The Battle of Bou Arada – Hills 279/286
The Battle of Bou Arada was a bloody affair in which the 2nd Battalion, London Irish distinguished themselves, but with grievous losses. The night of 19 January 1943 had been spent just outside El Aroussa, and the next night the battalion moved into the plains to the west of Bou Arada. Another move was ordered, […]
2/18th Battalion at Kherbet Adasseh
In the course of five weeks, the battalion had passed from the great heat and water scarcity of the desert to days and nights of continuous rain and it had now become bitterly cold. The area north of Jerusalem was a nightmare of rocky hills and no frontline was obvious. Some of the high points […]
Lt Terry Flynn, 2 LIR in Italy
On Loos Sunday, we were delighted to meet with Sean Flynn, the son of Lieutenant Terry Flynn, who served with the 2nd Battalion London Irish Rifles during the Second World War. Although the details of Lt Flynn’s service period is not exactly clear, it is certain that he was serving with 2 LIR during its […]
Rifleman Henry Norton Stephens
We are extremely delighted to have been sent a set of photographs and other interesting paper artefacts belonging to Rifleman Henry Stephens, who served with the London Irish Rifles during the First World War. These fantastic documents have been donated to us by Henry’s granddaughter, Katy de Rooy, and she said in a note to […]
Lance Corporal David Moore
David Moore has written to us about his father, Lance Corporal David Moore, who served with the London Irish Rifles during the Second World War: “My father was born on 18th February 1917 in Airdrie. His Army number was 3249725 and he served in the Cameronians before joining the LIR and then joined the RASC when […]
RJ Prentice 2 LIR
We received a note and some photos from Colin Prentice, the son of Robert John Prentice who served with the 2nd Bn London Irish Rifles during the Second World War – he is seen below (directly behind Lt Searles) on guard duty with H Company for General Montgomery at Vasto in December 1943 as he […]
Brothers in Arms – Riflemen William Jenkins and John Wilson
We have been contacted by David Jenkins, the nephew of William Jenkins who served with the 2nd Battalion (2 LIR) in Tunisia and Italy during the Second World War. In a most moving note, David told us: “I have been meaning to contact you for a while now in relation to my uncle, Rifleman William […]
Corporal George Willis
We have received a most moving note from Neil Willis, the son of 7017683 Corporal George Richard “Dicky” Willis, who served with the 2nd Battalion London Irish Rifles from 1940 to 1943. In his note, Neil told us: “My father never talked about his experiences during the war but I managed to glean some information […]
CSM Ashton Frank Clarke
We have been been contacted by Jan Clarke, the daughter in law of CSM Ashton Clarke, who served in Italy with the 1st Battalion London Irish Rifles from 1943 to 1946 and where he was Mentioned in Despatches. In her note to us, Jan explained that CSM Clarke had served overseas with the 56th (London) […]