battalion (Derry), the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
(disbanded January 1918).
- 11th (Service) Battalion (Donegal and Fermanagh), the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (disbanded February 1918).
- 14th (Service) Battalion (Young Citizens), the Royal Irish Rifles
(disbanded February 1918).
- 1st Battalion, the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (from February 1918).
- 2nd Battalion, the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (from February 1918).
- 109th Brigade Machine Gun Company (from 23 January 1916, moved into
- 36th Divisional Machine Gun Battalion on 1 March 1918).
- 109th Trench Mortar Battery (from 1 April 1916).
23rd of November 1914 Reorganisation
12th of October 1915 Instruction
16th Oct 1915 The Derby Scheme
16th of October 1915 Divisional Exercise
18th of October 1915 Instruction
25th of October 1915 Royal Inspection
1st of November 1915 Marching Orders
7th of November 1915 Present Stations
14th of November 1915 Trench Instruction
25th of November 1915 Orders
26th of November 1915 Billets
27th of November 1915 Move
29th of November 1915 Moves Completed
1st Dec 1915 Derby Scheme Armlets
11th Sep 1915 Last day of Derby Scheme Recruitment
19th of December 1915 Movement Instructions
8th of January 1916 Moves 
10th Jan 1916 Group System Reopens
18th of January 1916 Units and Personnel Move
2nd of February 1916 Moving to the Trenches
7th of February 1916 New Sector
8th of February 1916 Shelling
9th of February 1916 Villages Shelled
9th February 1916 Call Ups
12th of February 1916 A Line Rearrangement
14th of February 1916 Mine Blown
15th of February 1916 Digging and Mending
16th of February 1916 Collapsing Trenches
18th of February 1916 Lots of MG Fire
19th of February 1916 Under Heavy Fire
21st of February 1916 Active German Patrols
23rd of February 1916 Weather Turns
25th of February 1916 Heavy Snow and a German Patrol
26th of February 1916 A Store Burns
28th of February 1916 Changes to the Front
29th of February 1916 Active Aeroplanes
1st of March 1916 Reorganisation
2nd of March 1916 Very Strong Enemy Wire
3rd of March 1916 In Trenches
5th of March 1916 Relief Completed
7th of March 1916 Trench Mortars Bombard Village
8th of March 1916 400 Shells Fired
13th of March 1916 A Relief and a Wound
24th of March 1916 Relieved in Trenches
25th of March 1916 Hostile Aeroplanes
5th of May 1916 Bombs and Reliefs
16th of May 1916 Machine Gun Sweep
22nd of May 1916 Relieved
1st of June 1916 Lively Shelling
23rd of July 1916 Battalion Amalgamation
24th of June 1916 Our Artillery Cuts Wire
26th of June 1916 POWs Taken
27th of June 1916 Intense Bombardment
1st of July 1916 In Thiepval Wood
1st July 1916 Terrible Losses
2nd of July 1916 A Gallant Plan
10th of July 1916 Entraining Plans
28th of July 1916 Relieved
30th of October 1916 A Daylight Reccy
2nd of February 1917 To Neuve Eglise
8th of February 1917 Relief Complete
13th of February 1917 Move to Kortepyp
18th of February 1917 Relieved 13 RI Rifles
24th of February 1917 Relief and Work
2nd of March 1917 Into Trenches
9th of March 1917 To Kortepyp
18th of May 1917 Fort Victoria Shelled
21st of May 1917 In Kemmel Area
28th of May 1917 Relieving 13 RIR
1st of June 1917 Instructions for the Offensive
7th of June 1917 Attack a Complete Success
16th of August 1917 Under Fire
16th of August 1917 Under Fire
5th of September 1917 Relieved
6th of September 1917 Work and Training
12th Sep 1917 Patrols
16th September 1917 Church Parade
23rd of September 1917 Work and Relief
23rd of September 1917 Work and Relief
30th of September 1917 Battle Narrative
7th of October 1917 Relieved
15th of October 1917 Relief Complete
24th of October 1917 Relieved
1st of February 1918 An Inspection
9th February 1918 Daily Activity 9th Btn. (North Irish Horse) the Royal Irish Fusiliers.
Strength: 37 Officers, 853 Other Ranks, 36 horses, 16 mules.
Increase: Seven Other Ranks.
Decrease: 2nd Lieutenant Galloway (Medical Board, England), 2nd Lieutenant J.I McCausland (6 months duty, England), 2nd Lieutenant E.V Crothers (transferred Indian Army) and two horses.
Support B.20.c line, left sub-sector. 1730. Relieved by 1st Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers.
After relief, proceeded to relieve 11/13 Royal Irish Rifles in left sub-sector.
- Dispositions:
- B Company in right sector,
- D Company in left sector,
- A and C Companies, ½ each counter attack and passive resistance.
28th Sep 1918 On the Move
29th Sep 1918 On the Move
30th Sep 1918 In Action
1st Oct 1918 Hard Fighting
2nd Oct 1918 Into Reserve
3rd Oct 1918 In Reserve
4th Oct 1918 Reliefs Completed
4th Oct 1918 Reliefs
5th Oct 1918 Heavy Shelling
6th Oct 1918 Line Advanced
7th Oct 1918 Artillery Active
8th Oct 1918 Heavy Shelling
9th Oct 1918 Heavy Shelling
10th Oct 1918 Heavy Shelling
11th Oct 1918 Counter Attack
12th Oct 1918 Farm Captured
13th Oct 1918 Artillery Active
14th Oct 1918 Attack Made
15th Oct 1918 Attack Made
16th Oct 1918 In Action
17th Oct 1918 At Rest
18th Oct 1918 At Rest
19th Oct 1918 At Rest
20th Oct 1918 Reliefs
21st Oct 1918 Attack Made
31st of January 1919 Royal Visit Continues
If you can provide any additional information, please add it here.
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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 with13th (1st County Down) Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles during the Great War 1914-1918. - Bell Thomas John. Rfn. (d.28th Jun 1916)
- Blair R.. Rfn. (d.10th Dec 1917)
- Fee Robert. Rfmn.
- Gault James. Pte.
- Lyons John. Rflmn.
- Martin William. Pte.
- McClelland James Arthur. Rfmn. (d.16th Aug 1917)
- McClelland Samuel David. Rfm.
- McClelland William John. Rflmn.
- Parkes William. Pte.
- Pritchard Robert. Sgt.
- Rankin Samuel. Pte
- Smyth David John. Rflmn. (d.1st July 1916)
- Smyth John. Rflmn. (d.6th August 1917)
- Tate James. Sgt. (d.1st July 1916)
- Thompson William John. Rflmn. (d.30th May 1916)
- Uprichard Henry Albert. Major (d.1st July 1916)
- Waring H.. Mjr.
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 13th (1st County Down) Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles from other sources.
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Rflmn. William John Thompson 13th Battalion, B Company Royal Irish Rifles (d.30th May 1916) After conducting some family history research, I came across William John Thompson, he would have been my 1st cousin twice removed. He served in B Coy 13th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles for the 36th Ulster Division.
Prior to the war, he lived with his parents John and Martha Thompson, along with his 4 sisters Agnes, Sarah, Martha and Annie, in High Street, Comber, Co. Down.
I don't know exactly how he died, as records say he "Died of Wounds." This was on the 30th May 1916. I know around this time the Battalion were either stationed in Rainneville or St Gratien, so how he died exactly and what wounds were inflicted remains a mystery.
He is buried in Forceville Communal Cemetery and Extension, France.
If anyone has any further information as to how he died, I would be very grateful to hear from you.
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Rflmn. John Smyth 13th Battalion, B Company Royal Irish Rifles (d.6th August 1917) John Smyth served with B Company, 13th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles.
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Rflmn. David John Smyth 13th Battalion, B Company Royal Irish Rifles (d.1st July 1916) David Smyth is remembered on the Thiepval Memorial.
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Major Henry Albert Uprichard 13th Btn. Royal Irish Rifles (d.1st July 1916) Henry Uprichard is burried in Mill Road Cemetery on the Somme
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Sgt. James Tate 13th (1st County Down) Battalion, C Company. Royal Irish Rifles (d.1st July 1916) James Tate was my great grandfather. he was born on 28 June 1896 in the townland of Dunbeg and he was the eldest son of Joseph and Sarah Tate (nee Craig). Prior to the outbreak of the Great War James Tate worked as a farmer and he was a member of the Killinchy contingent of the Ulster Volunteer Force. He enlisted in Downpatrick and trained at Clandeboye Camp before going to Seaford in Sussex and then to the Front in October 1915.
James married Grace Brown on 26th of August 1915 in Belmont Presbyterian Church while he was stationed in Seaford, Sussex. Grace was from 92 East Bread Street, Belfast, daughter of James Brown, a labourer.
They had a son named Joseph, who was born on 3rd of March 1916.
James was home for a short period of leave in May 1916 and he saw his son.
Less than two months later, Sergeant Tate was killed in action on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. He is buried in Serre Road Cemetery No.1, in France and is commemorated in Killinchy Parish Church of Ireland Church
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Rflmn. John Lyons 9th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles John Lyons was born on 27th April 1898 at the family home in
Jersey Street, Belfast. Whilst he has a battalion prefix and regimental number consistent with an enlistment early in the war, he was not deployed to the Western Front with 9th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles in October 1915. He was deployed to 13th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles at an unrecorded date after 31st of December 1915 and there is no evidence that he was involved in the Battle of Albert on 1st and 2nd July 1916. He later served with 14th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles and the Northern Whig edition of 18th of April 1918 reported that he had been wounded, probably in the Battle of St Quentin in March 1918.
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Rfn. R. Blair 13th (1st Co. Down) Btn. Royal Irish Rifles (d.10th Dec 1917) Rifleman Blair was 40 years old when he died. He is buried in Rocquigny-Equancourt Road British Cemetery, Manancourt. He was the son of Thomas and Eliza Blair, Clodrurn, Killeshandra, Co., Cavan.
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Rflmn. William John McClelland 13th Battalion, B Company Royal Irish Rifles William John McClelland served in B Company, 13th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles in the 36th (Ulster) Division. According to his battalion's war diary, he was reported missing following the Battle of the Somme on 1st of July 1916. Records show he had been shot in the neck and was taken prisoner by the Germans at Thiepval. He was held at the Minden POW camp.
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Pte. William Martin 13th Btn. Royal Irish Rifles My great uncle Bill Martin served with the 13th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles in the 36th (Ulster) Division. A farmhand from Newtownards, he was 17 when he enlisted on 22nd of February 1915. He fought alongside his cousins and friends in France. He was wounded with shell-shock and was hospitalized in France and England before being discharged for medical reasons on 15th of June 1917. He returned to Newtownards and worked outdoors on farms, which was recommended to ease his nerves. In 1928 he emigrated to Toronto in Canada, where he later married and had one daughter.
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Pte. James Gault 13th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles My Grandfather, James Gault was a POW. As far as I can tell he was taken prisoner on the first day of the Battle of the Somme July 1st 1916. He also served in the Army in WW2.
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Sgt. Robert Pritchard 13th Btn Royal Irish Rifles Robert Pritchard served with the Royal Irish Rifles
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Rfn. Thomas John Bell C Coy. 13th Btn. Royal Irish Rifles (d.28th Jun 1916)  Rifleman Thomas John Bell – No. 16230 served with C. Company, 13th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles
Thomas, son of John and Martha Bell of Ballyvicknakelly, was born in Dromore, County Down on the 11th May 1878. He had two sisters, Agnes and Mary (Minnie). He was employed as a Railway Porter for the Great Northern Line in Dromore. He was a member of Dromore Cathedral Church, Orange Order Ballynavicknakelly LOL No.828, No.11 Royal Black Preceptory and Dromore Masonic Lodge No. 70.
His sister Agnes Sarah was married to Robert James Martin and Thomas was staying with her in Mount Street, Dromore at the time of the 1901 census, while Robert was in the Boer War, to help her and her two young children Thomas Neill Martin and Mary Minnie Martin.
Thomas was an old member of the South Down Militia and took an active part in the training of the local Ulster Volunteer Force in Dromore. As one of its founding members, when the call came he set off from Dromore Railway Station with the rest of the company on the 19th September 1914 for Clandeboye Camp, where he enlisted into the First County Down Volunteers, later to be called the 13th Battalion, the Royal Irish Rifles.
In the Somme sector prior to the fateful 1st July 1916 the 13th Battalion and the 9th Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers were both in a village called Rainneville , but it was too small to accommodate both so the 13th moved to a village called St. Gratien about 4 miles behind the front line. On the 28th June 1916 the 13th were moving to the front line to relieve the 11th Battalion by platoons and, as the last platoon in C Company formed up to march off, a German shell hit them and the explosion killed 14 outright with another 7 dying the next day.
The 14 killed that day were the first burials in a new British War Cemetery near the village of Martinsarts and Thomas lies in Plot 1 Row A Grave 1.
He never reached the safety of the trenches that day, trenches that his younger nephew Tommy Martin (16th Btn.) had helped to prepare, but he did miss the horrors of the 1st July as was pointed out in a letter to his parents by a Sgt. Henderson who knew him well.
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Rfmn. Robert Fee 13th Btn. Royal Irish Rifles My great grandfather Robert Fee served with the 13th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles. I don't know too much about his wartime history only that he was wounded and he was left with shrapnel embedded in body and also his face was left scarred. My aunt told me he always had a wool blanket over his shoulders as he felt the cold so much from being in the trenches. He lost a son in the Merchant Navy. He joined up at the age of thirty-six and died in the early 1950s.
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