The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Tralee family commemorate WWI casualty a century later
“THE Germans are getting an awful slaughtering there. The last attack they made they lost 900 dead. On our right they were charged by the Coldstream Guards and Irish Guards; it was a terrible sight; we lost 3 killed and 97 wounded…”
Above is an extract from a letter written by Tralee man, Sergeant Michael Walsh, 2nd Battalion Royal Munster Fusiliers, during the battle of Le Bassée in January, 1915. Michael was killed exactly 100 years ago this week on August 21, 1916, during the battle of the Somme, leaving behind his wife, Mary Anne Walsh, and three children at their home in Mary Street, Tralee.
Today, Michael’s sacrifice is proudly remembered by three generations of the Dennehy, O’Shea and Walsh families and it’s been a poignant week for them as they recall the horrendous experiences of Michael’s time serving in France.
But Michael’s story is made all the more fascinating by the letters and postcards he sent during the war which give a first-hand account of the horrors he and his comrades endured. The letters have survived the passing of time and remain a treasured keepsake for the family as they offer both a physical and emotional attachment to Michael’s sacrifice.
Michael’s attestation papers show that he enlisted at Tralee in the 3rd Reserve Battalion Royal Munster Fusiliers in 1909, aged 19-years and was “5 feet 9 inches tall with blue eyes and brown hair”. The reserve battalions saw the first of the action during 1914 and Michael – along with fellow Tralee man, Lance-Corporal Daly – were both commended for their bravery in a report following the battle at Givenchy on the La Bassée Canal in 1915.
“About nine o’clock in the morning the Germans gave the Irish Guards a surprise attack. As the Germans charged the Guards, they were sighted by Captain Hawkes, commanding C Company of the Munsters. The Guards had to fall back, as the Germans were too strong for them. Lieutenant Carrigan gave orders to ‘stick to the machine guns’ which at the time were manned by Sergeant Walsh and Corporal Daly.”
Michael was injured in the attack, taking two bullets to his back but reports reveal that he stuck tenaciously to his post helping to repel the German onslaught. As part of his convalescence, Michael was allowed home to see his wife and children and on his return to the front he wrote letters home frequently; one of which captures the joy of receiving such simple pleasures as cigarettes from home.
“A line to thank you for the cigarettes. You have no idea how grand it is to get something from home. We are just after being relieved out of the trenches after three weeks hard fighting at La Bassée…The day the Germans charged is the day the Kaiser was said to be with them, but we did not see him…not a man of the Munsters ever left their trenches; they stuck to it like a brick. Our regiment is specially mentioned in dispatches for that gallant charge. Kindly thank Miss McConnell for the cigarettes she sent the Battalion.”
Michael was eventually killed on August 21, 1916, as the Somme campaign reached stalemate with devastating loss of life in a desperate attempt to push the German lines back and break resistance. However, the passage of time would consign the exploits of men like Michael to the margins of history; but times have changed and relatives now speak with pride as Michael’s great-great-granddaughter, Jackie Walsh, explains.
“We’re very proud and honoured to have this history in our family. Knowing the hardships they went through makes it all the more important that we remember them,” Jackie said.
“We were often told of him when we were children and how he died during WWI. But we didn’t know the importance of it at the time. The personal nature of some of the letters and postcards he sent home are really sad looking at them today. What they witnessed must have been terrible. But at least these men are being remembered properly now.”