An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir July/August 2015 www.dfmagazine.ie 32 | IrISh offIcerS In the BrItISh forceS, 1939-45 by STEPHEN O'CONNOR W hile we are in the midst of a period of major centen- nial commemorations, let us not forget that 70 years ago Europe was emerging from the catastrophe of the Second World War. In 1945 britain's Dominions Office estimated that 45,000 men and women from Éire had served in the british forces during the war but recent research suggests that the real figure may have been as high as 60,000. Of these volunteers ap- proximately 8,000 served in the commissioned ranks. These Irish officers made a significant contribution, serving in every theatre and in every capacity. They were fighter aces in the battle of britain, tank commanders in the deserts of North Africa, infantry leaders on the beaches of Normandy and in glider landings be- hind German lines, protected Allied convoys in the Atlantic, and flew perilous bombing missions over the industrial heartland of Nazi Germany. but why did they go to war? There is no simple answer to this question and perhaps as many reasons as there were officers. Yet some common motives emerge from the testimony left to us through memoirs and oral history interviews. Early in the war there was a noticeable Irish influx into the British officer corps as the country benefited from the large numbers of Irish working or studying in the country. For example, Group Cap- tain Thomas McGarry had come to London in 1937, aged 18, as he could not find employment in Ireland. He became a police constable but when war broke out, in spite of the police being immune from conscription, he joined the RAF. "Can't say I was fighting for a flag or anything like that," he said. "I was fighting for what I thought was right; wouldn't make any difference who was involved." Major James Hickie, a Tipperary- man and nephew of the commander of the 16th (Irish) Division in the Great War, joined up three days before Chamberlain declared war. This despite being only months away from completing a five-year engi- neering apprenticeship after which he had been intending to sit the examinations for membership of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers in London. "I have been asked why, as an Irishman, I chose to join the British Army," Hickie recalled. "In my family there is a tradition of service with the British armed forces; there was then a common citizenship. Eng- land had done a lot for me, so joining up seemed the right and natural thing to do." Many Irish officers were influenced by family traditions that pre-dated Irish independence. Captain John Jermyn, a law stu- dent, joined the British army in late 1939, aged 21. He said: "My mother's only brother was killed at Gallipoli in World War One. He was a second lieutenant in the Royal Munsters and was 19; in some foolish way I felt that perhaps I should take his place." Lieutenant Commander Cornelius Glanton came from a Cork family immersed in the Royal Navy, where his father and three of his uncles had given 22 years' service. Unsurprisingly he joined the navy in 1939. "My father didn't put any pressure on me," he said, "but he was very, very happy. In the 1930s there was a huge exodus of young men from County Cork, and West Cork in par- ticular, most of whom joined the navy." Throughout the war the unionist section of the Southern Irish population proved a reliable source for recruitment as they con- tinued to regard themselves as being part of the British Empire and had a strong sense of allegiance to the king. Typical among these were the sons of middle-class Protestant families with strong family and educational ties to England. For them, joining up "was something that was taken for granted". Officers such as Peter Ross and Brian Inglis had attended British public schools and knew friends and relatives who were joining up or were enduring the Blitz. In such families it was common to regard men of military age who stayed in neutral Ireland as 'white feathers' or cowards. Peer pressure and the feeling of obli- gation were intense. Peter Ross, a Trinity College student and former pacifist, was Elizabeth Chamberlain, Women's Royal Naval Service with her WRENS colleagues. Courtesy of Simon Parsons

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