Ireland

The 2nd Battalion The Durham Light Infantry moved from Aldershot to Cork on 20 October 1905, where it was stationed in the Victoria Barracks. At that date, Ireland was governed by the British Parliament, but Irish Home Rule was a major political issue.

The 2nd Battalion remained in Cork until January 1909, when it moved by rail to Fermoy. The Digest of Services [D/DLI 2/2/14] records that the soldiers were housed in the New Barracks there, relieving the 2nd Battalion The Royal Dublin Fusiliers. They became part of the 16th Infantry Brigade under the command of Brigadier General W.P. Pulteney.

The photograph (above, left) shows a view of Fermoy, County Cork, where the 2nd Battalion remained until January 1911. Jimmy died there on 8 August 1910. The photograph (above, right) shows the occasion of the ‘Civil Official Proclamation of the Accession of His Majesty King George V to the Throne’.

The occasion was also referred to in the 2nd Battalion Digest of Services.

See a Transcript of Digest of Services, April – May 1910 (D/DLI 2/2/15).

‘The troops were drawn up in a hollow square facing the Royal Hotel in the Town. The High Sherriff read the Proclamation from the balcony of the hotel. The massed bands played the National Anthem and three cheers were then given for the King. Immediately following the cheers the Royal Artillery fired a salute of 21 guns from the North bank of the river. The troops then marched back to quarters.’