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British administration of Mesopotamia followed the defeat of the Ottoman Empire at the end of the First World War. Tax collections, rising prices and Bolshevik propaganda coming from Persia spread unrest across Baghdad city and the Bedouin tribes. The Arabs had been asked whether they would agree to an Arab state formed under an Arab ruler and backed by Britain. They were enthusiastic in their favour of the proposal but unfortunately it was not put into effect soon enough and delays made the Arabs suspicious that Britain intended to annexe Mesopotamia.
When the 1st Inniskillings arrived in Ladysmith after raising the siege, they were transferred from Hart's Brigade to the garrison command. As the Battalion had suffered so greatly in the battles of Colenso General Sir Redvers Buller decided not to allow the Skins to take part in active operations until they were back to nearly full strength.
The Second World War Amnesty and Immunity Bill 2012 passed all stages in the Dáil and Seanad Éireann on 7 May 2013 and was forwarded to the President for signature.
He was born 29 May 1630, crowned on 23 April 1661, died on 6 February 1685 and was buried in Westminster Abbey, London. The ‘Restoration’ of the Stuart monarchy to the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland had taken place in 1660 when King Charles II returned from exile in Europe in following the period of the Protectorate and the civil wars, known as the ‘Interregnum’, from 1649-1660.
FORTY YEARS ON - RETURN TO SARAWAK
(by General Sir Roger Wheeler)
As part of a trip to Malaysia in 2007, I thought it would be fun to take a trip down memory lane by returning to Serian District of Sarawak where I joined the Rifles in 1964. By then the Battalion, commanded by Corran Purdon, had been in the Far East for more than 6 months. We were there as part of the British Forces who were supporting the Malaysian Government to deter and defeat Indonesian incursions into Sarawak, a campaign known at the time and since then as Confrontation.
The United Nations advance during May had taken the force almost back to the line of the River Imjin. On 28 May, 29 Brigade had moved forward to take over from the 1st (US) Cavalry Division in the same hills where the Battle of the Imjin had been fought in April. The following afternoon, the Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion The Royal Ulster Rifles, Lieutenant Colonel R J H Carson, and his Orders Group went forward to the head of the valley where the Greek Battalion had just occupied the heights against only moderate resistance and was patrolling forward to the Imjin itself.
Regimental Headquarters The Royal Irish Rangers moved from St Patrick's Barracks, Ballymena to the War Memorial Building (Annexe), Waring St, Belfast and opened in a reduced form with Regimental Offices in St Lucia Barracks Omagh and Sovereign’s House Armagh.
In August 1937, the 1st Battalion The Royal Ulster Rifles was moved at twenty-four hours notice from Hong Kong to Shanghai on emergency deployment following the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War.
From January to August 1916, the Army in Salonika was fairly inactive as the Bulgarians had not crossed the border into Greece. The 6th Battalion The Royal Irish Rifles had arrived in the Rendina Gorge in the New Year, following the Allies' retreat from Serbia, remaining there until relieved in February.
In the Battle of La Bassée, which lasted from 12 October until the end of the month, the 2nd Battalion The Royal Irish Rifles received its first severe mauling of the war.
The bitter and bloody battle began in the area of the village of Neuve Chappelle, which both sides tried to capture. On 26 October while the Rifles' two rear companies were withdrawn from the line for a short rest, there occurred yet another savage German attack, which overwhelmed the two forward companies. All ranks were posted as missing.
