One Hundred Years Ago

[gabrielle]

Awesome Pics K Dubb

another link

http://souterrains.vestiges.free.fr/spip.php?article17

[Robert Ghostwolf's Ghost]

A Russian easter-egg roll in 1916:

All the shaved heads and very closely cropped hair suggests they might have had a problem with lice.  I've read that was a big part of the misery of WWI trench warfare.

[gabrielle]

is it just me or is there a similarity?

[K_Dubb]

[Rix Gins]

The card above tickles me.  The German soldiers should have checked the field mushrooms out a little closer before throwing them into the pot of stew.  Great Easter stuff, everybody!

[K_Dubb]

The card above tickles me.  The German soldiers should have checked the field mushrooms out a little closer before throwing then into the pot of stew.  Great Easter stuff, everybody!

Yeah that one's creepy as all hell.  Note the zouave carrying the bag.  The poem says something like "Corporal Hare, clever man, brings eggs by Frenchman."  So, slave labor.  How cheery.

[Robert Ghostwolf's Ghost]

Yeah that one's creepy as all hell.  Note the zouave carrying the bag.  The poem says something like "Corporal Hare, clever man, brings eggs by Frenchman."  So, slave labor.  How cheery.

That card assortment is one of the best finds of the thread, K!  Some of them are indeed creepy and bizarre, and between them they depict all the appropriate jingoistic sentiments while sanitizing the horrific reality of the front lines for the folks who have loved ones there. Give yourself a raise and take tomorrow morning off!

[Robert Ghostwolf's Ghost]

The card above tickles me.  The German soldiers should have checked the field mushrooms out a little closer before throwing then into the pot of stew.  Great Easter stuff, everybody!

Hah!  For some reason, it makes me think of what a remake of All Quiet on the Western Front by David Lynch might look like.

[K_Dubb]

That card assortment is one of the best finds of the thread, K!  Some of them are indeed creepy and bizarre, and between them they depict all the appropriate jingoistic sentiments while sanitizing the horrific reality of the front lines for the folks who have loved ones there. Give yourself a raise and take tomorrow morning off!

Thanks, and God set a flower upon your head, but tomorrow's the Easter Rising, so it is.  Must see that it's all in there, from the glorious speeches (every Irishman will be finding another to give a speech to) to the shooting, to the looting, hair-pulling auld wans of Dublin.  God and Mary and Patrick be with you, now.

[Rix Gins]

                  Vickers Gunbus (Wikimedia)

On April 23, 1916, Lieutenant William Charles Mortimer-Phelan (11 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps) flew his Vickers Gunbus across enemy lines to meet up with his assigned escort above the town of Arras.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arras 
The escort showed up at the designated spot, alright, but he couldn't find Phelan's plane anywhere so he turned around and returned to his home base.

Unguarded, the Gunbus continued on it's way to a certain Anti Aircraft Battery so that they could take pictures of it.  After a little while though, the pilot and his photographer, Second Lieutenant William A. Scott-Brown (6/Argyll And Sutherland Highlanders And 11 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps) were attacked from above by two gun blazing German planes.  Max Immelmann was in the second plane and he followed his fellow pilot, Max Ritter von Mulzer in a diving attack on the hapless Gunboat.  Immelmann himself was able to pour 120 rounds into the enemy plane before it managed to land just outside of Arras.  The two airmen were still behind enemy lines however, so they knew that they would be captured in minutes.  The Gunbus's petrol tank was riddled with bullet holes and leaking gas all over the place.  It was a simple matter to touch a match to it and the plane was quickly reduced to ashes.  (This was SOP standard operating procedure for all pilots on both sides, when brought down behind enemy lines.)  The pair was quickly captured and were even told the names of the two pilots who had brought them down.  Phelan and Brown would spend most of the war as POWs but both were released before the war ended by being exchanged with German prisoners through neutral Holland.  (Phelan, on April 30, 1918 and Brown, on November 18, 1918)...yes, one day before the war ended.  And their respective reports on the last mission flown by the two?  Oh, they dutifully reported that they met up with the assigned escort at the right place and the right time, but for some unexpected reason, the escort left them to continue with their mission unguarded.  Phelan was bitter over the whole proceedings and maintained that if they had been guarded, the two German planes wouldn't have attacked them.  (Phelan was injured in another crash after the war.  See below.)

This was Immelmann's 14th victory and darn near his last.  Two days later he was literally shot down in pieces during a humongous dogfight yet still managed to land what was left of his plane.  He even admitted that he had been beat and was lucky to be alive. 

Here is the other pilot that aided Immelman with the victory on the 23rd.


  Max Ritter von Mulzer (Wikipedia)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Ritter_von_Mulzer






     

[Rix Gins]

Everett True, April 24, 1916.

[Rix Gins]

Any idea what this story is about?

[Rix Gins]

The Day Book, April 24, 1916.

[Rix Gins]

The Tonopah Daily Bonanza, April 24, 1916.

[K_Dubb]

The Day Book, April 24, 1916.

Well, that answers that question!  "Yama yama" was, indeed, a lyric substitute for "pajama" and the party mentioned weeks ago could well have been one of those.  Or they danced that dance:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Yama_Yama_Man

Ginger Rogers does the dance:

https://archive.org/details/TheStoryOfVernonAndIreneCastle-TheYamaYamaManRoutine

And "Lochinvar" (which I am ashamed to say I had to google) refers to a poem by Walter Scott:

So stately his form, and so lovely her face,
That never a hall such a galliard did grace;
While her mother did fret, and her father did fume,
And the bridegroom stood dangling his bonnet and plume;
And the bride-maidens whisper’d, “’twere better by far
To have match’d our fair cousin with young Lochinvar.”

One touch to her hand, and one word in her ear,
When they reach’d the hall-door, and the charger stood near;
So light to the croupe the fair lady he swung,
So light to the saddle before her he sprung!
“She is won! we are gone, over bank, bush, and scaur;
They’ll have fleet steeds that follow,” quoth young Lochinvar.

There was mounting ’mong Graemes of the Netherby clan;
Forsters, Fenwicks, and Musgraves, they rode and they ran:
There was racing and chasing on Cannobie Lee,
But the lost bride of Netherby ne’er did they see.
So daring in love, and so dauntless in war,
Have ye e’er heard of gallant like young Lochinvar?

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/52300

Love the fat, healthy pigeon and fishing for goldfish, too!

Also glad to see the Professor back in what must be his natural element.

[K_Dubb]

On April 23, 1916, Lieutenant William Charles Mortimer-Phelan (11 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps) flew his Vickers Gunbus across enemy lines to meet up with his assigned escort above the town of Arras...   

I'm amazed they survived!  Von Mulzer is sure a formidable-looking fellow.  Nice write-up!

[K_Dubb]

A hundred years ago today, about 1200 members of several Irish paramilitary organizations forcibly occupied and began to fortify positions in downtown Dublin, proclaiming a free Irish republic.

They'd been parading and training openly in uniform for years.  If this seems odd, think of all those preparedness articles -- it was a thing people did back then.



The rising was planned to appear like another parade, with only a few in charge of distributing weapons and ammunition knowing the truth until the last minute.  Because the German arms ship was intercepted, orders had been given calling off the action by at least one of the leaders, Eoin MacNeill, who put ads in the paper calling off the parade, so it kind of went off half-cocked.

The plan was to seize and fortify large buildings that were between British army units stationed around Dublin and the center of the city.  Headquarters was to be the post office, where (after driving out customers and staff) two flags were raised, the tricolor and the Irish Republic flag below, and the proclamation of the republic was posted and read by Patrick Pearse:





(Sadly, no photographs exist of this, and the whole affair suffers from an abundance of bad art.)

The first casualty was a policeman guarding one of the gates to Dublin Castle, seat of the British administration.  A tv reenactment actually filmed there:



There were a number of armed women volunteers involved.

Buildings occupied included Boland's Mill:



Jacob's Biscuit Factory:



A complex called the Four Courts:



A large workhouse called the South Dublin Union:



and several nearby distilleries, including Jamesons.

Windows in the buildings were turned into firing positions by stacking sacks of coal from the furnace rooms, and whatever else they could find.  Effigies of royalty from a nearby waxworks were used at the post office.  Trenches were dug in Stephen's Green:



And barricades set up:



The first real action took place when Volunteers fortifying the Four Courts position encountered a troop of cavalry guarding an ammunition shipment.  Another cavalry troop sent to investigate the post office was fired upon as soon as it reached Nelson's Pillar, killing four and several horses:



A small group of soldiers from the Royal Irish Regiment succeeded in driving Volunteers from the South Dublin Union after setting up a machine gun and charging the doors several times.  A nurse who heard the gunfire and ran to help was shot dead by British soldiers.

A column of reservists belonging to a unit charged with watching the coast (called the Gorgeous Rex for the "GR" on their belt buckles) returned to the city after a day tramping through the hills outside Dublin.  They carried rifles but no ammo.  The column was fired upon outside the Beggars Bush Barracks, killing four:



Meanwhile, looting broke out across from the post office:

Most of the looting took place in the first three days, amid the crossfire between the rebels and the British Army Regiments, but before the fires took firm hold in the central streets.  Lower Sackville Street was a focal point, with clothes, toy and sports shops proving popular. Noblett’s and Lemon’s confectioners shops were looted for chocolates and sweets... The Cable Shoe Company (pictured) had its windows smashed, and The Daily Mail reported that people were seen trying on boots and shoes, and returning for another pair if the first selection failed to fit correctly.

Lawrence’s Photographic and toy emporium was also cleared of its contents. Fireworks were taken, and The Irish Times described the scene â€" ‘Rockets rushed up in the air and burst with a sound like a cannon, and all the smaller sorts of fireworks were thrown whizzing about among the crowd. Finally the premises were set on fire and burned to the ground’.

(from here:  https://thecricketbatthatdiedforireland.com/2013/11/28/toffee-axe-looting-in-dublin-1916-rising/)

Fights broke out among looters over furs and other luxury goods, with one woman being dragged by another by her hair:  https://youtu.be/oCkxwROWYAQ?list=PL-NlJbmY3woh0SDUIy2ION2-DWyoz8oxY&t=1673

The Volunteers dug in and waited for the British Army's response.

[K_Dubb]

Ha, these guys do a much better job, though with less hair-pulling.  Looks like it was timed to coincide with this year's Easter instead of the calendar date:  http://www.thejournal.ie/1916-liveblog-day-1-easter-monday-2684112-Mar2016/

[Rix Gins]

Great reporting there, K.  Your flow of info and illustrations were seamless from top to bottom.  My knowledge of this particular happening is scant to say the least, so I am really enjoying your history lesson.  Can hardly wait to see what happens after this initial grab at control by the Irish rebels.  Well done.

[Rix Gins]

Ha, these guys do a much better job, though with less hair-pulling.  Looks like it was timed to coincide with this year's Easter instead of the calendar date:  http://www.thejournal.ie/1916-liveblog-day-1-easter-monday-2684112-Mar2016/

Wow, that's a fun link.  Thanks.

[gabrielle]

This description of the one Act play called " A night at the Inn" appeared in the New York Times 100 years ago today.  I guess they weren't too concerned with spoiler alerts back then, as the author practically gives away the entire plot.  I watched a version of the play starring Boris Karloff, made in 1949 on you tube.  It is indeed a creepy little play.  The you tube clip is a little over a half an hour long so I didn't post it here, but it can be found easily with google. 

[K_Dubb]

Great reporting there, K.  Your flow of info and illustrations were seamless from top to bottom.  My knowledge of this particular happening is scant to say the least, so I am really enjoying your history lesson.  Can hardly wait to see what happens after this initial grab at control by the Irish rebels.  Well done.

Thanks, Rix.  I've been fascinated by it because it's messy and modern and well-documented, and comparatively free of mythology.  Though it failed, it has to stand in for a real revolution for many because this one is actually fought against the British instead of other Irish.

There's plenty of conspiracy.  The Volunteers were infiltrated and manipulated by a radical minority.  Moderates in the Volunteers who would have opposed armed resistance were hornswoggled by a fake, leaked memo purporting to show that they were about to be arrested.

Ireland was well on its way to independence through devolution anyway, though it had been put on hold for the war.  But a lot of leaders, especially Pearse, apparently couldn't imagine a bloodless handover conducted by politicians, wrangled over endlessly and subject to niggling conditions, and believed Ireland deserved real patriots who died for their country.  They saw a chance to be martyrs and took it, for the most part successfully.

I'm amazed they didn't look across the North Sea to Norway, which had broken free of Sweden in a bloodless revolution just a decade before.  I guess the deep ties that bound them to Britain were just too strong -- consider all the Irish fighting in the British Army, and the women of Dublin who greeted British soldiers with tea and cookies.  In some ways, the successful radicalization of a complacent majority foreshadows the Russian Revolution.

[gabrielle]

K Dubb, please keep us up to date on events as they unfold.  I know very little about this bit of Irish history and you tell it better than any text book !

Thanks so much for the work you have put into this.

[gabrielle]

Here is a pic of Karloff in the play A night at the Inn

[Rix Gins]

Here is a pic of Karloff in the play A night at the Inn

Sounds like quite a play and I'd like to go back in time to watch it.  I would especially like to see what the jade god looked like.  lol  Thanks, Gabrielle.

[K_Dubb]

K Dubb, please keep us up to date on events as they unfold.  I know very little about this bit of Irish history and you tell it better than any text book !

Thanks so much for the work you have put into this.

You're too kind, Gabrielle; it's a good story that tells itself.  I'm just in it for the hair-pulling.

[Walks_At_Night]

On April 24th, 1916 the life boat James Caird left Elephant Island to begin its epic 800 mile journey to South Georgia island.
This voyage was a desperation move made by some of the members of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition lead by
Sir Ernest Shackleton.  The plan was to cross Antarctica by landing on the shoreline off of the Weddell Sea and walking
some 1800 miles to the Ross Sea.  The expedition would use two ships - the Endurance and the Aurora - each
with a crew of 28 men.  The Endurance was to drop the exploration team of six off and the Aurora was to
pick them up on the other side of the continent.

The expedition left England in August 1914 shortly after the outbreak of the war.   By January 15, 1916 the Endurance
was stuck fast in ice. 

I'll have to continue this later as Mrs. Walks_At_Night wants to go out for dinner - sorry.

Sir Ernest Shackleton




James Caird






Elephant Island on the Map
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Elephant+Island/@-61.1379789,-55.5986429,9z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0xbc0c6e1e1749c247:0x231e3052abee7484

[gabrielle]

Please enjoy your dinner with Mrs. Walks at Night...LOL.  We can wait here in suspense.

[Walks_At_Night]

Please enjoy your dinner with Mrs. Walks at Night...LOL.  We can wait here in suspense.

Thanks....      Needed to smooth things over.  She asked me the dreaded "Does this outfit my ass look big?" question.

I could have handled it a little better   :

[albrecht]

A hundred years ago today, about 1200 members of several Irish paramilitary organizations forcibly occupied and began to fortify positions in downtown Dublin, proclaiming a free Irish republic.

They'd been parading and training openly in uniform for years.  If this seems odd, think of all those preparedness articles -- it was a thing people did back then.



The rising was planned to appear like another parade, with only a few in charge of distributing weapons and ammunition knowing the truth until the last minute.  Because the German arms ship was intercepted, orders had been given calling off the action by at least one of the leaders, Eoin MacNeill, who put ads in the paper calling off the parade, so it kind of went off half-cocked.

The plan was to seize and fortify large buildings that were between British army units stationed around Dublin and the center of the city.  Headquarters was to be the post office, where (after driving out customers and staff) two flags were raised, the tricolor and the Irish Republic flag below, and the proclamation of the republic was posted and read by Patrick Pearse:

In one of those pics you see Dublin's Nelson pillar that, unlike some buildings etc, survived the Easter uprising but only to be blown up by terrorists/freedom-fighters in 1966 and then, for safety reasons, the rest blown up by the army.