FOOTNOTES:

[62] i.e., three guns. By this time none of the Machine-Gun Companies had men enough to man more than twelve guns.

[63] This country is, in reality, one vast garden city. Groups of a dozen houses have their names. It has not been found possible to show them all on the small-scale map illustrating this chapter.

[CHAPTER XVI]
The End: November 1918 to June 1919

But little remains to be told. The war was over, and men were eager to be home. There was a certain disappointment that the Division was not to form part of the British garrison on the Rhine. As a fact, one Division only of the New Armies was chosen for this duty. It was the 9th, with which, since April, in days of reverse and days of victory, the 36th had been in comradeship as close as any two Divisions can have known in the course of the war. None begrudged to it this seal upon its splendid record. And, apart from a momentary regret at missing the sight of that apotheosis of victory so long awaited, officers and men speedily recognised that their lot, during the remaining days of their incorporation, was fallen in fairer ground. The end of the 36th Division's existence, amid a friendly and a grateful populace, was far happier than it would have been amid the restrictions and comically correct civilities of Cologne and the Bridgehead.

Soon after the Armistice the 36th Division settled down for the winter astride the Franco-Belgian frontier. Headquarters, the 107th and 108th Infantry Brigades, the 121st and 122nd Field Companies R.E., and the 16th Rifles (Pioneers) were one side, at Mouscron. The Artillery, in Tourcoing, the 109th Brigade and 150th Field Company, at Roncq, were the other. The Pioneers had the hardest work, being employed on railway reconstruction and upon the Escaut bridges. Some military training, mainly ceremonial, was carried out. But chief energies were devoted to recreation and to the education scheme, which attempted to provide for the young soldiers some preparation for the civil life to which they would shortly be returning. The idea was a worthy one, and was organized with skill and enthusiasm, yet it is to be doubted whether a large proportion had much benefit of it. By the time it was really in full swing, demobilization was at the same stage. The majority of the men attended but a few classes before they returned, and can have acquired but a smattering of the subjects they were pursuing. December was the most successful month, when there were recorded 54,203 attendances at the various classes. On the lighter side there were competitions in Rugby and Association football, cross-country running, boxing, and rifle-shooting. Christmas, the fifth since the Division's formation, its fourth since crossing the Channel, was happily celebrated. The Divisional Canteen had on this occasion its greatest triumph. The position was difficult. Behind lay the area of the Ypres battlefields; around, the country had been practically denuded of food-stuffs by the Germans. The Canteen Officer had, in the first place, made arrangements with a farmer near Dunkirk to attend markets in that region, buy up poultry, and feed them on her farm till it was time to kill them for Christmas. Had a British officer done the buying, the prices would have been prohibitive. It was soon found that the good fermière's estate would not hold all the birds required, and a further order was placed with the Halles in Paris, through a Dunkirk merchant. Pigs were also bought, to be killed on the appointed day. But difficulties grew with demands. Lorries broke down in the swamps about Ypres. The Canteen Officer began to wonder whether his head upon a charger would not be the chief dish of the occasion. On Christmas Eve the Paris consignment arrived at Dunkirk, but it was in the middle of a line of trucks which could not be disentangled, and would not have been for days. Finally, after some shunting, a lorry was got alongside. When the lorry arrived at Mouscron it was found to contain also a large case of eggs, a luxury unknown for months, a special order for some unit in Dunkirk. Naturally it was then impossible to send it back. Every man in the Division had plentiful fare, while, adds the Canteen Officer modestly, "no other division in the district got anything better than bully beef." The present writer can bear witness that the turkeys ordered for divisions on the Rhine arrived in many cases long after Christmas, and frequently had to be buried forthwith by special parties.

In the combatant ranks, alas! there were few who had spent the first Christmas with the Division.

The following day there was the great ball given by the ladies of Ghent to the British Army, which was attended by fifty officers of the 36th Division. At the end of January, H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, on his return from Germany, paid the Division a visit of two days. This visit was informal and marked by no parades, but the Prince, despite very bad weather, visited a number of units, and had long conversations with officers and men on their experiences.

January was also the month when the flood of demobilization rose to its height. In its course over four thousand officers and men were sent home. In the following month came orders for one battalion to be sent to Germany for service. The 12th Royal Irish Rifles was chosen, and made up to strength from volunteers of the 1st, 2nd, and 15th battalions of that regiment. On March the 2nd it entrained at Mouscron, where the whole Division, less the Artillery, was now concentrated, and proceeded to join the 2nd (now the Light) Division on the Rhine. Soon afterwards the cadres of the regular battalions began to move home. On March the 12th the Field Marshal Commanding-in-Chief paid a farewell visit to the Division. When he laid down those duties that he had so splendidly and courageously performed, it was indeed clear that the era of the Great War was at an end. A few days later General Coffin, under whose vigorous leadership the 36th Division had achieved its final triumphs, left it to command a Brigade in the British Army of the Rhine. Divisional Headquarters were reduced to cadre, the new commander being Brigadier-General P. Leveson-Gower.

The last words were not written till June. Then the cadres of the remaining service battalions proceeded to the Base, and Headquarters formally closed. In January the 36th Division had practically ceased to exist. Now, six months later, its name departed from official registers.

Its History would not be complete without some reference to the Ulster Divisional Fund. This Fund owed its inception to General Nugent's forethought. The 36th Division was certainly the only one to look forward to the period after the war as early as 1915. Before quitting the Division in 1918, General Nugent executed a Trust Deed in favour of Lord Dunleath and Sir Robert Kennedy, establishing a Trust for the benefit of officers and men of the Division, their wives, widows, children, orphans, or dependants. Roughly speaking, a sum of £18,750 has been administered by the Administration Committee, to whom the Trustees delegated the management of the Fund. Of this over £14,000 was derived from divisional undertakings, including the canteens, the concert party, the cinema, etc., and over £2,000 from dividends and interest. It must be remembered that the sums derived from divisional undertakings represent a proportion only of their actual profits. Large sums were expended in France, on sports outfits, on Christmas fare, on free buffets at horse shows and other entertainments, and on the still more important buffets for "walking wounded" during the progress of a battle. The Fund was opened to applications for relief in February 1919. It has now been practically all distributed in grants to relieve and assist men of the Division, and has been without doubt of very great value. The total number of grants made exceeds two thousand five hundred.

The record of the 36th Division is high and honourable. The names of the actions in which it fought, given according to the official report of the "Battles Nomenclature Committee," are as follows:

1916The Battle of Albert, July.
1917The Battle of Messines, June;
The Battle of Langemarck, August;
The Battle of Cambrai, November.
1918The Battle of St. Quentin, with Actions for Somme Crossings, 21st-25th March;
The Battle of Rosières, 26th-27th March;
The Battle of Messines, 10th-11th April (108th Brigade and one Company 36th Machine-Gun Battalion only);
The Battle of Bailleul, 13th-15th April (108th Brigade and one Company 36th Machine-Gun Battalion only);
The Advance in Flanders, 18th August-6th September;
The Battle of Ypres, 28th September-2nd October;
The Battle of Courtrai, 14th-19th October, with Action of Ooteghem, 25th October.

These names are given because, unfamiliar as they may sound to many of the men who fought in the actions, they are their official titles. It will be seen that from the first time the Division fought a big battle there is one considerable gap only, between the Battle of Albert, 1916, and the Battle of Messines, 1917. That gap is partly to be explained, no doubt, by the fact that the Division, after its great losses on the Somme, was never really up to strength till the spring of 1917. The cause of that, again, is not far to seek. The stream of recruits from the voluntary system was drying up by 1916 all over the country, and from the Military Service Act of that year Ireland was excepted. The people of Ulster had certainly no cause for shame with regard to its response during the voluntary period. Belfast claims to stand second on the roll of British cities for numbers of recruits in proportion to population, up to the imposition of universal service. But, after Messines, a large number of English reinforcements arrived, while, in late 1917 and 1918, as has been recorded, five regular battalions of Ulster regiments joined the Division. Of the offensive battles, it was engaged in two defeats, but in one of these it was completely victorious upon its own front, being compelled to withdraw because of failure elsewhere. The 36th Division, then, failed once only in attack, in the Battle of Langemarck. And, on that day, in the circumstances wherein the troops found themselves, it may be doubted whether success was within mortal compass. In defensive fighting it proved itself equally devoted, possessed above all of a hidden spring of fortitude which enabled it, as we say of a gallant horse, to "come again" when apparently at its last breath from exhaustion.

In bright days and dark there can be no doubt but that much of its success sprang from the mutual confidence and affection which existed between all arms. If we can employ a word so inhuman as machine to describe a corporation of men that was intensely alive, that had a soul of its own, we may say that it was a machine that worked smoothly because it was weak in none of its parts. And we must not forget, as men are prone to forget, that, if some parts bore a weight heavier than others, each was of equal importance in the working of the machine. This record has been mainly concerned with the fighting arms and, of these, to by far the greatest extent with the infantry. For that no apology is made. It is as just as it is inevitable. It is not only upon the infantry that all hinges; it is mainly by a record of the infantry's movements that the story of battles is told. Not alone the other fighting arms, Artillery, Engineers, Signals, Pioneers, Machine-Gunners, but Medical and Supply Services also were animated by the same high spirit of devotion. Of the two last comparatively little has been said, and perhaps least of all of the Supply Services. That is a compliment rather than the reverse. Happy, says Montesquieu, is the people whose annals are humdrum. The saying may be applied to Supply Services in war. The Royal Army Service Corps of the 36th Division has few remarkable dates or occurrences in its record, but that record is one long chain of which the alternating links are steady work, forethought, and resource. The other service of supply, the Ordnance, was always at a peculiarly high standard, the Division being most fortunate in possessing a very efficient D.A.D.O.S. in Captain Mackenzie, over a long period. Staff Officers might come and might go, but "Dados" went on for ever.

There may be required some explanation of why, in this narrative, the series of victories in 1918 is compressed in detail by comparison with such actions as Messines and Cambrai. One reason is that the records of the latter are far more complete. Another is that final victory was won not only by the men who went forward so gallantly to achieve it, but by all their silent comrades whose graves lay behind them, who had fought a far more bitter battle.

These took the blows of the enemy upon their breasts, but, ere they fell, the blows delivered by their arms had enfeebled him, so that those who came after could strike home. Like Mr. Valiant-for-truth, they might have proclaimed with their last breath: "My sword I give to him that shall succeed me in my pilgrimage, and my courage and skill to him that can get it. My marks and scars I carry with me." For them, as for him, we may humbly believe that, when they passed over, all the trumpets sounded on the other side.

The 36th (Ulster) Division is but a memory to-day. This book, of the imperfections of which as he writes its concluding lines the author is but too acutely aware, represents in some sort an official tribute, an attempt to put into words the silent tribute borne by many thousands of hearts. That tribute is paid not alone to victors in the flesh, but to those other victors who had put it off before they themselves knew what part they had in victory. When we commemorate that great corporation of men which was the 36th (Ulster) Division, our minds should embrace the whole company of dead and living, for they are of one brotherhood.

The worth of that brotherhood it is hoped these chapters have not wholly failed to commemorate. But the power of better pens than that of this writer were inadequate to express, to those who have not looked upon a battle of modern war, to the younger generation, which we pray may not see one, what strength there must be in the fibres of the will if they are not to snap beneath its strain. Leadership, training, discipline, the pride which springs from the individual's association with and amalgamation in a great combatant formation, have their part in the toughening of those human cords. Of themselves they do not suffice. To engender that which was brought forth in the exploits of the Ulster Division, they must mate with a racial spirit possessing already in amplitude the seeds of endurance and of valour.

The End


APPENDICES


[APPENDIX I]

ORDER OF BATTLE OF THE 36TH (ULSTER) DIVISION[64]

General Officer Commanding.

Major-General C. H. Powell, C.B. Till Sept. 1915.

Major-General O. S. Nugent, C.B., D.S.O. Till 6th May, 1918.

Major-General C. Coffin, V.C., C.B., D.S.O.

ROYAL ARTILLERY.

C.R.A.

(Brigadier-General R. J. Elkington, commanding 1st/1st London Divisional Artillery, attached. Till 12th December, 1915.)

Brigadier-General H. J. Brock, C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O. Till 23rd September, 1918.

Brigadier-General C. St. L. Hawkes, D.S.O.

Brigades.

(1/1st, 1/2nd, 1/3rd, 1/4th London Brigades, attached. Till 12th December, 1915.)

153rd Brigade R.F.A.

A, B, C, D Batteries (18-pounder).

Reorganized 22nd May, 1916, into three 4-gun 18-pounder and one 4-gun 4.5 howitzer batteries. (D to 154th Brigade. C/154 joined, becoming D/153.)

Reorganized 14th September, 1916, into three 6-gun 18-pounder and one 4-gun 4.5 howitzer batteries. (A broken up, one section to B, one section to C. A/154 and one section C/154 joined, becoming A/153.)

D made up to 6-gun battery 13th January, 1917. (One section from D/172.)

154th Brigade R.F.A.

A, B, C, D Batteries (howitzer).

A transferred to 46th Division 28th February, 1916.

Reorganized 22nd May, 1916, into three 4-gun 18-pounder batteries. (B to 173rd Brigade. D/173 joined, becoming B/154. C to 153rd Brigade. D/153 joined, becoming C/154. D to 172nd Brigade. D/172 joined, becoming A/154.)

Broken up 14th September, 1916. (A and one section of C to 153rd Brigade. B and one section of C to 173rd Brigade.)

172nd Brigade R.F.A.

A, B, C, D Batteries (18-pounder).

Reorganized 22nd May, 1916, into three 4-gun 18-pounder and one 4-gun 4.5 howitzer batteries. (D to 154th Brigade. D/154 joined, becoming D/172.)

Reorganized 14th September, 1916, into two 6-gun 18-pounder and one 4-gun 4.5 howitzer batteries. (C broken up and divided between A and B.)

D/529 howitzer from England joined 7th October, 1916, becoming C/172.

One section of D to 153rd Brigade and one to 173rd Brigade, 13th January, 1917.

Brigade became 113th Army Brigade R.F.A., 22nd February, 1917. (A to 77th Brigade.)

173rd Brigade R.F.A.

A, B, C, D Batteries (18-pounder).

Reorganized 22nd May, 1916, into three 4-gun 18-pounder and one 4-gun 4.5 howitzer batteries. (D to 154th Brigade. B/154 joined, becoming D/173.)

Reorganized 14th September, 1916, into three 6-gun 18-pounder and one 4-gun 4.5 howitzer. (B broken up and divided between A and C. B/154 and one section C/154 joined, becoming B/173.) D made up to 6-gun battery 13th January, 1917. (One section from D/172.)

Divisional Ammunition Column. (Until May 1916 there had been four Brigade Ammunition Columns.)

ROYAL ENGINEERS.

121st Field Company, R.E.

122nd Field Company, R.E.

150th Field Company, R.E.

INFANTRY BRIGADES.

107th Infantry Brigade.

Commanders.

Brigadier-General Couchman, C.B. Till 20th October, 1915.

Brigadier-General W. M. Withycombe, C.M.G., D.S.O. Till 7th March, 1917.

Brigadier-General F. J. M. Rowley, D.S.O. Till 2nd June, 1917.

Brigadier-General W. M. Withycombe, C.M.G., D.S.O. Till 30th April, 1918.

Brigadier-General E. I. de S. Thorpe, C.M.G., D.S.O. Till 13th September, 1918.

Brigadier-General H. J. Brock, C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O.

Battalions.

8th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles.

Amalgamated with 9th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles, 29th August, 1917, as 8th/9th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles.

9th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles.

Amalgamated with 8th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles, 29th August, 1917, as 8th/9th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles.

8th/9th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles.
Disbanded 7th February, 1918.

10th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles.
Disbanded 20th February, 1918.

15th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles.

1st Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers.
Joined from 4th Division 2nd August, 1917.
To 108th Brigade 8th February, 1918.

1st Battalion Royal Irish Rifles.
Joined from 8th Division 7th February, 1918.

2nd Battalion Royal Irish Rifles.
Joined from 108th Brigade 8th February, 1918.

This Brigade was attached to 4th Division from 6th November, 1915, to 7th February, 1916, being replaced during that period by the 12th Infantry Brigade.

108th Infantry Brigade.

Commanders.

Brigadier-General C. Hacket Pain, C.B. Till 4th December, 1916.

Brigadier-General C. R. J. Griffith, C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O. Till 21st May, 1918.

Brigadier-General E. Vaughan, C.M.G., D.S.O.

Battalions.

11th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles.

Amalgamated with 13th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles, 14th November, 1917, as 11th/13th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles.

12th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles.

13th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles.

Amalgamated with 11th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles, 14th November, 1917, as 11th/13th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles.

11th/13th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles.
Disbanded 10th February, 1918.

9th Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers.

Absorbed dismounted squadrons of North Irish Horse, September 1917, becoming 9th (N.I.H.) Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers.

2nd Battalion Royal Irish Rifles.
Joined from 25th Division 14th November, 1917.
To 107th Brigade 8th February, 1918.

1st Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers.
Joined from 107th Brigade 8th February, 1918.

109th Infantry Brigade.

Commanders.

Brigadier-General T. E. Hickman, C.B., D.S.O. Till 27th May, 1916.

Brigadier-General R. J. Shuter, D.S.O. Till 13th January, 1917.

Brigadier-General A. St. Q. Ricardo, C.M.G., C.B.E., D.S.O. Till 12th December, 1917.

Brigadier-General W. F. Hessey, D.S.O. Till 18th April, 1918.

Brigadier-General E. Vaughan, C.M.G., D.S.O. Till 21st May, 1918.

Brigadier-General W. F. Hessey, D.S.O.

Battalions.

9th Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers.

10th Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers.
Disbanded 19th February, 1918.

11th Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers.
Disbanded 8th February, 1918.

14th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles.
Disbanded 21st February, 1918.

1st Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers.
Joined from 29th Division 19th February, 1918.

2nd Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers.
Joined from 32nd Division 4th February, 1918.

PIONEER BATTALION.

16th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles.

DIVISIONAL TROOPS.

Service Squadron, 6th Inniskilling Dragoons.

Left Division. 1st June, 1916; to X. Corps Cavalry.

36th Divisional Signal Company.

Divisional Cyclist Company. Broken up 31st May, 1916; half to X. Corps Cyclist Battalion, half to 15th Royal Irish Rifles.

R.A.M.C.

108th Field Ambulance.

109th Field Ambulance.

110th Field Ambulance.

Divisional Train, R.A.S.C.

Divisional Supply Column.

48th Mobile Veterinary Section.

Machine-Gun Corps.

107th Brigade Machine-Gun Company.
Formed January 1916.

108th Brigade Machine-Gun Company.
Formed January 1916.

109th Brigade Machine-Gun Company.
Formed January 1916.

266th Machine-Gun Company.
Joined from England 18th January, 1918.

36th Battalion Machine-Gun Corps formed from these four Companies 1st March, 1918.