irish guards leave for iraq
In Iraq war, Irish and UK soldiers gave their all for nothing, ... used a visit to the Irish Guards regiment in south Armagh to passionately condemn the war. The Irish Guards, known affectionately throughout the Army as ‘the Micks’, is an Irish regiment which has proven its loyalty and grit on many tough operations. The men of 3 Platoon were among the first - they believe the first - into Basra, Iraq’s second city and main port. The taxi driver who takes me from the station to the barracks says the arrival of the “Micks” (the Irish Guards’ nickname) has changed the atmosphere in town. It is what we had joined up for.” But as they gained first-hand experience of combat, the soldiers’ attitude changed. But, slumped in a corner of the recreation room at the Mons barracks in Aldershot five years later, Adam Moran recalls something very different. Read The Irish Guards in the Great War: … “Some people know - my mates and family - and they are fine with it, but it’s better not to go on about it more widely. “It got to the point where you weren’t sure whether it was your feet or someone else’s that you were smelling, but you knew you had to get out. “I met a woman and I wanted to start a family,” Hartley says when he returns my call. The soldiers, from 2 Company of the 1st Battalion Irish Guards, were one prong in a three-pointed ambush plan. When we were coming back, I had got out of the wagon and an Iraqi tank aimed at it but missed - the shell landed about 10ft from where I was standing. Five years on, the number of British troops has dwindled from 45,000 to 4,000 based at an airport outside Basra city, and the Ministry of Defence is talking about cutting back further, to just a few hundred, in the first half of next year. I still love the army, and that tour meant I had to grow up very fast. I wanted somewhere they could call home.” 2014. “Just don’t listen if they tell you I spent all my time sunbathing - it’s only half true!”, Moulton left the army in 2005 and since then has crisscrossed the globe, acting as a private security consultant in many of the world’s trouble spots, from Haiti to Algeria, Angola to Iraq. Irish guards. Additional battalions were raised in 1915 and the 2nd Battalion fought at Loos. Cancel. “My mum said hi and my sister sang me a song - Take Me Home, Country Roads, I think it was. It’s 3am. The competition has been slated for April 1 to 7. But as I turn into the street, I am confronted not by a row of terraced houses but by a McDonald’s drive-through and a Sainsbury’s supermarket. First week back of summer leave and resuming guard duties. The Irish Guards (IG), is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army and is part of the Guards Division.Together with the Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish infantry regiments in the British Army. What do they remember of the “Micks” 2003 tour of Iraq? Download this stock image: The Irish Guards prepare for Iraq deployment - G9RWF8 from Alamy's library of millions of high resolution stock photos, illustrations and vectors. Lance Corporal Ian Malone (8 December 1974 – 6 April 2003) from Dublin, Ireland, was a member of the British Army's Irish Guards. There are a number of S Henrys listed in his home town of Birmingham, but an afternoon of phone calls confirms none of them answers to the name Sebert. Colonel Timothy Thomas Cyril Collins OBE (born 30 April 1960) is a retired Northern Irish military officer in the British Army.He is best known for his role in the Iraq War in 2003, and his inspirational eve-of-battle speech, a copy of which apparently hung in the White House's Oval Office. Today troops from the 1st Battalion Irish Guards held a Drumhead Service in the field to mark the 101st Armistice Day. The band of the Irish Guards in Windsor on the day of the wedding of ... Scots Guards leave St James’s Palace accompanied by Pipes and Drums of the Irish Guards. It felt quite invasive, and brought home that human side of it - that this was about real people.”, Another night, he was lying in a cramped and stuffy warehouse, head to toe with the other soldiers of his platoon. Short clip of changing the guard at Windsor Castle Friday … It took a long time to get used to it, and we all spent a lot of time drinking water - and then peeing it out. However, the Iraqi authorities regained control thanks to massive support from US forces, and by the end of March Moqtada al-Sadr had ordered his followers to lay down their arms. Ivor Hill (second from back row, third from left) moved back to Northern Ireland, where he works as a tyre-maker. “You can see by the boys’ faces that everybody is properly knackered, everyone looks like they have been working, but I like it for that - it’s real.”, “The platoon commander was a bit crazy, a bit gung-ho, and he was always trying to push the wagons closer and closer to Basra,” McDougall says. The 2nd Fazza Dubai Para Badminton International is a qualifying event for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. The Irish Guards Band on parade in Windsor England. Irish Guards patrol the buffer zone in Cyprus as part of Operation Tosca 20. He looks calm, perhaps even a little stern - the image of the perfect soldier. Uncovered War on Iraq. Members who served with Irish Guards. Not everyone who signs up adapts well to army life. When he does so, he’ll bump into some of the old hands from his platoon, including Sergeant Richie “Stricky” Strickland (front row, second from left). “It was very different from anything else I’ve done,” he says. Does he have any regrets? He pauses. A group who are still part of the platoon are waiting for me to talk over their experiences. I was misled. The Irish Guards Band, Pipers and Feu De Joie party leave Wellington Barracks for the Palace. It was a couple of hours later and we were taken to a classroom in Basra University and told that the two lads had died - I think that was when we all understood this was for real.”. You still have to be careful.” Many of the Irish Guards come from Northern Ireland and a few from the Republic; others, from the mainland and farther afield, tend to have Irish connections of one kind or another. Oneida Back. Five years later, King haltingly recalls the moment he found out what had happened. The photograph of his platoon taken in Basra in April 2003 hides a “world of turmoil”, he says. Report. The 1st Battalion, Irish Guards became the first unit to be officially awarded battle honours for service in Iraq in 2005 - this was to enable them to be displayed on the battalion's new regimental colour during the Sovereign's Birthday Parade. Jetzt online bestellen! Looking back, it was every schoolboy’s dream.”, But not for Adam Moran, the would-be army boxer. “Once I had my 18th birthday, I was eligible to go in. Colonel Timothy Thomas Cyril Collins OBE (born 30 April 1960) is a retired Northern Irish military officer in the British Army. The Irish Guards (IG), is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army and is part of the Guards Division.Together with the Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish infantry regiments in the British Army. Their things were there - family pictures and food in the cupboards. Irish Guards deploys to Afghanistan on Operation Herrick 13. I hit the ground and hoped,” he says, laughing. You can read about the current activities of the Irish Guards by following this link to a UK MoD site. Into the final stages of training before deployment to Iraq, the Platoon have spent some time on Lydd ranges carrying out various shooting assessments. Rayford Hazel. I’ve been to Northern Ireland and then back to Iraq last year, but it was never like 2003. 1:04. Lance Corporal Ian Malone (8 December 1974 – 6 April 2003) from Dublin, Ireland, was a member of the British Army's Irish Guards.He was the first person born in Ireland to be killed in the Iraq War. He is best known for his role in the Iraq War in 2003, and his inspirational eve-of-battle speech, a copy of which apparently hung in the White House's Oval Office. e looks calm, perhaps even a little stern - the image of the perfect soldier. TEHRAN – Iran will send three athletes to the 2nd Fazza Dubai Para Badminton International in April of this year. “Since I was very little, I knew I wanted to be a soldier,” he says. Irish Guards: Changing of the Guard 28 July 2011. IRISH people have been urged to flee Iraq and not to travel to the area amid growing tensions after the US assassination of Iran’s top general. Just a few weeks after passing out (completing basic training), Moran found himself on the frontline in Iraq. Report. When he came back from Iraq, his family and friends began to treat him differently. With resistance described as "sporadic" within the city, a third soldier has also been reported killed as UK forces sought to secure their hold over the southern Iraqi city. The rest of the lads were behind a wall and all came running round asking, ‘What’s happened? 0:20. Irish guards. I was misled. Browse more videos. I was told I’d be a tracksuit soldier, that it would be the time of my life.”. Iraq was his first tour and “a proper eye-opener. There were a torrid few months earlier this year, when Shia militias ran riot after the British pulled out. The men, known to each other by their nicknames - “Robbo” Robinson, “Happy” Harris, “Picky” Pickford - are dressed in regular fatigues, guns clasped in front of them. Irish Guards Band. Maj Collins joined 1st Battalion Irish Guards and had also served in Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Northern Ireland and Iraq. Past Deployments: “When the two soldiers were killed, I think most of us realised that war is different from what you see in Hollywood - it came home just how real and dangerous it is. Calvin Santos. The Irish Guards regiment was formed on 1 April 1900 by order of Queen Victoria to commemorate the Irishmen who fought in the Second Boer War for the British Empire. “He was a good bloke, maybe a bit quiet, but a reliable soldier,” says one of his fellow Micks. During 1914 and early 1915, they took part in numerous battles, including Mons, Marne and Ypres. 12:00. 2013. April 2019 um 20:29 Uhr bearbeitet. Then a breakthrough: someone passes on an old address where they say Henry used to live, in Oldbury, in the West Midlands. “We were often going for 20, sometimes 24, hours at a time. I got shot at a few times. Family and friends watched as the Queen addressed more than 500 soldiers as the battalion's Colonel-in-Chief at a ceremony at Windsor Castle. “I wouldn’t swap what I learned in Iraq for anything. In his new role as recruiting officer, does Robinson spell out both the reality of war as well as the attractions of army life? private-irish-guards-guards-division-iraq-2003-iraq-war-invasion-of-iraq. During 1916, the Irish Gu… Twins Mike and Mark Blakeway (respectively, middle row, third from left, and second row, fourth from right) have returned to the Black Country, where they have both found jobs and partners. Follow. All that was known of the man with the moustache on the far left of the photograph was that he was probably called Jones and may have moved north, perhaps to Liverpool. We were just supporting each other - when we got letters or food parcels from home, we would share stuff out or talk about what people were up to at home. So a few of us took our mats up on to the roof and I was lying there with one of the other guys late one night and tracer bullets were flying over our heads - perhaps five metres above us. “I was in a room and it was obviously someone’s home. More informal than many platoon photographs, there are no regimental banners or flags. Find the perfect irish guards stock photo. Holed up in the basement of a partially built housing complex near the centre of Basra, he was stuffing down the contents of his ration pack while others grabbed a couple of minutes’ rest among the sand and rubble. What was the Aden conflict? 13th April 2003 British soldiers of the Irish Guards in Basra, Iraq. Join us! The Queen has presented new colours to the 1st Battalion Irish Guards in recognition of their service in Iraq. 5 years ago | 43 views. B-52 bombers leave British airbase for Iraq Sun, Mar 23, 2003, 00:00 Two B-52 heavy bombers took off from Fairford airbase in western England to launch new raids in Iraq. The Irish Guards regiment was formed on 1 April 1900 by order of Queen Victoria to commemorate the Irishmen who fought in the Second Boer War for the British Empire.. During the First World War, 1st Battalion, The Irish Guards was deployed to France, and they remained on the Western Front for the duration of the war. Army life just isn’t for me.”. Brigade Operations Company Afghanistan. 2019/20 will see the the Irish Guards deploy on operations in the Middle East and in Africa. “It’s a working shot,” one of them tells me, with pride. “I remember one RPG [rocket-propelled grenade] went right across in front of us and another from the other side bounced off. If playback doesn't begin shortly, try restarting your device. They were the first British soldiers into Basra as the allies invaded Iraq. James Moulton bounds across the station concourse at Waterloo in London and, before we have time even to introduce ourselves, offers to do whatever he can to help track down the men he used to command. Days in Iraq melted into each other. “The second time we went, people didn’t want to know you and were very hostile - the first time the kids would be coming over and talking to you, but this time they would stand back and sometimes throw things at you.”, Ryan “Robbo” Robinson (second row from back, far right), 31, now works as a recruiting sergeant at Belfast’s Palace Barracks.