Ulster Tower Thiepval
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The Ulster Tower is a memorial to the men of the 36th (Ulster) Division. The memorial was officially opened on November 19, 1921 and is a very close copy of Helen's Tower which stands in the grounds of the Clandeboye Estate, near Bangor, County Down in Northern Ireland. Many of the men of the Ulster Division trained in the estate before moving to England and then France early in 1916.
It is located very near to the famous Schwaben Redoubt, which the Division attacked on July 1, 1916. The Schwaben Redoubt was a little to the north-east of where the tower stands, and was a triangle of trenches with a frontage of 300 yards, a fearsome strongpoint with commanding views. It is also located close to the Thiepval Memorial for the missing.
The front lines were at the edge of Thiepval Wood which lies to the south-west of the road between the Thiepval memorial and the Ulster Tower. Troops of the 109th Brigade crossed about 400 yards of no man's land, and kept on going. They entered the Schwaben Redoubt, and advanced on towards Stuff Redoubt, gaining in all around a mile, though not without losses. To their left, the 108th Brigade were successful in advancing near Thiepval, but less so nearer the River Ancre.
The 107th Brigade supported them, but although men of the 36th Division held out for the day the Germans mounted counterattacks, and as their stocks of bombs and ammunition dwindled, many fell back with small parties remaining in the German front lines. The casualties suffered by the 36th Division on the 1st of July totalled over 5,000.
The tower (plus a small cafe nearby) is staffed by members of the Somme Association, which is based in Belfast.
At the entrance to the tower is a plaque commemorating the names of the nine men of the Division who won the Victoria Cross during the Somme.
Behind the tower and to its right is a small garden. There is a memorial here commemorating the part played by members of the Orange Order during the battle. The Orange institution throughout the world saw more of its members serve in the First World War than any other politico-religious organisation.
The inscription on the memorial reads:
- "This Memorial is Dedicated to the Men and Women of the Orange Institution Worldwide, who at the call of King and country, left all that was dear to them, endured hardness, faced danger, and finally passed out of the sight of man by the path of duty and self sacrifice, giving up their own lives that others might live in Freedom. Let those who come after see to it that their names be not forgotten."
The Orange Memorial in France to fallen members not only recalls the service to 'King and Country' by members of the Orange institution from throughout the world in the "Great War" of 1914-1918 but in other conflicts before and since.
They were followed by thousands of Australian and New Zealand Orangemen, Able Seaman Bro William George Vincent Williams of LOL 92 Melbourne, was the first Australian to be killed in the war. Thousands more from South Africa, the USA and lesser known countries and islands from throughout the Commonwealth answered the call to arms, losing their lives in many cases.
At least 5 Orangemen have been awarded the Victoria Cross although many lodge records have been lost and destroyed so this number is not certain.
The five known Orange VCs were Cavan-born Private George Richardson who was awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery during the Indian Mutiny and was recommended on 3 other occasions for the same award. He served in the 34th Regiment of Foot, later the Border Regiment. Private Richardson later emigrated to Canada and served with the Prince of Wales Royal Rifles of Canada seeing action during an invasion of that country by members of Clan na Gael.
Bro. Robert Hanna, a native of Kilkeel, Co. Down, emigrated to Canada as a teenager, member of Ontario LOL 2226, he was awarded the Victoria Cross for gallantry at Lens, France, 21st September 1917, during the Great War, when serving with the Canadian Army.
The Rev John Weir Foote, VC, was a Captain, later Colonel, in the Canadian Chaplain Service, attached to the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry. A member of Fraserville LOL Ontario. He was with the Canadians during the ill-fated Dieppe Raid, and stayed on to minister to wounded when he could have escaped, being subsequently captured by the Germans. Weir was awarded his VC February 1946 for services above and beyond the call of duty during WWII.
Riflemen Robert Quigg is perhaps the best-known Orange VC, and the Bushmills man was awarded the medal for his courage on the Somme on July 1, 1916.
Englishman Abraham Acton, a native of Whitehaven, Cumberland, and a member of the Orange Order was awarded the Victoria Cross for conspicuous bravery at Rouge Bances, 21st December in 1914. Acton was killed in action at Ypres in 1915 at the age of 22, and has no known grave.
Robert Dixon I2442 Toronto serving with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry and Bro. Lieut J McCormick also from Canada were recommended the VC.
On 26 September 1916 an attack was launched on the Thiepval Ridge from the Schwaben Redoubt to Courcelette. Mouquet Farm and Thiepval fell, but it was 14 October before the Schwaben Redoubt was finally cleared.
