- (Click on images
to enlarge)
| Badges of the Royal Irish Rifles
(1881-1921) |
John Brennan c.1918
In the photographs above John Brennan which
we believe was taken in France c1918, appears to be
wearing the cap badge of Royal Irish Rifles. We can also see
that he has on his left forearm two 'Wounded in Action' stripes.
He also has three chevrons on the lower right forearm which
indicate 'Overseas Service Stripes' These were first awarded in
1918 they were back dated to 1914 and could be worn in
combination with Good Conduct Stripes, and were not limited to
junior ranks. One Blue Chevron was worn for each year’s service
overseas, with a Red Chevron indicating that the soldier went
overseas before 31st December 1914.
It has also been noted that he may have been
attached to HQ, the arm band does give an indication to this. As
a clear 'H' can be seen. As for the Tri-angle still no
identification of its meaning can be found:
http://www.fylde.demon.co.uk/blackadder.htm
Personal notes on John Brennan:
- He appears in the 1901
census for Ireland and it suggests that he was age 7 at the time (which
meant he was born in 1894). Birth Certificate states he
was born 16th August 1892. He was only 5 months old when his
mother died in Jan 1893 so he would have been brought up by
his sister Hannah who was the eldest girl in the family aged 18
years old at the time.
- His Father died in
1902 when John was only 10 years old.
- In 1914 at the age
of 22 years he joined the
British Army. It is reputed that
he went to France during the First World War where he was
twice
'wounded in action'.
This man is proving very difficult to find. So far all
the John Brennan's that we have looked at, none of them
state that they came form this particular part of County
Laois which leads us to believe he may not have been living
in Laois when he joined the Army. Also, his mother and
father were both dead at the time he joined the army in 1914
so its assumed that he didn't give them as his NoK.
He
could have been in one of two places which was either Dublin
(his sister's Hannah and Christina were both there at this
time), or, he went with his brother Martin to Belfast. We
don't know what year Martin went to Belfast so this is only
an assumption.
All local postal addresses used Carlow and not Laois in
there addresses so he may
have used Carlow as his birth place, again this is only an
assumption for example: Mr. John Brennan, Ballickmoyler.
Carlow.
(Army
service has yet to be corroborated with documented evidence)
I would love to hear from anyone who might have
any information on this mans family to:
mjbrennan@blueyonder.co.uk
The photo up to now is our only source of
information in regards to his military service, but what does it
tell us.
Notes from Museum of
The Royal Irish Fusiliers suggests that he might have been a
Dispatch Rider and that he was with the HQ Battalion. He was
probably in his early 20's and he is dressed in the uniform of
The Royal Irish Rifles or The Royal Irish Regiments. He was wounded twice (two wound
stripes on left forearm). There are also three Foreign Service
chevrons on right arm which indicates he served in a foreign
theatre of war, i.e. France. The formation sign on the armband
could be Light Green/Black which indicates the 2nd Battalion and
it would also indicate that he was a Regular Soldier serving
with HQ . Cap badge, on a closer look at the cap badge and
checking out the Irish Regimental cap badges of the era, only one
possibility stands out, but this badge it self has two
variations the difference are more with the Wing to Harp hoop
One clue is the Wing to Harp hoop as stated above, this is a later variation
introduced in the final years of the First World War. it is
clear on the photo of John that the round hoop from tip of Angle wing
to black slope of the Harp, is a later variations.
I have check all available cap badges and only found the
Royal Irish Rifles to
be the same
http://www.freewebs.com/irishregimentsofthebritisharmy/capbadges.htm
Uniform
The Uniform is that of standard infantry regiments of the First World
War. The button’s look darken or matted. This is a field
uniform opposed to dress, so he could have been a dispatch rider or based at HQ.
The photo
was taken while in Field dress. An another point is a BELT or
more so the lack of one
This is not an equipment belt, but was designed by the Mills Company to
be worn as a waist belt. It could be worn by soldiers when
walking out, so the soldier was not required to pull apart the
complete set of pattern 1908 web equipment to merely wear the 3”
wide belt. The fact that John is not wearing one gives weight to
fact that he is in Field dress
Insignias
Shoulder titles cannot be seen, but that would conform to Field dress as
not to give an enemy an idea of which regiment were in the field
of battle
|
Foreign Service chevrons
(John wore three on his
right forearm) |
Overseas Service Stripes were first awarded in 1918 they were back dated
to 1914 and could be worn in combination with Good Conduct
Stripes, and were not limited to junior ranks. One Blue Chevron
was worn for each year’s service overseas, with a Red Chevron
indicating that the soldier went overseas before 31st December
1914
-
His Majesty the King has been graciously pleased to approve of
the award of chevrons to denote service overseas since the 4th
August 1914.
-
Chevrons of two colours have been approved. The first chevron if
earned on or before 31st December 1914, will be red; if earned
on or after 1st January 1915, it will be blue; and all
additional chevrons after the first will be blue
From Army Order 04, 1918
The
date of award of the first Chevron was that on which the
individual left the UK, or in the case of those serving abroad
at the outbreak of war, 5 August 1914. For
Overseas
troops, the first chevron was awarded on the date of leaving
their own country or were employed on local operations. Further
Chevrons were awarded for each successive aggregate period of 12
months. One month of leave was permitted in calculation. If
first point of
service
was before 31 Dec 1914 a red chevron was awarded. After 1 Jan
1915 all were blue.
John wore two wound stripes.
No Medal ribbon can be seen, even by 1916 some men who had served between
1914-15 in a combat area were awarded the Ribbon of the 1914-15
Star, if joined in 1914 but remember only some not all.
HQ Attached
It has been noted that he may
have been attached to HQ, the arm band does
give an indication to this. As a clear H can be seen. As for the Tri-angle still no identification of
its meaning can be found.
http://www.fylde.demon.co.uk/blackadder.htm
(some of the notes on this page were compiled by Terry Curran c2008)
