CAVALRY CLUB NEWSLETTER SUMMER 2015

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1 CAVALRY CLUB NEWSLETTER SUMMER 2015 COS Designate. On 01 Jul 15, the Minister for Defence announced that the government has decided to appoint R Adm Mark Mellett DSM as COS when Lt Gen Conor O Boyle retires in Sep. Adm Mellett served in an Fórsa Cosanta Aitiúil as a Tpr and as a Cpl in 5 Mot Sqn from 1973 to He joined the DF as a Naval Service Cadet in 1976 and he was commissioned as an Ens in He became OC LE Orla in 1992 and he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal With Distinction for a major drugs interdiction operation at sea in He subsequently commanded the L.E. CIARA in In 2005, he commanded the Irish Naval Flagship L.E. EITHNE. In the rank of Cdr he was OIC Head of Naval Plans and Policy and Comdt of the Naval College and Associate Head of the National Maritime College of Ireland. He served overseas with ISAF in Afghanistan (2004) and with UNIFIL in Lebanon (1989). He attended courses at the Royal Naval College in Greenwich in 1989, at the US Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1999 and he was awarded a PhD in Oceans Governance from NUI Galway in 2009 and a Masters in Government and Public Policy from University College Cork in He was appointed as FOCNS IN JAN 11 and DCOS Sp in Jun 13. He was elected as an Honorary Member of the Cav Club by the members at the 2012 AGM. We wish Adm Mellett every success in his role as COS. Promotions. At the end of May, Comdts Rory McCorley, Tom McGrath and Cormac Kirwan were listed for promotion to Lt Col. We extend heartiest congratulations and best wishes for the future.

2 Cavalry Club Golf. On Wednesday 03 Jun, the Cavalry Cup golf competition was held at the Royal Curragh Golf Club. The Royal Curragh, through the good offices of Vice President Lt Gen Seán McCann made their facilities available at a very reasonable rate and both the course and catering facilities were of the highest standard. A total of twenty two players participated consisting of twelve Cavalry Club Members and their guests. This was the second successive year that the competition was held in the Curragh and it would appear that it is the best location as participation was good again. There was an exciting finish to the competition as the holder, Lt Col Pearse McCorley was tied with Gens MacNamee (Club Pres 1987) and Mc Cann on a score of 35 points. After a meticulous examination of the scores the Cavalry Cup was retained by Pearse McCorley by virtue of a better score on the back nine.the Club President, Comdt Peter Norton presented the Cup to Pearse after a very enjoyable meal attended by all participants. Brig Gen Liam MacNamee was runner up followed by Lt Gen Seán McCann. The competition was organised by Gen McCann, Comdt Seamus Ryan and Lt Col Pearse McCorley and the sponsorship of Capt Paraic O Toole, Lt Col Eamonn Cullagh and Capt Cathal O Neill was very much appreciated. It is intended to hold the competition in the Curragh next year and it is hoped that more of the younger club members will participate. Cavalry Officers Overseas. Ten officers of the Corps started tours of duty overseas in recent months. March was a busy month for departures, Lt Col Gavin Young and Comdt Will O Meara deployed to Afghanistan to Resolute Support Mission. Comdt Andrew Burke started his tour in the Middle East with UNTSO. Lt Steven Keane is the Recce Sec Comd with 48 Inf Gp UNDOF on the Golan Heights. Lt Cathal Daly went to Mali with the EUTM as OIC Training Team. The EU training mission in Mali is provided for under United Nations Security Council Resolution In April, Comdt Cormac Kirwan deployed to the Democratic Republic of Congo with MONUSCO. Three Cav officers started service in South Lebanon with 49 Inf Gp UNIFIL in May: Capt Shane McGrath, Lt Colm Kirby and Lt Paul Ralph. Also in May, Comdt Michael Murphy deployed to UNDOF HQ as SSO Media & PR. We wish all of our colleagues a safe and peaceful time overseas.

3 Cavalry Young Officers Induction Dinner. 2/Lt Niall Harte 1 Armd Cav Sqn, 2/Lt Michael Conneely 2 Cav Sqn and Lt Patrick Coffey from 90 Cadet Class, who were commissioned into the Cav Corps in Feb, were formally welcomed into the Corps at a special dinner hosted by the Club President, Comdt Peter Norton, and held in the Officers Mess The Military College on 04 June. Sqn Comds, senior officers from the Corps and some members of the committee attended. Col Jim Burns J7 (Director of Training) was the guest speaker at the dinner. Back Row L R 2/Lt Stephen Bunney, Col (Retd) George Kerton, Comdt Eugene Cooke, Comdt Patrick O'Connor, Comdt Colin MacNamee, Lt Col (Retd) Gerard Brennan, Lt Donnacha Lenihan, Capt Neil Curran Front Row L- R Col Jim Burns, Lt Niall Harte, Lt Gen (Retd) Sean McCann (Vice President), Comdt Peter Norton (Club President), Col Sean O'Keeffe, Lt Patrick Coffey, 2/Lt Michael Connelly

4 Cavalry Club Battlefied Tour 2015 Following on from our very popular and successful trips to the WW1 Battlefields of France and Flanders, an intrepid crew of 13 people made it this year on the weekend of the 18 th -21 st June. Be there early, was the rallying cry that signalled the RV and starting point from Dublin Airport and flight to Brussells on Thursday morning the 18 th June. As it happened the date 18 th June 2015 marked an important historical event worth noting in that the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte met The Duke of Wellington on the Battlefield exactly 200 years ago to the date. Armed with this knowledge a visit to Waterloo was imperative. A great view over the Battlefield was had and with the very knowledgeable and informative brief given by Declan Hayes we came away with a great historical knowledge of with what had happened there 200 years ago. One of the main themes maintained by the Club on these trips over the years is the focus on the Irish Regiments and Irish men who fought in the Great War. A visit to Mons saw the first shot and last shot, St Symporium CWG Cemetery and the Conde Canal where the BEF squared off to the approaching German Army before the famous retreat to the Marne. Further following in the footsteps of Irish soldiers and discovering the WW1 Battlefields of Flanders and the Somme the group visited Beaumont Hamel, Ulster tower and Thiepval. Across the Albert, Bapaumne road we visited Guillemont and Ginchy the site of the 16 th Irish Division actions. A visit to Delville wood and Pozieres, the site of the Tank Memorial made the stop on the Somme a very memorable one. Also new to us on the Somme sector, The Battle of Cambrai was dealt with this year with a visit to the battlefield and in particular Bourlon wood and Flerbaix. Leaving the Somme to go to Ypres in Belgium we visited what is known as the Forgotten Front where the Battles of Neuve Chapelle, Aubers Ridge and Festubert were fought. We stopped at the site of the Last absolution Of the Munsters where Father Francis Gleeson from Tipperary gave his final blessing to the 2 nd Battalion of the Royal Munster Fusiliers before the Battle of Aubers Ridge 8 th May Subsequently the Battalion were all nearly slaughtered in this Battle showing

5 us the impact of training on later Battles of 1916 and We paid a visit to the Battle field of Loos (Sept 1915) and from our great viewing platform at Dud corner Cemetery and the Loos Memorial we witnessed an unbridled view of the very flat and level ground over which that so many was expected to fight. The Group visited Willie Redmond s grave in Locre, Island of Ireland Peace Park where the battle of Messines is commemorated and where the 16 th Irish Division and 36 th Ulster Division fought side by side against a common enemy. The village of Wytschaete where the 16 th Irish Div are commemorated again can be seen a second Celtic Cross like the one seen in Guillemont on the Somme. The Ypres salient provided the group with stops at John McCrae Memorial at Essex Farm, the Gas Memorial at St Julien, Hill 60, Langemarck German Cemetery and John Condons grave at Poelcapelle. New to the trip was a visit to the superb passchendaele Museum at Zonnebeke which provided all the details of the Great War that one needed to be aware of to enjoy all the more our visit to the Battlefields. The visit of the Group to Tyne Cott the largest CWGC that exists, by the nature of its size brings home the scale of death and destruction that was had during the War and leaves a lasting impression to the soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice. The Last Post Ceremony (WW1 Battlefield Tour) They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them. Every night at 2000hrs a moving ceremony takes place under the Menin Gate in Ieper - Ypres. The Last Post Ceremony has become part of the daily life in Ieper (Ypres) and the local people are proud of this simple but moving tribute to the courage and self-sacrifice of those who fell in defence of their town. In keeping with tradition and now SOP for the Cavalry club visits to the Battlefields of France and Belgium a wreath is laid on behalf of the members of the Cavalry Club to honour all Irishmen and Irish women who gave their lives in all conflicts worldwide. Please see our Website Cavclub.ie for more pictures of the tour.

6 Dates for the Diary for this Quarter. Wednesday 08 Jul 15. A stand down parade will be held for in Plunkett Bks for Lt Col Pat Power, Sch Comdt Cav Sch at 1500 hours on 08 July prior to his retirement. Lt Col Power enlisted in the army in Dec 1975 and he was commissioned with 5 Potential Officers Course in Oct On behalf of club members we wish Pat and his wife Maeve all the best for the future. Sunday 12 Jul 15. The National Day of Commemoration Ceremony will be held at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham on 12 Jul 15 at 1030 hours. Saturday 18 Jul 15. Cpl William Hetherington died fifty years ago on 19 Jul 65 from injuries he suffered in a road traffic accident in Cyprus while he was serving with 4 Inf Gp UNFICYP. He is one of the fourteen Cav personnel who died while on UN service and who are remembered at the Cav Corps Memorial Garden at Plunkett Bks in the Curragh Camp DFTC. An anniversary mass will be held at 1900 hours on Saturday 18 Jul 15 in Saint Fintan's parish church in Mountrath, Co Laois. Thursday 27 Aug 15. The Annual Lunch for Septuagenarians/Octogenarians/ Nonagenarians will be held in the Officers Mess The Mil Col on 27 Aug 15. Saturday 05 Sep 15. The annual Cavalry Corps Memorial Day will be held in the DFTC Curragh Camp on Saturday 05 Sep 15. The ceremony to remember Cavalry personnel who died while on overseas service and those who passed away during the year will begin with mass in St. Brigid's Garrison Church at 1100 hours followed by a Wreath Laying Ceremony at the Memorial Garden in Plunkett Bks. All members of the club are encouraged to attend and to wear medals. Saturday 12 Sep 15. The second DF Veterans Day will take place in Collins Bks Cork on 12 Sep 15 commencing at 1400 hours.

7 Historical Photographs of the Cavalry Corps. ( Archiving the Past ). In this newsletter we continue publishing photographs of armour and Cav events and personalities from the past and we have extended the range up to the 1980s. We would like members to forward any photographs for future issues. 1920s Aug A National Army Peerless armoured in Passage West Co Cork during the Civil War. A large force supported by two Peerless, one Armoured Rolls Royce and a number of Lancias with two 18 Pounder artillery pieces under the command of Gen Emmett Dalton were transported by ship (the SS Arvonia) from Dublin and they advanced from Passage West through Rochestown and Douglas with heavy fighting to take Cork City Personnel of the Armoured Car Corps with Armoured Rolls Royces, Lancias and a Peerless armoured car at the Curragh.

8 1930s Frank Aiken TD Minister for Defence , reviewing the St Patricks Day Parade from a reviewing stand in from of the Bank of Ireland College Green Dublin. Three ARRs from 1 Armd Sqn are in the photograph. MAY 1938 This photograph shows the first of the four Leyland armoured cars to be completed, it was taken at Kilworth Ranges where gunnery tests were carried out. All four Leylands were in service with 1 Armd Sqn by Jul The Leyland was armed with a 20mm Madsen and two.303 MGs. Comdt JV Lawless designed the Leyland Ford Marks, IV, V and VI as well as the Dodge armoured cars. L to R: Comdt Joe Lawless OC 1 Armd Sqn and Club Pres 1950, Capt Tom O Hanlon

9 1940s In 1942, 1 Armd Regt was formed with 1 Armd Sqn, 2 Armd Sqn, 3 Armd Sqn and the Carrier Sqn regimented under OC Dep Cav, Lt Col Patrick C Byrne. The Regt was disbanded after the major exercises in This photograph shows a variety of AFVs in service at the time on Plunkett Sq as well as Ford petrol bowsers and Ford trucks carrying tentage, spares etc. 27 Aug This photograph shows a 4 Mot Sqn Escort of Honour and it is believed to be the first ever Capt s motorcycle EOH escorting President Sean T Ó Ceallaigh to the horseshow in the RDS Ballsbridge. The EOH consisted of one Capt, two Lts, twenty four enlisted personnel and two trumpeters. Lt Roger O Shea is OIC leading troop and the EOH is crossing O Connell Bridge, the president is travelling in a 1947 Plymouth Dodge, registration number ZH Note the tram and tramlines in the picture, the last tram in Dublin City ran on 09 Jul 1949.

10 1950s This photograph shows Col Tony Lawlor OC Curragh Trg Camp (Club Pres 1954) inspecting units in Plunket Bks in Capt Jimmy Bergin OC Tk Cadre & Veh Pool (Club Pres 1952) is behind Col Lawlor and Lt Col P J (known as Laddie) Hassett OC Dep Cav is behind Capt Bergin. The first vehicle partially visible on the left in the Landsverk L60 Light Tank and the others are Beaverette Mk IV Scout Cars This photograph was taken on 23 Sep 1958 at Parkgate and it shows the thirty officers who were selected for service with the United Nations Observer Group in Lebanon UNOGIL with the Adjt Gen, Col P J Hally. This mission, Ireland s first overseas peacekeeping, was established to prevent troops and weapons entering Lebanon during the Lebanese political crisis caused by political and religious tensions in the country. Four Cavalry Lts are in the group: Edward (Ted) Sheehy is number seven from the left in Row 2, Mark Carroll is number nine, John (Jack) O Brien is number four from the left in Row 3 and Roger McCorley (Club Pres 1972) is in the rear on the right. Capt Pat Lavelle was in the first group of five DF officers who deployed to UNOGIL on 28 Jun 1958 (see Summer 2014 Newsletter). Capt Pat Keogh deployed in Aug Fifty DF officers in total served with UNOGIL. 1960s. Jan A Mk VI Ford armoured car being loaded on a USAF C-124 Globemaster for airlift from Baldonnel to the Congo in Jan Twenty eight Ford Mark VI armoured cars were manufactured by Thomas Thompson & Co Carlow in 1940 and Eight Fords were sent to ONUC in Jan 1961 with the Armd Car Gp 34 Inf Bn.. Three more Fords were deployed in Jun 1961with the Armd Car Gp 35 Inf Bn. Six Fords were handed over to 4 Group of the Congolese Army by 2 Inf Gp at Kolwezi Airport on 12 May 1964.

11 Circa This photograph shows one of the three FCA Cav Sqns on an exercise near Coolmoney House in Co Wicklow with one Ford Mk VI armoured car, a land rover, two BSA M20 motorcycles and six Beaverettes. The Beaverette was produced in Britain during 1938 and 1939 and was named after Lord Beaverbrook, the British Minister of Aircraft Production during WW2. The original vehicles (Marks 1 to 4) had a turret and it was designed for airfield security and the defence of large industrial plants. The DF procured thirty Beaverettes in January 1943 and 4 Armd Sqn used them with turrets removed until that unit was dis-established in December 1943 and personnel were posted to Dep Cav and the other three Armd Sqns. After the downsizing of the Cav Corps at the end of the Emergency, the Beaverettes were distributed to each Cavalry unit. Later on they were allotted to the Cav FCA units. 1970s. 01 Mar A combined Stand Down Parade for Col Timmy Ryan, D Cav and RSM Mick Galvin was held at Plunkett Bks, Curragh Camp. This photograph was taken from the turret of a Comet tank, with Sgt Joe O Neill and 2/Lt Mick Butler (4 Mot Sqn, a student on 8 Tp Comds Course) in the turret; L to R on square: Lt Col Jer Delaney OC Dep Cav, Lt Col Jimmy Bergin, Cav Sch Comdt and Cav Club Pres 1952, Col Timmy Ryan, Comdt Liam Young 2 I/C Cav Sch and Cav Club Pres 1977 and RSM Mick Galvin.

12 Circa The COS Lt Gen Carl O Sullivan (then Maj Gen) inspecting 4 Mot Sqn accompanied by Capt Noel Byrne 2 I/C (Club Pres 1999) and Comdt Roger McCorley DSM Sqn Comd (Club Pres 1972). 1980s Comdt Tony Whelan, OC Cav Wkshps and Pres 1985 with Comdt Ed Horgan, Sqn Comd 1 Tk Sqn at the Garden Party in Plunkett Officers Mess in 1985.

13 1988. Cav officers of Recce Coy 49 Inf Bn (Apr Nov 1988), L to R: Capts Seán McCann, Jim Burns, Noel Duffy and Comdt Tony Carr Coy Comd. Carpe Diem