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The Wartime Memories Project is the original WW1 and WW2 commemoration website.
Announcements
- 1st of September 2024 marks 25 years since the launch of the Wartime Memories Project. Thanks to everyone who has supported us over this time.
- The Wartime Memories Project has been running for 25 years. If you would like to support us, a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting and admin or this site will vanish from the web.
- 19th Nov 2024 - Please note we currently have a huge backlog of submitted material, our volunteers are working through this as quickly as possible and all names, stories and photos will be added to the site. If you have already submitted a story to the site and your UID reference number is higher than
264989 your information is still in the queue, please do not resubmit, we are working through them as quickly as possible.
- Looking for help with Family History Research?
Please read our Family History FAQs
- The free to access section of The Wartime Memories Project website is run by volunteers and funded by donations from our visitors. If the information here has been helpful or you have enjoyed reaching the stories please conside making a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting or this site will vanish from the web.
If you enjoy this site
please consider making a donation.
Want to find out more about your relative's service? Want to know what life was like during the War? Our
Library contains an ever growing number diary entries, personal letters and other documents, most transcribed into plain text. |
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Wanted: Digital copies of Group photographs, Scrapbooks, Autograph books, photo albums, newspaper clippings, letters, postcards and ephemera relating to WW2. We would like to obtain digital copies of any documents or photographs relating to WW2 you may have at home. If you have any unwanted
photographs, documents or items from the First or Second World War, please do not destroy them.
The Wartime Memories Project will give them a good home and ensure that they are used for educational purposes. Please get in touch for the postal address, do not sent them to our PO Box as packages are not accepted.
World War 1 One ww1 wwII second 1939 1945 battalion
Did you know? We also have a section on The Great War. and a
Timecapsule to preserve stories from other conflicts for future generations.
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Want to know more about 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers? There are:1350 items tagged 2nd 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 Second World War. |
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Laurance John Burtenshaw 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers My dear late father, Laurance John Burtenshaw, of the 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers was a POW at Stalag 11a.
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John Carroll 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers My father, John Carroll, died in 1977. I recently started to research his WW2 history. He enlisted with the 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers, No. 6978725, on 29/7/37. After training at home he was sent to Malta for a short period before heading off to Palestine. After Palestine he then returned to Malta before the war broke out and remained here for the entire siege. After victory, he then went on to Leros, where he was captured by the Germans, 15th Nov 1943, and taken POW to Stalag IVB at Muhlberg, Germany, POW No. 267891. He was here until its liberation, then returned to Perth, Scotland to Military Hospital for some time, before ceasing his military career on 29/5/46
He died when I was 5 years old so I never got to hear his story first hand. I have spent a great deal of time researching his story, but as yet I have not found one photograph. Does anyone out there have even a Battalion photo that he may be in?
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Sgt. William McLaughlin 2nd Btn. Royal Irish Fusiliers My Grandfather was held in 3 POW camps. I have obtained this information and associated dates from the MOD records, so they are as accurate as they can be. His details are as follows:
6976070 Sergeant William McLaughlin, Army Catering Corps.
He was posted to 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers on 19th August 1943 and was reported missing, prisoner of war, Leros, Aegean on 16th November 1943.
Records show that on 6th January 1944 he was in STALAG 11A Aletbgrabow.
By 19th April 1944 he was in STALAG 357 Orbke and by 2nd June 1944 he was in STALAG 3A, Luckenwalde, Germany.
He was repatriated to the UK on 26th May 1945.
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Sgt. Henry David Lowry 2nd Btn. Royal Irish Fusiliers  My greatest regret is not having asked more questions when I was able to.
My dad, Harry Lowry lived to age 87 and was a quiet, humorous and kind man. He joined the 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers as a teenager, as had his father for WW1. His pre WW2 and wartime service included Palestine, Malta, Leros / Kos of which I know little. What little I do know includes the terrible hunger, constant bombing and indescribable duties such as clearing human remains after bomb raids.
As an older man he would still look up to check what was flying overhead when a plane was near, and would wake from sleep and be alert instantly.
I understand that his battalion invaded Leros / Kos and that after some 3 days fierce fighting when they were hopelessly outnumbered, and half of his Battalion were either killed or taken prisoner, he escaped into the sea (he was a non swimmer) and was picked up and returned to Malta. When he eventually returned to the UK, it was in the seat as a rear gunner in an aircraft, a very unusual role for him.
He served 25 years in total with both RIF and other arms such as RASC and later RAPC.
My Hero.
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Fus. Maurice McMulkin 2nd Btn. Royal Irish Fusiliers Maurice McMulkin served on Malta, during the siege 1940 to 1943. After Malta, the battalion was redeployed to Leros, in the Dodecanese Islands. On 12th of November 1943, the island was invaded by German forces. Five days of heavy fighting was followed by the island defenders succumbing to superior enemy forces.
Maurice was captured and after an arduous train journey across four countries lasting some two weeks, he ended up in Stalag XIA at Altengrabow. Being only a fusilier, he was put to work and spent most of his time at a work camp near to Halberstadt. He was liberated in April 1945 and according to his army records was repatriated to England on 23rd of April 1945. Including his pre-war service time from January 1938, he had been overseas continuously for over seven years.
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CSM. William South 2nd Btn. Royal Irish Fusiliers Bill South was captured by the Germans at the fall of Leros in 1943.
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Pte. John Joseph Durney 2nd Btn. Royal Irish Fusiliers My father, John Durney travelled to Liverpool and joined the Royal Irish Fusiliers in 1937. He saw action in Egypt, Palastine, Malta, Africa
He was sent to Leros in Greece where he was captured on 16th of November 1943 and sent to Prisoner Of War Camp Stalag 11a. He was repatriated by the Russians in 1945.
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Cpl. Thomas Walsh 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers Thomas Walsh was captured at the Battle of Leros. He died relatively young, probably as an indirect result of his incarceration. Reading the stories of others fills in the gaps in knowledge.
My one memory of what he told me (I was 10 when he died and he didn't talk about it much) was that he escaped his Stalag on two occasions only to be recaptured. The German guards made it very clear that if he tried a third time he would be shot. He did escape again with a couple of others. He and the others were hiding in the roof of a church and a German patrol arrived. A German Shepherd Alsatian dog was dispatched into the roof-space and instead of giving my dad away the dog licked his nose and returned to his handler!
He reached Allied lines and was one of the first home at war's end.
That's the story anyway:)
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Joseph Dominic Doyle 2nd Btn. Royal Irish Fusiliers Joseph Doyle was born to John and Catherine (Geraghty) Doyle on 15th of May 1921. His birth place was James's Street, Newbridge, Co. Kildare. His family moved to 564 Chapel Lane, Newbridge Co. Kildare circa 1935.
Joseph became a soldier with the 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers.
He became a prisoner of war and was interned in Stalag 4f in Hartmansdorf, Chemnitz. His POW number was 269542.
He wrote a letter from Palestine to his mother in 1948. Following his return home he emigrated and died in Australia in 1990. He was buried in Fremantle, W.A.
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Fusilier David Biggart 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers (d.18th April 1947) Royal Irish Fusilier David Biggart fought for the Aegean Islands during WW2. He was captured in 1943 and taken to Stalag 4B in Oschatz, Germany which was one of the last to be liberated in late 1945 or early 1946.
He died at home in Coleraine, Northern Ireland on 18th April 1947 due to complication of being starved and enduring forced labour in Oschatz. I am his great great niece.
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