Remembering deadly day in the Irish War

ON November 28, 1920, 100 years ago on Saturday, a 27-year-old Newcastle insurance clerk, Francis William Crake of Westgate Road, was killed, possibly executed, in one of the most deadly and controversial incidents of the Irish War of Independence.

Crake, who had served with distinction in the Great War, in which he had been awarded the MC for conspicuous gallantry, had – along with many other former officers who had been unable to obtain civilian employment – joined the Auxiliary Division of the Royal Irish Constabulary (ADRIC) (not to be confused with the infamous Black and Tans) in October 1920 to reinforce a beleaguered police force in their operations against an increasingly belligerent IRA.

He was posted with C Company of ADRIC to Macroom in West Cork, where anti-British feeling was particularly fierce and almost daily incidents threatened to completely overwhelm the regular police.

On the afternoon of November 28, an 18-strong ADRIC patrol in two Crossley tenders, commanded by Cadet Crake, who held the rank of District Inspector, was returning to its base at Macroom Castle when it was ambushed at Kilmichael by the 36-strong West Cork Flying Column of the IRA. The elite

patrol, all highly experienced and battle-hardened officers of the Great War, with several gallantry awards between them, were wiped out (one officer survived, only to be murdered as he tried to make his way back to Macroom).

The Chronicle reported that Francis Crake was buried in Elswick Cemetery following a service in St Matthew’s Church attended by the Lord Mayor. “A great gathering attended the funeral” and a wreath from the Auxiliary Division of the RIC bore the inscription “To the memory of a brave comrade who gave up his life for our cause”.

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UK should be helping all of those in need

THE reduction in the UK’s overseas aid ambition, just announced, is a retrograde step which will lower the opinion of us globally at exactly the time we need it to be boosted.

It looks like we’ll be dropping out of the top ten most generous nations – as well as reneging on our international obligations for an indeterminate period.

Yet there is an opportunity to help the poorest countries while helping ourselves. They need help with Covid vaccinations. We in the UK look like we have a vaccine that’s just right for them.

If our Government were to spend the chopped-back money on stimulating our pharmaceuticals manufacturing industry and giving billions of doses to those who need them