APRIL 16, 2019

remembrance ni

13 Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers killed in air raid on Ards Airfield, Newtownards

On Barossa Day, Monday 5th March 2012, a Memorial to the soldiers who were killed during the Air Raid was unveiled and dedicated in the War Memorial Garden at Court Square, Newtownards.

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On Easter Tuesday, 15th April 1941 a large air raid was carried out by the German Luftwaffe on the City of Belfast. This raid has been widely recorded however at the same time a raid took place targeting the Airfield at Newtownards.

The blackout had been in force from 21:00 and the dreaded Air Raid siren was sounded at 23:00.

As the aircraft of Kampfgruppe100 began bombing Newtownards fires blazed on Scrabo Hill with other bombs falling on Green Road and Comber Road.

The airfield at Newtownards had been used as the Headquarters of 231 Squadron, Royal Air Force, since 15th July the previous year, was guarded by soldiers of 70th (Young Soldiers) Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. –

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These soldiers were too young for front line service and were used for homeland defence.

The War Diary of the Battalion states “Newtownards Aerodrome was attacked with a considerable number of incendiary bombs and a few H.E. (High Explosive) bombs. One H.E. bomb fell in the hutments of “A” Company Headquarters. Casualties were 10 killed and 15 wounded. Among the casualties were Lt G.M. King (Acting Company Commander) wounded, C.S.M. Penfold killed, C.MS McMurray severely wounded”

The casualties were taken to Newtownards Hospital.

Those who died were identified as :-

+BELLAMY, William

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. 70th Bn. Fusilier. 6983155. Died 16/04/1941. Age 22. Sutton-in-Ashfield Cemetery+BURKE, Samuel

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. 70th Bn. Fusilier. 6982708. Died 16/04/1941. Age 18. Son of George and Annie Burke, of Braehead, Londonderry. Londonderry City Cemetery+CARLISLE, Alexander

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. 70th Bn. Fusilier. 6984668. Died 16/04/1941. Brookwood Memorial

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+COPLING, Andrew

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. 70th Bn. Fusilier. 6984669. Died 16/04/1941. Age 16. Son of Ernest Victor and Jane Copling, of Dromore. Dromore Cathedral Churchyard.

+FULTON, Hugh

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. 70th Bn. Fusilier. 6984727. Died 16/04/1941. Age 17. Son of William Moffet Fulton and Julia Fulton, of Markethill. Belleek (St.Luke) Church of Ireland Churchyard +GRAHAM, George

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. 70th Bn. Fusilier. 6982035. Died 16/04/1941. Dundonald Cemetery

+HIGGINS, Daniel

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. 70th Bn. Fusilier. 6980100. Died 16/04/1941. The only casualty of the bombing buried in Newtownards. Movilla Cemetery

+LOVE, Leslie

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. 70th Bn. Fusilier. 6984566. Died 16/04/1941. Age 34. Husband to Frances Gertrude Love, of Nottingham. Carlton Cemetery

+McFARLAND, Samuel

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. 70th Bn. Fusilier. 6984390. Died 16/04/1941. Age 19. Son of Alexander and Elizabeth Margaret McFarland, of Clogherney. Clogherney Church of Ireland Churchyard

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+McNEILL, Ernest

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. 70th Bn. Fusilier. 6982560. Died 16/04/1941. Age 17. Son of John and Margaret McNeill, of Craigmore. Mullaghglass (St Luke) Church of Ireland Churchyard

+PENFOLD, Alfred

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. 70th Bn. Warrant Officer Class II (C.S.M.). 6392875. Died 16/04/1941. Age 36. Husband to Annie Penfold, of Waterside, Londonderry. Glendermott Church of Ireland Churchyard

+McMURRAY, William

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. 70th Bn. Company Quartermaster Serjeant. 6983653. Died 16/04/1941. Age 27. Son of George and Annie McMurray, of Bessbrook; husband to Susan Elizabeth McMurray, of Bessbrook. Bessbrook Methodist Cemetery

+WRIGHT, Matthew

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. 70th Bn. Company Quartermaster Serjeant. 6983653. Died 17/04/1941. Son of Matthew and Mary A. Wright, of Coleraine. Macosquin (St Mary) Church of Ireland Churchyard

RAF

+BROOKES, Wilfred Mark Hamilton

RAF. 231 Squadron. Flight Lieutenant. Wilfred Mark Hamilton Brookes was one of the Commanders of 231 Squadron Royal Air Force which was based at

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Newtownards. On the night of the bombing Brookes was in Belfast and was killed there during the Air Raid. He was 23 years old. Old Churchyard at Sannox, Kilbride on the Isle of Arran.

Three family members killed in Bangor blitzWhen Bangor, Co. Down was bombed by the Luftwaffe on 16th April 1941 two sisters died with their mother. Their RAF brother was a Japanese prisoner of War.

Matilda Lillian Grattan was the wife of Major Andrew Francis Grattan. She died with her daughters Shelagh Grattan and Angeline Grattan. The family lived at 40 Ashley Gardens, Bangor.

Flight Sergeant George Francis Grattan (521645) served in the Royal Air Force during World War Two. He died on 1st December 1942 in a prisoner of war camp in Japan aged 32 years old. His name is on Panel 5 of the Yokohama Cremation Memorial, Japan. Husband to Daisy Evangeline Grattan.

In the newspapers - April 16

16th April 1918, Northern Whig

Captain James McMechan, M.C., 1st Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, missing since 21st March, 1918, is a son of Mr. H. McMechan, of Ballybranagh, Downpatrick, and before the war was cashier in the Magherafelt Branch of the Belfast Bank. A chaplain writes to Mr. McMechan :- "Your son and his battalion fought strenuously and offered a most

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stubborn resistance to repeated attacks of overwhelming numbers of the enemy. We hope that he is a prisoner, and, in fact, we have strong reason to believe that he is."

Note - As it turns out Captain McMechan who was reported missing on the 21st was later reported as a prisoner of war being captured on the 22nd March, 1918. He would remain a Prisoner of war until the signing of the Armistice and would spend the remainder of his time in Germany at Restatt Soldiers Prisoner of War Camp.

Roll of Honour - April 16Representing their comrades who died on this day

1915

+LAVERY, John

2nd Bn. Royal Irish Fusiliers. Private. 6276. Died 16/04/1915. Londonderry. Bailleul Communal Cemetery, Nord, France

1918 +CORDNER, James

Royal Irish Rifles. Lieutenant. MC. Died 16/04/1916. Member of the QUB Training Corps 1915. He receiving his commission through the Corps on 07/06/1915. James had lived in Canada before returning to Ireland to study for ordination. Although he became a minister in the United Free Church, Lisburn, he "volunteered for combat service" and was presented with a sword of honour by the congregation in June 1915. He did recruiting work while

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attached to 17th Bn. Royal Irish Rifles (a training battalion), and at a service in Whitehead on 23/07/1916, expressed the opinion that: "Ulster had done well but it could do better. There were still young men at home to whom the war had not yet appealed. They were still more concerned about the cut of their coats or colour of their ties, and they seemed to care little that the thunder of the guns was comparatively near their doors." He went to the front in 1917, was wounded in the summer and awarded the Military Cross for gallantry. He died on 16 April 1918, the same day his promotion to Lieutenant was gazetted, and left all his property to his fiancé Miss Bertha Templeton,of Strandtown, Belfast. James was the son of Rev Joseph Corner, Drumbo Manse, Lisburn. The Minister was a Canadian who served for two years as assistant at St Enoch’s, Belfast prior to being ordained for Drumbo in August 1911. He returned to Canada in 1926 and came back to Belfast to be minister of Clifton Street Church in 1930. Minty Farm Cemetery, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium

+CROOKS, Charles Edward Crooks

12th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles. Corporal. 19446. Died 16/04/1918. Aged 22. Son of John Crooks, of 61 Mill View, Muckamore, Co. Antrim. Tyne Cot Memorial, Belgium. (14th May 1918, Northern Whig)1918

+FENTON, Frederick John 

15 RS. Private. 51491. Died 16/04/1918. Aged 19. Served as Coburn, William.  Born and living in Hillsborough, he enlisted at Belfast and served originally in the SR (36271) subsequently transferring to 15 RS. (51491). Foster son of

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Clara McBride of Arthur Street, Hillsborough, Co. Down. Ploegsteert, Memorial, Belgium, panel 1. 

+TURNLY, John Francis

Machine Gun Corps. Second Lieutenant. Died 16/04/1918. Aged 19. Son of Francis J. S. and Hessie Turnly, Drumnasole, Carnlough. Tyne Cot Memorial

1941

+CARLISLE, Alexander

Inniskilling Fusiliers. 70th Bn. Lance Corporal. 6984668. Died 16/04/1941. Brookwood Memorial  +BROWN, Henry

RN. Stoker 1st Class. D/KX 117314. HMS Caroline. Died 16/04/1941, aged 54. Died during German Air Raid. Husband to Georgina Brown of Burke Street, Belfast. Belfast City Cemetery. Glenalina

+CORRY, Samuel

RN. AB. D/SSX 17718. HMS Quebec. Died on 16/04/1941. Aged 26. HMS Quebec. German Air Raid. Husband to Martha Corry of Belfast, who died In the same incident. Belfast City Cemetery, Glenalina Section

1943

+WILSON, George Joseph

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RAFVR. Sergeant (Wireless Op./Air Gunner).1383005. Died 16/04/1943. Aged 23. 460 (R.A.A.F.) Sqdn. Son of Spear and Catherine Caroline Wilson, of Portadown, Co. Armagh. Durnbach War Cemetery, Bayern, Germany

On this day - April 161918

36th (Ulster) Division - With the 108th still separated from the 36th (Ulster) Division, attached to the 19th Div they are withdrawn from the line outside Wulverghem and put into reserve at Clydesdale Camp, near La Cytte

1921

The Admiralty increased the allowance for milk for ships cats from 1 Shilling to 1 Shilling and Sixpence per week.

1940 British and French troops make landings at Namsos.

British troops are landed in the Faeroe Islands.Page �10

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1941

London suffers through the heaviest blitz of the war. Parliament buildings and St. Paul’s Cathedral suffer damage, and more than 2,250 fires are touched off by incendiary bombs.

First US Lend-Lease food arrives in Britain.

British destroyers sink all eight ships in an Axis convoy off Tunisia; 1800 killed.

1942

An official inquiry into British bombing policy is setup under Mr. Justice Singleton. This was the result of a debate between Churchill’s two top scientific advisors, Lord Cherwell and Sir Henry Tizard. Cherwell, supported by the Air Ministry, drew up a list of 58 German cities and towns whose destruction would knock Germany out of the war. Tizard argued that less emphasis should be put on the bombing of Germany and more on using the aircraft in the Battle of the Atlantic.

King George VI awards the George Cross to Malta, after more than 2,000 air raids.

Japanese Imperial GHQ Naval Order No.18 is issued. This orders Admiral Yamamoto, C-in-C of the Japanese Combined Fleet to draw up plans for Operation ‘Mi’, the capture of Midway and the Aleutian Island, a plan that had originally been suggested by Admiral Yamamoto during March. The Japanese make landings on Panay Island. The US aircraft carrier Lexington, sets sail from Pearl Harbor, with orders to link up with the Yorktown in the Tonga Islands

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and then head, under the command of Admiral Fletcher to the Coral Sea.

German Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt appointed commander of the Atlantik Wall defenses.

1943

The Royal Navy’s destroyer Pakenham and two Italian destroyers are sunk in naval engagements in Sicilian Channel.

1944

Yalta in the Crimea is captured by the Russians.

The battleship USS Wisconsin (BB-64), is commissioned at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

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6 Innisks at Monte Castellone (Photo above) 16 Apr 1944: Regimental diary - 0530 Patrol to Phantom Ridge returned, having been engaged by enemy patrol in the saddle. They went onto Phantom House, from the right of which they were engaged by small arms & grenades. 4 casualties, only 1 of which returned to our lines

Three Japanese blow up a 300ft suspension bridge on the Silchar track.

The destroyer USS Laffey survives horrific damage from attacks by 22 Japanese aircraft off Okinawa.

1945

In northern Holland the Canadians take Harlingen, 50 miles Northeast of Amsterdam and occupies Leeuwarden and Groningen. The US First Army captures Solingen and Wuppertal.

Colditz  was captured by American soldiers from 1st US Army. Colditz was an isolated castle built on top of a cliff and overlooking the River Mude in central Germany. It housed

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allied prisoners who had escaped previously from other camps.

The US 7th Army reaches Nuremburg. General Carl Spaatz of the US Strategic Air Forces in Europe declares the strategic air war is over—only tactical targets remain.

Start of the Battle of the Seelow Heights, the opening phase of the Soviet Berlin Offensive. Soviet troops cross Oder river begin their final attack on Berlin. Hitler issues the last Order of the Day to the Eastern Front, saying ‘He who gives orders to retreat . . . is to be shot on the spot’ as the 1st Belorussian Front and the 1st Ukrainian Front start the final offensive on Berlin from along the Oder-Neisse line.

Off the Hela peninsula in the Baltic, the German liner Goya is torpedoed by a Russian submarine, killing 6,500 wounded soldiers and refugees.

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The British take Taungup in Southwest Burma, thereby depriving the Japanese of their last coastal supply base.

U.S. landings begin on Ie-shima Island and three airfields are taken.

Start of the Battle of the Seelow Heights, the opening phase of the Soviet Berlin Offensive. Soviet troops cross Oder river begin their final attack on Berlin.1947

�On 2 April 1947 the first commandant and creator of the Auschwitz camp system SS-Obersturmbannführer Rudolf Höss was sentenced to death by hanging. The sentence of the Polish Supreme National Tribunal in Warsaw was carried out on 16 April at the site of the former Auschwitz I camp.

1948

Organization for European Economic Cooperation (EEC) forms in Paris

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2002Operation Jacana, led by 45 Commando Royal Marines began in Afghanistan. After coalition operations inflicted heavy casualties against Taliban and al-Qaeda insurgents in Shahi-kot Valley, the bulk of the enemy forces fled and crossed the border

2019

Allied troops in front of the Notre-Dame de Paris, 1944.

Since 1260, the Catholic cathedral has survived wars, revolutions, vandalism, storms, flooding, and near-demolition. Last night 15/04/2019 a fire broke out which has destroyed substantial parts the building.

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Acknowledgments Admiralty recordsCWGCNorthern WhigPhil Hamiltonww2ni.com

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