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On 24 May 1837, the Battalion paraded at 1200 hours when the Colonel of the Regiment’s sister-in-law, Catherine Bell*, presented new Colours. Her husband, John Bell, later General Sir John Bell GCB, was Secretary to the Cape of Good Hope government. General Sir Galbraith Lowry Cole had been appointed Colonel of the 27th Inniskilling Regiment on 16 December 1826, and had been Governor of Cape Colony before he returned to England in 1833.
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In early 1796 the Inniskillings once again accompanied an expeditionary force to the West Indies.
Having taken a prominent part in the recapture of St Lucia, the Regiment, apart from small detachments at Barbados and Dominica, remained quartered at Grenada for nearly two years. During this period the Regiment suffered terribly from the ravages of the climate and disease. By the end of 1796 more than 400 officers and men had died, while many of the remainder were sick.
On the day of the assault on Isernia, 4 November 1943, the Commanding Officer of the 2nd Battalion The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers considered that the Battalion did not have enough to do. He sent Lieutenant Long and his platoon, plus a pioneer with a paintbrush, on a night patrol to reach the city before any other Allied troops and paint the Castle of Enniskillen on its ancient walls.
The 78th Division's fight to open the route to Tunis and complete the eviction of the Germans from Tunisia and North Africa continued. The final requirement in April 1943 was to capture the dominating mountainous area known as Tanngoucha and its key village of Heidous. A foothold on Tanngoucha had been established by 11 Brigade and 38 (Irish) Brigade moved forward to relieve its exhausted battalions.
The Nine Years' War was a war between France and those European states united in a coalition known as the ‘Grand Alliance’.
The following is the text from Army Form W.3121 describing the date, place and action for which 7018331 Rifleman Eric John Norman was recommended for an award by the Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion The London Irish Rifles, Lieutenant Colonel I H Good DSO, in June 1944 and forwarded through the chain of command until approved and signed by the Commander-in-Chief, Allied Central Mediterranean Force, General Sir Harold Alexander. Rifleman Norman was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) and his award was promulgated in the Supplement to The London Gazette dated 20 July 1944.
Norman Harvey was born on 6 April 1899 and was from Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire, England. He was aged 19, and a Private in the 1st Battalion The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers when he was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions on 25 October 1918 at Ingoyghem, Belgium. He re-enlisted into the Army in 1939 and joined 199 Railway Workshop Company of The Royal Engineers.
The North Atlantic Treaty was signed on 4 April 1949 and became effective on 24 August 1949. The twelve founding states were:
Belgium
Canada
Denmark
France (Withdrew from the military structure in 1966)
Iceland
Italy
Luxembourg
Netherlands
Norway
Portugal
United Kingdom
United States
The North Down Militia shared a common heritage with its South Down counterpart, both being formed in 1800 when the Royal Downshire Regiment was split into two battalions. This followed the amalgamation of the 24th Drogheda Battalion with the 5th Louth Regiment. The ‘vacancy’ created on the Militia roll was filled by dividing the twelve-company 8th Royal Downshire Regiment into two six-company battalions: 8th Royal South Down and 24th Royal North Down.
The cap badge of the North Irish Brigade, with effect from 27 February 1960, was worn by all ranks of The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, The Royal Ulster Rifles and The Royal Irish Fusiliers. In 1968 it became the logical choice as the cap badge for the the Regiments' successor, The Royal Irish Rangers.
