Grayson, Richard S.. 2014. Ireland’s New Memory of the First World War: Forgotten Aspects of the Battle of Messines, June 1917. British Journal for Military History, 1(1), pp. 48-65. [Article]

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Abstract or Description

The narrative of the 16th (Irish) and 36th (Ulster) divisions fighting side-by-side at Messines in June 1917 plays a major and valuable role in cross-community reconciliation on the island of Ireland. However, there is no sustained historical analysis of precisely who (in terms of geographic origin) was serving in the two divisions by June 1917. This article does that, concluding that around one-third of the men in each division had no Irish connection. This opens up the prospect of nuancing the Messines narrative so that it might play a part in British-Irish reconciliation.

Item Type:	Article
Departments, Centres and Research Units:	History
Dates:	Date Event 21 October 2014 Published 1 September 2014 Accepted
Item ID:	10786
Date Deposited:	21 Oct 2014 10:16
Last Modified:	10 May 2023 15:32
Peer Reviewed:	Yes, this version has been peer-reviewed.
URI:	https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/10786

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