26 June 2009

Knockagh Remembrance Recalls Somme

Soldiers from across Ireland who fought in the bloody Battle of the Somme are being remembered this weekend.

Taking place at what is one of the most picturesque settings anywhere for a commemoration - high above Belfast Lough at the County Antrim War Memorial, Knockagh - it will be held on Sunday 28 June.

During a solemn act of remembrance at 11am, the salute will be taken by the Queen's official representative, Joan Christie, the Lord-Lieutenant of Co Antrim.

The event will be one of a series of commemorations to recall the thousands of WWI Irish Soldiers from the 36th (Ulster) Division and comrades from the 16th (Irish) Division who died fighting between 1 July and 13 November 1916 in the fateful battle.

In a ceremony revived by the locally based Whiteabbey Royal British Legion well over a decade previously, wreaths will be laid and the traditional two-minute silence observed.

The event is now organised by Carrickfergus Borough Council's Alderman May Beattie, in conjunction with a cross-county committee formed to restore, maintain and continue the commemorative use of the giant obelisk.

As well as the Lord-Lieutenant, it will be attended by various local councillor representatives, members and friends from Whiteabbey Royal British Legion - which is also represented on the Knockagh Committee - and former soldiers from other conflicts such as ex-UDR members.

The solemn occasion at the imposing hilltop memorial will be in addition other civic events involving ex-service people as part of a newly established weeklong Veterans' Week.

Many others will also be travelling to France during the same period to take part in services at the battle scene, in the footsteps of The Queen and the Irish President who jointly honoured the Irish dead on the 90th anniversary, in 2006.

Sunday's event at Knockagh - the Co Antrim War Memorial - will recall how the 36th sustained 5,500 casualties on the first day, with nearly 2,000 of those fatalities, on top of the many thousands from the 16th (Irish) Division.

During the battle - up to September - the 16th had 4,330 casualties, of whom 1,200 were killed.

The Battle of the Somme claimed the lives of 420,000 British soldiers in total and French casualties were estimated at 195,000 and the German loss of life was about 650,000.

Following the initiative by Whiteabbey Royal British Legion, not only has the annual ceremony been officially revived, but also all the Co Antrim councils united in funding a major refurbishment of the historic monument.

The Knockagh memorial is also the scene of annual November Remembrance Day services.

(BMcC/JM)