COUNTY ANTRIM YACHT CLUB WW1 MEMORIAL PLAQUE. Roll of Honour. Lieutenant Edward Workman MC

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1 Roll of Honour Second Lieutenant John Hanna Adams Second Lieutenant Cecil Vincent Boyd Private Frederick G Cooke Lieutenant Archie Dunlap Lemon Sub-Lieutenant Norman Giles Paton Captain William Alan Smiles Lieutenant Edward Workman MC 1

2 Introduction Some of you may have noticed, at one time or another, the two highly polished and well-worn plaques above the fireplace in the Club bar. One of these records the names of those County Antrim Yacht Club members who served in the Armed Forces in the First World War, with particular prominence given, rightly, to the seven members who made the supreme sacrifice. In this, the 100 th anniversary year of the Battle of the Somme, it is perhaps a particularly opportune time to remember these gentlemen, all of whom, as will be seen, left very comfortable environments to answer the call. This document has been compiled in grateful remembrance of these club members and in the earnest hope that the details included below may, in some measure, lift each beyond being merely names on an old Club plaque but hopefully bring some elements of their short lives into focus and highlight their respective sacrifices - so many years after their untimely deaths. The following pages set out therefore what the author knows currently about each of these members, their personal circumstances and tragically, their deaths. As will be noted, some of the information which follows is perforce limited; should any member have additional information on any of these gentlemen, I should be very grateful to receive it. Background At the time of their deaths, membership of sailing clubs across Ireland was largely the preserve of the more affluent members of the community, indeed the author was struck at the outset by the importance of the roles some of the casualties families played in the social and economic development of this country. These range from Shipbuilding, through Ropeworks and Distilleries to Linen Mills and their successes are reflected in the home addresses and backgrounds of most of the members honoured on the club plaque. What became noticeable and slightly puzzling in the earlier stages of research is the number of members who came from East Belfast yet were members of this Club at a time when travelling 20 or so miles across town just to sail or partake in the young club s activities would have been a significant venture. One possible explanation, of course, is that the wealthy families had holiday homes in or around Whitehead, or simply took advantage of the developing train linkage from the city, which in turn, would facilitate access to, and membership of, this Club. Members may be aware that this club was founded originally as Whitehead Sailing Club in 1902 and indeed in March 1909 changed its name to County Antrim Yacht Club to actually reflect the large number of members who lived in Belfast. In the following year the Annual Report membership list included messrs. Smiles, Adams, Boyd, Cooke and Lemon. It is highly likely therefore that East Belfast s Captain Smiles, Lieutenant Lemon and Private Cooke were acquainted or indeed friends as well as near neighbours with Lieutenant Workman MC in their well to do part of Belfast. It is a matter of record that Lieutenants Workman and Lemon died only a few months apart but what is not immediately evident is that Lieutenant Lemon was related through marriage to Lieutenant Workman. The resultant grief visited upon both these families cannot be imagined. 2

3 It is an indication of the hellish conditions these Club Members endured that of the six soldiers remembered only two have known graves. Reasons for this are many and include lack or absence of durable ID tags, impromptu battlefield burials, constant shellfire (and the resultant ground and graves disturbance), continual advances/retreats, inability to recover bodies (and indeed wounded) from No Mans Land and later, several-times repeated relocation of battlefield graves. Together these conspired to make proper identification extremely difficult or nigh on impossible in this The War to end all Wars. Indeed, this is clearly evidenced in the case of Whitehead s own John Adams who was not found until some ten months after his death. It may well be therefore that some of the other missing members remains are indeed buried in Commonwealth War Grave Commission Cemeteries but at time of final interment their mortal remains simply could not be identified. It is a fact that in many Commonwealth War Grave Cemeteries more than half of those interred were not identified. In these cases their headstones, like so many others, would thus carry the simple inscription of those words provided by Rudyard Kipling, who lost his own son (Jack) at the Somme, and who also is listed among The Missing : - KNOWN UNTO GOD 3

4 John (Jack) Hanna Adams - Second Lieutenant, Prince of Wales North Staffordshire Regiment. Born in Larne and eldest son of William George Adams and Mrs. Emily Adams of Annadale, Whitehead Village. John had a brother, Alfred, and a sister, Kathleen. He is recorded as a member of the Club in the 1910 Annual Report. Killed in Action 18/11/16. Aged 25 years. Buried in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery at Grandcourt. 4

5 John is the only Whitehead village resident fatality remembered on the club s plaque. He had enlisted early in the war, was posted to France on 29 th May 1916 and was serving with the North Staffordshire Regiment rather than, more typically, any of the local Irish Regiments, when he was killed at Grandcourt, France. He was a member of the Ulster Volunteer Force and received his commission, paradoxically, on 12 th July Tragically, he was listed as missing on 18 th November 1916 but like so very many others, it was not until September of the following year that his mother was told that his body had been found and buried by British soldiers at Grandcourt, Ancre, France. John had been the Rector s churchwarden in the Parish of Templecorran and worked as a bank clerk in the Ulster Bank for three years but had entered the family firm of John Adams, North Street, before enlisting. His name is on the Queen s University Memorial and a Memorial Plaque in St. John s Parish Church, Templecorran, which bears the regimental insignia of the Prince of Wales North Staffordshire Regiment and which was unveiled in October 1918, only a month before the end of the war. He is also mentioned on the Whitehead Memorial. At a memorial service in St Patrick s church it was stated that John took an active interest in everything pertaining to the welfare of the church. As a lad he was an example, and as a young man he was a pattern for others. A staunch and loyal friend, whose loss was well-nigh irreparable. Queen s University Memorial, Belfast 5

6 St. John s Parish Church, Templecorran John s Family Plot John s barely legible memorial on the family plot 6

7 Cecil Vincent Boyd - 2nd Lieutenant, 8th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles. Son of Samuel Wilson Boyd JP (also Member) Wholesale Merchant (Distillers, Hill Street, Belfast) and Mrs Anne Boyd, Claremont House, Ardenlee Avenue, Belfast. Born on 6 th April 1897, he had 4 brothers and 4 sisters and is recorded as a member of the Club in the 1910 Annual Report. Cecil was educated at Campbell College, Belfast, where he was a member of the Officers Training Corps. He received his commission on the 24th May 1917 and went to France in June that year. Killed in Action 23/11/17. Aged 20 years. Missing - no known grave. 7

8 Second Lieutenant Cecil Vincent Boyd Cecil is commemorated on Panel 10 of the Cambria Memorial, Louverval, France which commemorates more than 7,000 servicemen of the United Kingdom and South Africa who died in the Battle of Cambrai in November and December 1917 and who also have no known grave. 8

9 Frederick St.George Cooke Private, 9th Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers, North Irish Horse. Son of Francis and Anne Cooke, Gortermore House, Carrigallen, County Leitrim. A merchant and husband of Jeannie Cooke of Norton, 6 Hawthornden Road, Knock, Belfast. Frederick joined the club on 27 th April 1909 and is recorded as a member of the Club in the 1910 Annual Report. Killed in Action 19/4/18. Aged n/k. Missing - no known grave. 9

10 Frederick is unusual in that despite his wealthy family background which invariably guaranteed a Commission, he enlisted as a Private; this was usually by choice and says much about the man and those others who chose this way of serving their country. Frederick is commemorated on Panel 140 at the Tyne Cot Memorial, Passchaendale, near Ypres, Belgium. This cemetery took its name from the heavily fortified area where the Tynesiders regiments first thoughts on arrival were that the opposing hillside had many white cottages, so reminiscent of home; sadly, the cottages were numerous German reinforced machinegun bunkers, which in time, took a dreadful toll. Tyne Cot is the largest Commonwealth War Grave and bears the names of 33,783 soldiers of the UK forces, and 1,176 New Zealanders whose bodies simply disappeared into the Flanders mud in what was to become known generically as Passchaendale. To give a sense of the scale of slaughter, these c.35,000 missing soldiers are in addition to the c.55,000, also listed as missing, on the Menin Gate, Ypres (a very wealthy, large and historic walled city), just a few miles down the road and quite visible from this cemetery. Such was the devastation in this city that by the end of the war it was said that a mounted soldier could see from one side of the city to the other. In addition to the missing, 11,956 Commonwealth soldiers do have a grave in Tyne Cot cemetery, of these 8,369 are unidentified. The Battalion War Diary at the time of Frederick s death records simply:- 2am. Moved to Kemmel as composite Battalion with 1st Royal Irish Fusiliers commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Kelly. Heavy casualties, while moving into position, from enemy shelling. Relieved by French troops and marched to Siege Camp. 10

11 Tyne Cot Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery, Passchaendale, Belgium 11

12 Section of Tyne Cot Cemetery commemorating Frederick St.George Cooke What passed for trenches in the Flanders mud 12

13 Passchaendale Village before and after the War The sole remaining (barely) identifiable wreckage is the Church in the centre of the village 13

14 Archie Dunlap Lemon - Lieutenant, No. 6 Platoon, B Company, 12th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles. Date of Birth 2 nd April Son of AD Lemon JP and Mrs Lemon (nee Workman), Edgcumbe House, Strandtown, Belfast. Recorded as a Club Life Member on 21 st June 1909 and in the 1910 Annual Report where he is listed as owner of the 5.5 tonnes Sloop Vega. Killed in Action 1/7/16. Aged 41 years. Missing - no known grave. A note on the back of his WWI Medal Rolls Index card states that a Miss Lemon (presumably a sister or perhaps a daughter) applied for his medals. 14

15 Archie is just one of some 2, th Ulsters killed on the Somme on the 1 st of July Casualties exceeded 50,000 for the day, c.20,000 of whom were fatalities - most of them before lunchtime. More than 73,000 of the men (including, sadly, Archie and one other Club member Captain William Smiles see below) killed at the Battle of the Somme between July and November have no known grave and are commemorated on what is the largest Commonwealth War Graves Commission s Memorial in the world The Memorial to the Missing at Thiepval, France. Archie is also commemorated on the Strandtown War Memorial. LIEUTENANT ARCHIBALD LEMON, ROYAL IRISH RIFLES In 1911, Archie lived at 38 Scotch Quarter, Carrickfergus (now The Courtyard ) and enlisted in Carrickfergus in He was related through marriage to Lieutenant Edward Workman MC (listed above), had two sisters, Ellen and Marie and one brother Edward (a solicitor). He was educated at Methodist College, Belfast and was described as an active member of the County Antrim Yacht Club and Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club. Before joining up with the 12th Royal Irish Rifles, this Club Member worked as Flax Spinning Manager at Barn Mills, Carrickfergus. Archie s army record shows that shortly after enlistment he was promoted from Temporary Second Lieutenant to Temporary Lieutenant in the Royal Irish Rifles w.e.f. 1 Feb 1915 (Supplement of 8 May 1915 to London Gazette of 7 May 1915), travelled to England in July and on to France in October the same year. Exceptionally, we have substantial details of how, and indeed where, Archie actually lost his life. The following is an extract from the Royal Irish Rifles, 12th Battalion, War Diary for the 1 st July 1916, which describes graphically the courage and fortitude of this Club Member and the men who served under him. Indeed, it is an example of the same qualities shown by many thousands of others, from many nations, who in bright sunshine on 1 st July 1916 at 07:30hrs went Over the Top (or in the case of many of the 36 th Ulsters, crept out 15 minutes early, and lay out in No Mans Land ) until the by then, week-long artillery barrage stopped. For the benefit of the reader:- 15

16 a sap is a shallow hastily-dug (usually overnight and at great risk) trench protruding out into No Mans Land - the most dangerous position to be in at any time; and a World War One platoon typically comprised up to 50 men, was led by a lieutenant and supported by sergeants and corporals. JP Beadle s The Attack of the Ulster Division The War Diary 12 th Royal Irish Rifles 1st July 1916 states:- No.6 Platoon, 12th R.I.R ~ This Platoon was under Lieut. Lemon and was made responsible for the Railway Sap. The Platoon left our own trenches before Zero at the same time and on the right of the 9th Royal Irish Fusiliers but before reaching the Ravine the whole Platoon with the exception of Lieut. Lemon and twelve men were all casualties. On reaching the Ravine, Lt. Lemon looked for some support, but as none were available he advanced with his twelve men to enter the Sap. When he reached the Sap he had only nine men left, but he entered the Sap at the Railway bank. L.Sergt. Millar and three men moved to the right to bomb down the Sap, but, these were soon all casualties. Lieut. Lemon and the remainder of the men advanced up the main Sap. The thick wires running into the first large tunnel was cut by Rfmn. Gamble who was the first bayonet man. There was a Machine-gun firing across the sap from the small tunnel. Lieut. Lemon, however, climbed above the small tunnel with some bombs in order to catch any Germans who might come out and sent the men on. Lieut. Lemon was then shot by two German Officers who fired their rifles at him from the top of a dug out which apparently led into the tunnel. The two German officers were 16

17 afterwards killed by a bomb which exploded right at their feet. The remaining men got cut off between the 1st and 2nd German line and only two of them escaped. Remarkably, the Railway Sap where Lieutenant Lemon led his platoon attack on 1 st July 1916 still exists and though heavily overgrown and more resembling a ditch, it is still just visible today. It is situated between the road and railway line immediately opposite the very large CWGC Ancre Cemetery where many of the 36 th Ulsters are interred or commemorated. The bank and tunnels referred to in the Battalion War Diary extract are believed to have been on the left hand side of the road just beyond the bend shown in the photograph below. The Railway Sap, Ancre, Somme, France. Author s Note Having been able to discover a portrait of this member and, rather uniquely, to find out so much about his outstanding courage and the moments leading to his death it was indeed a very poignant experience for the author and those with him to stand beside this sap on a recent visit to the Somme. 17

18 The view from the recently excavated Ulster s Front Line Trench in Thiepval Wood looking uphill across several hundred yards of open No Man s Land to the very heavily fortified German position the Schwaben Redoubt - now the site of the 36 th Ulster Division s Helen s Tower memorial. 18

19 Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, Thiepval, France Thiepval Memorial, Pier and Face 15A and B, which commemorates Lieutenant Archie Lemon and Captain William Smiles 19

20 The view through the central arch of Thiepval Memorial looking beyond the Anglo/French cemetery and down towards Thiepval Wood and the Ancre Valley where the 36 th Ulsters went over the top at 07:15hrs on the 1 st July From this site heavily fortified German machine gun posts caught the Ulster s advance in enfilade fire causing very heavy casualties. 20

21 Helen s Tower Memorial to the 36 th Ulster Division This very impressive memorial was unveiled by Field-Marshall Sir Henry Wilson on 19 th November 1921 and was one of the first Memorials to be erected on the Western Front with the funds used to complete it having been raised locally at unmatched speed. The memorial is a close replica of Lady Helen s Tower, Clandeboye Estate, Bangor beside which was situated a major training camp for the then Ulster Volunteer Force. Originally formed by the Unionist Community to oppose the proposed Home Rule for Ireland it became the foundation for the 36 th Ulster Division. Simultaneously, the then Nationalist Community also created a force to support Home Rule - many members of this latter army set aside their political aspirations and enlisted in the British Army s 10 th and 16 th Irish Divisions to fight the common enemy. In a further paradoxical juxtaposition these politically opposing forces were close neighbours at the Battle of the Somme and such was the fearsome fighting reputation earned by each at that time that they were later brigaded, and actually fought side-by-side, with equally great resolve, élan and distinction at the Battle of Messines, Belgium. As a historical footnote, Lieutenant Edward Workman s father was a significant contributor to the fund raised to erect this memorial. 21

22 The Sydenham Memorial which includes the names of Lieutenant Lemon, Lieutenant Workman MC and Captain Smiles (and his Lieutenant brother). 22

23 Norman Giles Paton - Sub-Lieutenant, RNVR, HMML (Mine Layer) No. 403, RNVR. Date of Birth 2 nd October Son of John, Linen Merchant and Maysie Paton, Ardmore, Seaforth Road, Bangor. A Manufacturer s Agent by profession, Norman had two sisters and two brothers. He was educated at Methodist College, Belfast and appointed to the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve on 31 st May 1918 less than three months before his death. Norman was described in a death notice as an enthusiastic and skilful yachtsman. Lost at Sea 22/8/18. Aged 32 years. Like so many others, little is known of exactly how this member died what records that are available show that he drowned after his ship was torpedoed in the North Sea. The Imperial War Graves Commission records simply that he was:- 23

24 killed while (sic.) salving German Torpedo in Runswick Bay. This Club Member was just one of the 8,517 sailors of the First World War who are commemorated on the Chatham Naval Memorial, England. A photograph of the Death Penny given to his family is below. Norman is also commemorated on the Bangor War Memorial, Ward Park, County Down. 24

25 William Alan Smiles - Captain, 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles. Date of Birth - 29 th April One of eleven children born to William Holmes Smiles and Lucy Smiles, Westbank, Palmerstown Road, Strandtown, Belfast. Killed in Action 9/7/16. Aged 34 years. Missing - no known grave. William was a Solicitor who joined this Club on 21 st June 1909 and is recorded as a member in the 1910 Annual Report. William s father together with Gustav Wolff of shipyard fame founded the Belfast Ropeworks in 1878 and his mother was half-sister to Mrs Beeton the famous Victorian cookery expert and author. The Smiles family was a particularly significant part of Belfast and Ireland s social and business fabric 25

26 and a plaque to commemorate them is to be erected on the site of the now demolished Westbank. Like Archie Lemon, William is the second Club member to die and disappear at the Somme and less than two weeks after him. He, again like Archie Lemon, is just one of more than 73,000 of the men who were killed in those few months and have no known grave. He too is commemorated on what is the largest Commonwealth War Graves Commission Memorial in the world The Memorial to the Missing at Thiepval, France. More locally this Club Member is also commemorated on the Sydenham Roll of Honour and the Strandtown Memorial, Belfast. As a poignant footnote and a second family tragedy, William s brother Lieutenant Samuel Smiles, was killed at Passchaendale on 16 th August 1917 and is buried in Tyne Cot Cemetery, Belgium. The Sydenham Roll of Honour which includes the names of Captain Smiles (and his Second Lieutenant brother Samuel). 26

27 The Strandtown Memorial which includes the names of CAYC Club Members Captain Smiles and Lieutenants Smiles, Lemon and Workman MC 27

28 Edward Workman - Military Cross Lieutenant, 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles Date of Birth 4 th August Son of Frank and Sarah Workman, The Moat, Strandtown, Belfast. Wounded in Action, River Lys, Le Touquet, France. Died of Wounds 26/1/16. Aged 29 years. Edward was the only son of Frank Workman, one of the founders of Workman Clark, Shipbuilders, Belfast, fondly remembered locally as the wee yard, as opposed to Harland and Wolff the big yard, though on a number of occasions the wee yard produced a greater tonnage than its rival. Edward was educated at Charterhouse and Trinity College, Cambridge where he graduated B.A. with Honours and was related through marriage to Archie Lemon (another CAYC member - also on the club 28

29 plaque). He was also a member of the North of Ireland Cricket Club and is remembered in that club under the heading They played the game. On the 1911 Census and at only 24 years of age he was living at 401 Holywood Road, Belfast, had four servants and, somewhat modestly as the yard owner s son, listed his occupation as Apprentice Shipbuilder. He later became a Director and as the Workman Clark Yard co-founder s only son it is highly likely that his death contributed to the eventual demise of the family shipbuilding connection. In addition to his CAYC membership, Edward was a member of the Ulster Club together with the Royal Ulster and Royal North of Ireland clubs. Edward volunteered for service at the outbreak of the war and was gazetted Second Lieutenant, 5th Battalion, The Royal Irish Rifles on 14 th August He was promoted Lieutenant on 22 nd May 1915 and served with the British Expeditionary Force attached to The York and Lancaster Regiment in France and Flanders from 1 st May Records show that he took part in the very fierce fighting in Hooge, Belgium and was only one of three officers who were not listed Killed, Wounded or Missing in that brutal action. The battalion was personally thanked by the Commander of the Army who said of the Royal Irish Rifles Your attack was most brilliantly carried out.. when history comes to be written it will be looked on as one of the finest achievement of the whole war. Edward was Mentioned in Dispatches for his part in the action by Sir John French in the London Gazette on 1 st January On 19 th January 1916 in a raid to gather enemy trench information Edward was mortally wounded and died in the Duchess of Westminster s Hospital at Le Touquet, France a week later. Tributes to him included from his Commanding Officer (who wrote to his parents) the enterprise was very successful, and the success was to my mind, mainly due to the exceptional coolness, good leading and pluck of your poor son ; from a brother officer he did magnificently, and, as everyone says, the success of his party was entirely down to him ; and finally, from one of his Sergeants who wrote I have lost the finest Company officer in the Army, the best soldier I ever met. 29

30 Edward is buried in Camiers Road Military Cemetery, Etaples, near Boulogne, France, which contains 11,771 British and Commonwealth graves. Boulogne at that time was a major medical centre for treating casualties, many of whom, like Edward, sadly did not survive their wounds, thus the substantial size of the cemetery. As an interesting strand of this country s social and wartime history this Club Member s silhouette forms the centrepiece of the sadly, much neglected, Family and Shipyard Memorial (which lists over 120 yard men killed during the war) now situated on the wall of the Pumphouse, Thompson Dock, Titanic Quarter, Belfast. Edward is also listed on the Sydenham Roll of Honour. The Family and Shipyard Memorial as it once looked The Memorial as it is now 30

31 As noted in the early part of this document, only scant information is to hand about a number of the Club Members. This not withstanding, the information available in this short tribute offers an opportunity to pause and reflect on these seven members and their sacrifices. Perhaps just like you, they too had busy lives, families and day-to-day problems when they answered the call. Like so many others across both communities in Ireland they set aside their respective and diametrically opposing political aspirations to give their tomorrows so that you and I could have our todays. Dedications This document is dedicated to the everlasting memory of those members of the Club who served their country and especially to those gave their lives in both World Wars. Lest we forget. It is also particularly dedicated and with the fondest of memories, to the late Frederick Evan Orr, County Antrim Yacht Club Trustee and long-time member; also founder member of the WIJOFA and a very dear friend who visited the Somme and Ypres battlefields with the author, on so many memorable occasions. Gone but not forgotten. BM