Chris_Baker Posted 8 September , 2003 Share Posted 8 September , 2003 Can anyone tell me, or point me to a reference that would tell me, of the organisation of the Free State (I've also seen it referred to as the National) Army of Ireland in the early 1920's? William R. English-Murphy MC, CO of the 1st South Staffords in 1918, became a Brigadier in this army. He also moved the "English" from his surname to become W. R. E. Murphy. I lose track of him in about 1925, until he pops up again in the 1960s, trying to obtain copies of his medals after his originals were lost in a house fire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HERITAGE PLUS Posted 8 September , 2003 Share Posted 8 September , 2003 Chris This may give you a start: http://www.regiments.org/milhist/europe/ireland.htm Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob carman Posted 11 September , 2003 Share Posted 11 September , 2003 Chris, Murphy appears twice in Carlton Younger's "The Irish Civil War". On one occassion he set his men to digging trenches which apparantly they found pretty rum given the nature of the fighting. I enjoyed the book but I am not knowledgeable enough to comment on bias and accuracy and I don't know that it contains just what you are after. Rob Carman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 1 December , 2020 Share Posted 1 December , 2020 On 08/09/2003 at 05:55, Chris_Baker said: Can anyone tell me, or point me to a reference that would tell me, of the organisation of the Free State (I've also seen it referred to as the National) Army of Ireland in the early 1920's? William R. English-Murphy MC, CO of the 1st South Staffords in 1918, became a Brigadier in this army. He also moved the "English" from his surname to become W. R. E. Murphy. I lose track of him in about 1925, until he pops up again in the 1960s, trying to obtain copies of his medals after his originals were lost in a house fire. This should help. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._R._E._Murphy John McMahon, USA (grandson). My 100 year old mother Joan Murphy (McMahon) is his surviving daughter from Ardee. Co.Louth Ireland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Baker Posted 1 December , 2020 Author Share Posted 1 December , 2020 Great to hear from you, John. Much has been written about him in the 17 years since my enquiry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Murphy Posted 9 December , 2023 Share Posted 9 December , 2023 Chris His career details have been entered on the Dictionary of Irish Biography Murphy, William Richard English | Dictionary of Irish Biography (dib.ie) Regards Karl Murphy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dai Bach y Sowldiwr Posted 9 December , 2023 Share Posted 9 December , 2023 48 minutes ago, Karl Murphy said: Chris His career details have been entered on the Dictionary of Irish Biography Murphy, William Richard English | Dictionary of Irish Biography (dib.ie) Regards Karl Murphy A fascinating biography. Thanks for posting the link. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Murphy Posted 9 December , 2023 Share Posted 9 December , 2023 6 hours ago, Dai Bach y Sowldiwr said: A fascinating biography. Thanks for posting the link. Thank you for your interest! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jervis Posted 10 December , 2023 Share Posted 10 December , 2023 (edited) Thanks very much for sharing that Karl. Very interesting on many levels for me. He lived a very interesting life. I recently attended the National Stadium to watch the Gardaí boxing club (v NYFD) blissfully unaware of Murphy’s legacy with both club & Stadium. Edited 10 December , 2023 by Jervis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Murphy Posted 10 December , 2023 Share Posted 10 December , 2023 Again thanks for your interest Jervis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wexflyer Posted 24 January Share Posted 24 January (edited) On 08/09/2003 at 02:55, Chris_Baker said: Can anyone tell me, or point me to a reference that would tell me, of the organisation of the Free State (I've also seen it referred to as the National) Army of Ireland in the early 1920's? William R. English-Murphy MC, CO of the 1st South Staffords in 1918, became a Brigadier in this army. He also moved the "English" from his surname to become W. R. E. Murphy. I lose track of him in about 1925, until he pops up again in the 1960s, trying to obtain copies of his medals after his originals were lost in a house fire. Two things, minor I guess. First he could not have been a Brigadier as there was no such rank. He could have been a Brigadier General. He was a Major General. Second, he did not remove '"English" from his surname to become W. R. E. Murphy.' If anything he may have added English when serving in British Army. He was born in 1890 as Murphy 1890 Birth registration for William Richard Murphy He is on the 1911 census as Murphy 1911 census for William R. Murphy He married Mary Fortune in 1918 with surname Murphy 1918 Marriage registration of William Murphy and Mary Fortune He is on the 1922 census with surname Murphy, a "C. Genl" which I presume stands for Commanding General 1922 Army Census, William Murphy Edited 24 January by Wexflyer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Baker Posted 24 January Author Share Posted 24 January Better late than never! Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Murphy Posted 24 January Share Posted 24 January 6 hours ago, Wexflyer said: Two things, minor I guess. First he could not have been a Brigadier as there was no such rank. He could have been a Brigadier General. He was a Major General. Second, he did not remove '"English" from his surname to become W. R. E. Murphy.' If anything he may have added English when serving in British Army. He was born in 1890 as Murphy 1890 Birth registration for William Richard Murphy He is on the 1911 census as Murphy 1911 census for William R. Murphy He married Mary Fortune in 1918 with surname Murphy 1918 Marriage registration of William Murphy and Mary Fortune He is on the 1922 census with surname Murphy, a "C. Genl" which I presume stands for Commanding General 1922 Army Census, William Murphy Excellent work thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kildaremark Posted 28 January Share Posted 28 January On 24/01/2024 at 03:01, Wexflyer said: Two things, minor I guess. First he could not have been a Brigadier as there was no such rank. He could have been a Brigadier General. He was a Major General. Second, he did not remove '"English" from his surname to become W. R. E. Murphy.' If anything he may have added English when serving in British Army. He was born in 1890 as Murphy 1890 Birth registration for William Richard Murphy He is on the 1911 census as Murphy 1911 census for William R. Murphy He married Mary Fortune in 1918 with surname Murphy 1918 Marriage registration of William Murphy and Mary Fortune He is on the 1922 census with surname Murphy, a "C. Genl" which I presume stands for Commanding General 1922 Army Census, William Murphy Commandant-General not Commanding-General Concise article in History Ireland magazine on his career: History Ireland Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wexflyer Posted 28 January Share Posted 28 January 2 hours ago, kildaremark said: Commandant-General not Commanding-General Concise article in History Ireland magazine on his career: History Ireland Mark I though Commandant General was an IRA rank, and the National army used Major General. Wiki, that font of all wisdom, supports my contention 😀 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wexflyer Posted 28 January Share Posted 28 January 35 minutes ago, Wexflyer said: I though Commandant General was an IRA rank, and the National army used Major General. Wiki, that font of all wisdom, supports my contention 😀 Wiki article on Commandant-General https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commandant-general Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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