Ulster Tower in Thiepval, France, provides a background for 13 jigsaw pieces with partial images relating to the Great War, including a uniform with a Victoria Cross and badge of the 36th (Ulster) Division, the 10th (Irish) Division, the 16th (Irish) Division, and the Royal Irish Fusiliers (and a fourteenth piece for information).

Kilgreel Road, Antrim. The mural is more than a decade old and is bleached from the sun (the pinks were formerly brown); on the former site of The People’s Army (a UVF board).

“This artwork, commemorating the sacrifices made during the Great War and subsequent conflicts, was produced by the young people of Parkhall Youth & Community Club and was completed in 2010. It is part of a larger Re-imaging project undertaken by Parkhall Cultural Awareness Association & Parkhall Community Association.
14 jigsaw pieces are representated as that was the age of the youngest soldier to die on the Somme.
The Royal Irish Fusiliers, who recruited in the Antrim area, served with the 10th Irish Division and 36th Ulster Division during World War I. The cap badge is surrounded with poppies. The poppy is an international symbol commemorating the sacrifices of members of the armed forces and of civilians specifically since the Great War.
Birds were used extensively during World War I delivering important logistic message from the front line.
HMS Antrim served in the Great War and survived. After the war she became the first ship to be fitted with an experimental sonar system in 1920. Her bell can presently be viewed in Antrim Civic Centre.
The grounds of Shane’s Castle in Antrim were used as a training ground and a campsite for the 36th Ulster Division prior to their deployment to France.
Of all bell tents and parachutes during the Great War 90% were made from Irish Linen.
During the Great War a service man’s basic wage was one shilling a day (5 pence).
The sound of the bugle was heard throughout each day in the trenches, starting with Reveille to rouse you from slumber.
‘Flowers of the Forest’, a powerful Scottish lament, is often played by a lone piper at services of Remembrance.
“I am not an Ulsterman but yesterday, the 1st July, as I followed their amazing attack, I felt that I would rather be an Ulsterman than anything else in the world.” Extract from the speech by Captain Wilfred [Wilfrid] Spencer 2st July 1916.
Men from the 36th Ulster Division received 9 Victoria Crosses.
Women played a vital role in field hospitals during the Great War caring for the injured, from the front line.
The flags of the 16th and 10th Irish Divisions.
36th Ulster division.
The Ulster Tower is a memorial to the men of the 36th Ulster Division. It is situated near the entrance to Thiepval Wood, France.

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Copyright © 2013 Peter Moloney
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