The Auxiliaries and the Essex Regiment | July - Sept 1920 - Episode 28

Deployed alongside the Black and Tans and sent to make Ireland “an appropriate hell for those whose trade is agitation”, poor conditions and a lack of a clear objective would lead the Auxiliaries on a war path of drunkenness, destruction and murder. Though consisting of just 2,100 men they would be the IRA’s main opponent for the duration of the War of Independence and would take part, as victors and losers, in many of the most famous ambushes in the revolution. The Auxiliaries continue to cast a dark shadow over Irish history and in the places they would serve afterwards, from Bandon to Hebron. This episode also looks at the Essex Regiment whose members would fight a personal war with the West Cork Flying Column under the command of Tom Barry.
References:
David Leeson - “Black and Tans”
Paul O’Brien - “Havoc” - amzn.to/30HqwUY
William Sheehan - “Hearts and Mines” - amzn.to/3iDjzuu
Essex Regiment members killed in Ireland - www.cairogang.com/regiments/r...
How a killing on the steps of Bandon’s church may have changed the War of Independence - www.southernstar.ie/news/how-...
Social Media:
Twitter: / theirishnation
Facebook: / theirishnationlives
Instagram: / theirishnationlives
Soundcloud: / theirishnationlives
iTunes: itunes.apple.com/ie/podcast/t...
Twitch: / maniacalinc
Main Sources:
Military Archives - www.bureauofmilitaryhistory.ie
Century Ireland - www.rte.ie/centuryireland
Diarmuid Lynch, Irish Revolutionary - diarmuidlynch.weebly.com/
The Auxiliary Division - theauxiliaries.com/
The Auxiliary Division - theauxiliaries.com/
Atlas of the Irish Revolution - amzn.to/3npOEFj
Maurice Walsh - “Bitter Freedom” - amzn.to/30Dtutx
Charles Townshend - "The Republic" - amzn.to/33AJ0IC
Michael Hopkinson - ”The Irish War of Independence” - amzn.to/2Sxif1l
Diarmuid Ferriter - “A Nation and not a Rabble” - amzn.to/2SFUiF7
Ronan Fanning - “Fatal Path” - amzn.to/3lmswKq
Richard Abbott - “Police Casualties in Ireland 1919 - 1922” - amzn.to/3lmsMJo
Photos:
Military Archives
NLI Flickr account
Wiki Commons

[@ChrisinHove]

Excellent. It’s hard to be confronted with it, but the truth speaks for itself.

[@hughbeastodonnell3733]

Very interesting episode, as always. Thanks for your hard work.

[@murrayeldred3563]

PERCIVAL ,well he did rather worse later when he surrendered Singapore to the Japanese.

[@georgel74]

Loving the series. I would like to see the Balyseedy Ambush covered..

[@SniffMyDeadwax]

Lovely work with new photos newly discovered channel so this will keep me busy.

[@joekeating7225]

Another well-researches and produced episode. I'm learning a lot about the detailed happenings around the war of independence through your programmes. Thank you.

[@TheIrishNationLives]

Thanks, glad to hear you're learning something from the videos, that's the main goal!

[@Dannyt077]

Great stuff

[@TheIrishNationLives]

Thanks!

[@heritage195]

Excellent stuff. One small 'typo'' though. The soldier photographed at 2:00 the Curragh I believe is an Irish Army soldier.

[@TheIrishNationLives]

It looks like you are right, well spotted. It's the worst thing about all these photographs being in black and white.

[@heritage195]

@@TheIrishNationLives And all you need is someone to spot it and tell you :-)

[@BeltandBraces]

Singapore was surrendered to the Japanese without a shot being fired, their shame reflected on the British Army.

[@Kitiwake]

There were plenty of shots fired. The Japanese bombarded Singapore from the Malay mainland and some British led units, mainly Australians, engaged them in order to slow them down. But yes, an executive decision was made by British GHQ in Singapore to surrender. This involved also the surrender of thousands of freshly arrived Indian troops who never got their chance to "fire a shot".

[@MAUREENALLEN79]

I wonder if Frank Crozier is a descendant of Francis Crozier of the doomed Franklin NW Passage Expedition.

[@TheIrishNationLives]

Some stats say that the average age of an Auxiliary was 30, not 20 as given here, with 81% of recruits being born between 1885 and 1899.

[@billycaspersghost7528]

Twenty is too young to have been in WW1 and rated officer ,and developed a savage thirst for booze.

[@johnj.anthonymcquade6876]

@@billycaspersghost7528 20s a grown man if those so called soldiers want to die for britain let them go die and leave our island of ireland to our own affairs

[@victornewman9904]

Thank heaven for Irish volunteers in the British Armed Forces.

[@SniffMyDeadwax]

Johnst5on Mooney O'Brien Bakersw still on the go today despite the tank propelled battering ram ? 9/02 09.15 is a mix of regiments not Essex

[@seanmurphy5770]

They were not soldiers,but paid killers,those that were soldiers in world war 1 had in Ireland given up any idea of discipline or decency,as for the Essex regiment,cockneys who hated the Irish then as they still do now,truth hurts.Irish young people in the republic have forgotten this history.

[@odonnchada9994]

Forgive Dont Forget? ☘🇮🇪

[@henrysevern]

There is a lot of people in the Essex County who were born on the island of Ireland or are descendants of people born there. I presume you are aware of this?

[@seanohare5488]

True

[@mike_oxlong4387]

Essex 💪🏻

[@johnsylvester951]

Ireland will be clean when there's no British occupation.

[@Ann65.]

Yes!

[@johnj.anthonymcquade6876]

do you do any operations of the early 1970s with the official/provisional ira that'd be interesting

[@raymaxwell2940]

Go read some propaganda like the magazine An phoblacht if bombing woman and children gets you excited you work away thats part of the reason it will take a long time before we trust you lot again up here in ulster anyway as someone that has lost family members to IRA bombs nothing glamorous or heroic sitting behind a hedge a mile away detonating a bomb you will find that many old IRA vets did not agree targeting civilians some 50 60 years later

[@Londubh1]

@@raymaxwell2940 amadán

[@mike_oxlong4387]

Common Essex W

[@countycricklewood]

Auxiliaries and Tans? Simply put? Pure scum and lowlifes. Lowest of the low