The 36th (Ulster) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, part of Lord Kitchener's New Army, formed in September 1914. Originally called the Ulster Division, it was made up of mainly members of the Ulster Volunteers, who formed thirteen additional battalions for three existing regiments: the Royal Irish Fusiliers, the Royal Irish Rifles and the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. The division served from October 1915 on the Western Front as a formation of the British Army during the Great War.

The division's insignia was the Red Hand of Ulster.

History

Formation

thumb|Window in [[Derry Guildhall commemorating the three Irish divisions which served in the Great War]]

The Ulster Volunteers were a unionist militia founded in 1912 to block Home Rule for Ireland. In 1913 they organised themselves into the Ulster Volunteer Force to give armed resistance to the prospective Third Home Rule Act (enacted in 1914). Many Ulster Protestants feared being governed by a Catholic-dominated parliament in Dublin and losing their local supremacy and strong links with Britain. At the outbreak of the Great War, Sir Edward Carson, one of the unionist leaders, made an appeal to Ulster Volunteers to come forward for military service. Kitchener had hoped for a brigade's worth of men, but instead received a division, equivalent to three brigades. Major-General Oliver Nugent took command of the division in September 1915 and it moved to France in October 1915. War correspondent Philip Gibbs said of the Division, "Their attack was one of the finest displays of human courage in the world.

Of nine Victoria Crosses given to British forces in the battle, four were awarded to Ulster Division soldiers.

The first day of the Somme was the anniversary (in the Julian calendar) of the Battle of the Boyne, a fact remarked on by the leaders of the division. Stories have often been told that some men wore orange sashes into battle. According to David Hume: "There was many who went over the top at the Somme who were Ulstermen, at least one, Sergeant Samuel Kelly of 9th Inniskillings wearing his Ulster Sash, while others wore orange ribbons". Martin Middlebrook recounts a story that when some of his men wavered, one company commander from the West Belfasts, Major George Gaffikin, took off his orange sash, held it high for his men to see, and roared the traditional war-cry of the Battle of the Boyne: "Come on, boys! No surrender!" However, historians Robin Prior and Trevor Wilson, quoting Northern Irish historian Keith Jeffery, state that such stories are myths.

Ulster Memorial Tower

thumb|left|Ulster Tower, Thiepval

The Ulster Memorial Tower was unveiled by Field-Marshal Sir Henry Wilson in Thiepval, France, on 19 November 1921, in commemoration of the contributions of the 36th (Ulster) Division during World War I.

The tower itself is a replica of Helen's Tower at Clandeboye, County Down. It was at Helen's Tower that the men of the then newly formed Ulster Division drilled and trained on the outbreak of World War I.

Victoria Cross recipients

In total, nine members (four from Northern Ireland, four from England and one from the Republic Of Ireland) of the Ulster Division were awarded the Victoria Cross:

  • Captain Eric Norman Frankland Bell, (born Enniskillen, Ireland) 9th Battalion the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. Died 20 years old, 1 July 1916, Battle of the Somme.
  • 2nd Lieutenant James Samuel Emerson, (born County Louth, Republic Of Ireland) 9th Battalion the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. Died 22 years old, 6 December 1917, La Vacquerie.
  • Lance Corporal Ernest Seaman (born Norwich, England) 2nd Battalion the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. Died 25 years old, 29 September 1918, Terhand Belgium. He also was awarded the Military Medal.
  • Fusilier Norman Harvey, (born Willows, Lancashire, England) 1st Battalion the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. Awarded for actions during 25 October 1918, Ingoyghem, Belgium.
  • Second Lieutenant Edmund De Wind, (born Comber, Northern Ireland) 15th Battalion the Royal Irish Rifles. Died 34 years old, 21 March 1918, Second Battle of the Somme.
  • Rifleman William Frederick McFadzean, (born Lurgan, Armagh, Northern Ireland) 14th Battalion the Royal Irish Rifles. Died 20 years old, 1 July 1916, Battle of the Somme.
  • Rifleman Robert Quigg, (born Ardhannon, Antrim Ireland) 12th Battalion the Royal Irish Rifles. Awarded for actions during the Battle of the Somme on 1 July 1916. Also awarded the Medal of the Order of St George (Fourth Class), the highest honour of the Russian Empire.
  • Lieutenant Geoffrey Cather, (born Streatham, London, England) 9th Battalion the Royal Irish Fusiliers. Died 25 years old, 2 July 1916, Battle of the Somme.
  • Cecil Leonard Knox, (born Nuneaton, England) 150th Field Company Royal Engineers. Awarded 22 March 1918 at Tugny-et-Pont, Aisne.

Commendations

After the first day on the Somme, Captain Wilfred Spender of the Ulster Division's HQ staff was quoted in the press as saying:

After the war, King George V paid tribute to the 36th Division, saying:

Winston Churchill

John Buchan

Order of battle

The following units served with the division: