michel knockaert Posted 4 May , 2007 Share Posted 4 May , 2007 So hard to believe isn't it Michel ? ..... that this place of beauty now ... was such an awful place to be ?? Thank you for all your time - to make things more understandable for us ! Annie And yes Annie ! I share all that I found, it is my nature, I do not have back thought, I do not make retention of information… and I have the immense chance to be on the spot… Michel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michel knockaert Posted 4 May , 2007 Share Posted 4 May , 2007 It's good to see the location, Michel. Marina Hello Marina, do you want the photographs of the battlefield on the right side of "Cinder Track" ? Michel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liverpool annie Posted 4 May , 2007 Share Posted 4 May , 2007 I do !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michel knockaert Posted 4 May , 2007 Share Posted 4 May , 2007 I do !! Then look Annie ! In the bottom, you can see the beautiful "collines d'Artois"... Michel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marina Posted 4 May , 2007 Share Posted 4 May , 2007 Hello Marina, do you want the photographs of the battlefield on the right side of "Cinder Track" ? Michel Thank you, Michel - great to see them! Marina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marina Posted 4 May , 2007 Share Posted 4 May , 2007 What beautiful sky! Marina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liverpool annie Posted 4 May , 2007 Share Posted 4 May , 2007 I didn't know you were close to "collines d'Artois" ..... but then you guys know me and geography !! Wonderful European weather .... we have rain !! Annie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sullivan Posted 4 May , 2007 Share Posted 4 May , 2007 The Cinder Track, is it by any chance now known as Ruelle Noirette, I have been looking at Google Earth mapping again." Hello Jame, BINGO ! You are rigth, "la ruelle noirette" IS "Cinder Track" in 1916, "Boars Head" was again theater of dramatic events, look : http://www.royalsussex.org.uk/Richebourg.htm Michel Michel, Thank you for that and also the link to the above mentioned web site. Also for all the photos, they are again excellent, beautiful weather. I was surprised at how flat the terrain is in that area. Sullivan (James). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michel knockaert Posted 4 May , 2007 Share Posted 4 May , 2007 Michel, Thank you for that and also the link to the above mentioned web site. Also for all the photos, they are again excellent, beautiful weather. I was surprised at how flat the terrain is in that area. Sullivan (James). Yes James, it is "le plat pays", we are just + 18 meters over the sea's level. Michel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sullivan Posted 5 May , 2007 Share Posted 5 May , 2007 Can I ask a question ? Where's Sean ? did we scare him off ? ............ I was so looking forward to hearing about Father Gleeson ! Annie You must have read my mind Annie, I was about to ask the same question as he did say he would post further information on GWF about the Gleeson family and the surname spelling variation. Annie, I just wonder is Sean in your part of the world. Await your comment. Sullivan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liverpool annie Posted 5 May , 2007 Share Posted 5 May , 2007 Annie, I just wonder is Sean in your part of the world. Await your comment. Sullivan. Possibly Sullivan ! ..... though Sean could work shifts !! I thought you'd bribed him with a return ticket to Australia .... so he'd give you a " correct " photo of Father Gleeson !! I wish he'd come back and tell us "all " .... like he said he would !! Annie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sullivan Posted 5 May , 2007 Share Posted 5 May , 2007 Possibly Sullivan ! ..... though Sean could work shifts !! I thought you'd bribed him with a return ticket to Australia .... so he'd give you a " correct " photo of Father Gleeson !! I wish he'd come back and tell us "all " .... like he said he would !! Annie Annie, I would have to rob a bank for the ticket. I notice his profile does not tell anything, prefers to remain incognito which is a pity as collectively a number of GWF members have advanced information on this particular thread beyond expectations and with the addition of wonderful photos from Michel. Will just have to hope he appears again at some stage. Sullivan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liverpool annie Posted 7 May , 2007 Share Posted 7 May , 2007 I don't know if we've covered this or not ..... please forgive me if we have .... but here's an article in the Times Oct 1922 !! My question is ..... was about the Coronation Medal 1911 ....... I'd love to know if Fortunino Matania really got the Coronation Medal !! EDIT .... I can't attach the article ..... sorry ! ignore this !! Annie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckop4 Posted 8 May , 2007 Share Posted 8 May , 2007 On the eve of the 9th of May, 92 years ago tomorrow (even though it is probably already 'tomorrow' in Australia, James), I'm posting a couple of pictures of the Munsters, from late 1914, marching into the railway station in Cork, on their way to the Front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckop4 Posted 8 May , 2007 Share Posted 8 May , 2007 And another picture, assembling at the railway station, Cork, January 1915, ready for transport to the Rue du Bois Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian turner Posted 8 May , 2007 Share Posted 8 May , 2007 JPC, How poignant such photos become, once knowing their fate. I wonder how many made it through.... Of course we are on the day of the Last Absolution. Thanks. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejcmartin Posted 8 May , 2007 Share Posted 8 May , 2007 Although I have no direct interest in Munsters I have revisited this thread numerous times over the last couple of months. It is truly amazing what you have done and the story that has come to life! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marina Posted 8 May , 2007 Share Posted 8 May , 2007 JPC - great pictures. I agree with Ian how poignant they are. but my, they're a hard looking bunch! Marina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian turner Posted 8 May , 2007 Share Posted 8 May , 2007 The photograph sent to me is attached under. I have reduced the photograph in size and added the caption to the right that accompanied the photo. Note the caption 'A Chaplain attached to the Royal Munster Fusiliers....' The source of this photo was never revealed to me but it also appeared in the Spring Issue, 1998, No. 12 journal of the Royal Munster Fusiliers Association. The caption reads 'Father Gleeson Administering the Last Rites'. No other text accompanied the photo other than the name of the person who submitted the photo. It would now seem the photo did the rounds under various captions. My investigation continues to identify the person in the photo, but to appearances at this point in time it seems like Gleeson. Compare to the photo in post 70. http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/i...6423&st=60# While the patch on the shoulder may indicate the 16th Irish Division, the profile of the shamrock (slightly larger)was used by the Munster Fusiliers well before the period of the Great War, and just maybe if the person in the photo is Father Gleeson, perhaps he wore the Munster's shamrock as a symbol of his 'Irishness', but that's conjecture on my part, sometimes fact is stranger than fiction !. Sullivan. My contribution today, as it is 8th May.... I knew I had seen this pic of the padre giving a burial prayer over two British dead - it was in the pages of 'I was There'. I found the picture again, but whilst it gives a bit more info, it does not name the padre! However the picture is credited to the Imperial war Museum, and is said to have been taken near Cambrai on 8th October, 1918. He is said to be a padre of the 1st Munsters. Taking a quick look at The Long, Long Trail I believe the 1st Munsters were indeed at Cambrai in this period. Sorry it does not give us anything conclusive, but it may eliminate Father Gleeson as being the padre in that particular photograph? Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sullivan Posted 8 May , 2007 Share Posted 8 May , 2007 In Memory of The Men of The 2nd Battalion Munster Fusiliers. Many went to battle on the 9th May 1915 - few returned - they still watch over the fields of France. They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them. English poet and writer Laurence Binyon. "The ground of these fields is impregnated blood of Munsters..." - Michel Knockaert. (post 598). Credits: Original photo by Michel Knockaert. Overlay by Sullivan - from print of Matania's 'Last Absolution'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian turner Posted 8 May , 2007 Share Posted 8 May , 2007 Sullivan Thank you - a nice and appropriate touch for this day. We Will Remember Them! Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marina Posted 8 May , 2007 Share Posted 8 May , 2007 Very nice, Sullivan. Eerie too - appropriate for this day. Thank you, Marina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michel knockaert Posted 8 May , 2007 Share Posted 8 May , 2007 on May 8 1915, the eve of the attack of the Aubers Ridge, the Munster's received the last absolution At "la rue du bois, l'épinette, Richebourg. Today, May 8 2007, 92 years later, roughly at the same hour, I was with "l'épinette" in the name of each of us, with some modest flowers of my garden, to pay homage to these valorous soldiers who died the next day on the french soil. That they rest in peace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marina Posted 8 May , 2007 Share Posted 8 May , 2007 That was a lovely thing to do, Michel. Marin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michel knockaert Posted 8 May , 2007 Share Posted 8 May , 2007 And another picture, assembling at the railway station, Cork, January 1915, ready for transport to the Rue du Bois Thank you very much jpc, wonderful and poignant pictures. very friendly Michel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now