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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, […]
New Recruits at the Duke of York’s
Some more photographs of men of the London Irish Rifles – this set from the IWM collection are new recruits being shown what’s what at the Duke of York’s HQ in November 1939.
Training in London in 1939
Some interesting photos of the London Irish Rifles, probably members of the 1st Battalion, training in London during November 1939.
The London Irish Rifles training in Wales in 1940
Some excellent photographs have been discovered at the Imperial War Museum (IWM) showing the intensive training manoeuvres undertaken by the 2nd Battalion London Irish Rifles on the cliffs near Haverfordwest in Pembrokeshire during October 1940. As the ‘London Irish at War’ noted: “Following Dunkirk, invasion became even more likely and work on the defences of […]
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 […]
CSM Patrick Keenan
We recently received a note from Gerard Bryson, the nephew of CSM Patrick Keenan, who was killed on 9th September 1944 while serving with 1 LIR during the Gothic Line battles. Patrick Keenan’s service record is not entirely clear but it seems that he started his army career with the Skins/Faughs during the early 1920s and […]
Rifleman Albert Leddy, 1924 – 2021
We have just received the sad news of the death of Rifleman Albert Leddy who served in Italy and Austria with G Coy, 2nd Battalion London Irish Rifles before becoming a piper with the 1st Battalion in Italy. Albert had written a little bit about his life in Liverpool prior to being called up: “When […]