Explore Listing
Of all the Ulster militia units the South Down can claim two special distinctions: the only one awarded a battle honour and the only one with a ballad dedicated to its ‘soldierly’ qualities. The unit came into existence in 1800, following the amalgamation of the Drogheda Battalion, the 24th, with the 5th Louth Regiment which left a ‘vacancy’ on the Militia roll. Since the 8th Royal Down Regiment had twelve companies, it was divided into two six-company battalions as the 8th Royal South Down and 24th Royal North Down.
The Soviets and Nazi Germany had signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, a non-aggresion treaty, in Moscow on 23 August 1939. The secret protocols included dividing eastern European territories into spheres of influence. Following the invasion of Poland by the Germans on 1 September, Stalin invaded Poland on 17 September. The pact was adjusted by further declarations on 28 September and 8 October and as a result the Baltic States were forced into signing the Pact of Defence and Mutual Assistance that allowed Stalin to station troops in their states.
The result of the 1936 Spanish election was a loss for the Spanish Confederation of Autonomous Right-wing Groups and a narrow win by the leftist Popular Front. Following the result, there was a coup d'état on 17 July 1936, after a group of right-wing generals pronounced their opposition.
During a final ceremony on 31 July 2007, the flag of The Royal Ulster Rifles and the flags of the 2nd, the 3rd, and the 4th Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment, and The Depot The Royal Irish Regiment, were lowered for the last time. St Patrick's was effectively decommissioned when it was closed on 1 February 2008.
Stalemate and static warfare followed the fighting at Imjin and the UN pursued both a campaign of strategic bombing and a naval blockade of North Korea. In June, the Soviet Union appeared to support negotiotions and these began at Kaesong in July 1951. No deal was reached, and there was a difficulty over the exchange of prisoner-of-war.
Following the siege of Havanna, the 27th Regiment disembarked at New York in October 1762 and in July 1763 was ordered to Canada. There they occupied quarters in the old French port of Three Rivers (Trois-Rivières). While there the Home Government ordered a compulsory stoppage of four pence a day for each soldier for provisions, which previously the state had provided. This caused considerable discontent among the troops and in some regiments led to acts of serious insubordination.
Having defeated the rebels at Chanderi, the Central India Field Force of some 4,500 men marched to Jhansi, a fortress which was one of the largest in Central India.
Strokestown Park House in Co. Roscommon is an example of 17th century Palladian architecture associated with the German architect Richard Cassels, who was are sponsible for such notable houses as Russborough in Co. Wicklow.
Built on the site of an earlier tower house and a bawn house, the Park House and estate remained under the guardianship of the Mahon and subsequently Pakenham-Mahon family from mid-1600s until 1981 when the last family member resident there, Olive Pakenham Mahon died.
The Egyptian President, Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser, announced that he would nationalise the Suez Canal and its operating company. This was retaliation for the US and British governments reneging on their agreement to provide finances for the construction of the Aswan Dam. The West relied on the Suez Canal as the main supply route for oil bound for Britain and France. Any threats to close the canal represented an economic threat to British and French interests.
THE SUEZ CRISIS (OPERATION MUSKETEER) 1956© IWM (MH 23509)
