Martin Blanchfield BEM

[Ivan Cloherty]

Hi Thomas, thanks for your comments, I think I know where your coming from. As I've tried to explain in previous posts, my family's history (irish and Anglo-irish) is complicated when it comes to allegiances.

When it comes down to it they needed a job, .

I think it was a lot more moral than that, as you will see from my name I am from Irish stock, in the 1930's probably more than 50% of the Eire has someone English in their family (American Irish 99.9% who had never been to Ireland could never understand this, most of them probably didn't know where it was). My father (Irish) never did it because he wanted a job, he already had one in the British Merchant Navy, but he volunteered for the British Army in September 1939 and served for 2 years in REME, was at Dunkirk, was asked to rejoin the MN as it had lost so many experienced seafarers, he also served in Special Ops during D-Day and was in the MN until he died, there were thousands of Irishmen like him who served in the British Armed Forces, they did it not because they wanted job, but because they disagreed with the thought of living under nazism and allegiance to the families they married into or had relatives in

[thomas michael]

hi ivan
there is history showing that the Barbary pirates where raiding the irish coast south, and south west in the late 1400s/1500s and taking whole villages of irish families as slaves to re-stock the slave population in north Africa as well as the mediterranean, so you see poor paddy was in fact the first (--------- ) cannot use that word no more,but things where only a bit different in this country and as you must know the 50s and 60s where really hostile in some places.

[Keith at Tregenna]

Hi Thomas, thanks for your comments, I think I know where your coming from. As I've tried to explain in previous posts, my family's history (irish and Anglo-irish) is complicated when it comes to allegiances.

When it comes down to it they needed a job, so I don't beat myself up about the politics of war. I dwell on the individuals and remembrance. Martin Blanchfield's story is a classic example of someone who needed a wage, had a skill, found a niche and survived. His Crs 10 showed he stayed on ships until was 68. He obviously loved it.

Your comments about the people on this website who helped me figure this out are spot on.

HERO

Martin Blanchfield BEM

He was badly wounded at the Somme with the RIR but made it back to Cork with a bullet lodged next to his heart. He survived and served as a boatswain in the merchant navy, much of the time on tankers carrying benzene (no danger money back then). He was made BEM at the end of the war.

Has my total respect.

Keith.

[Brenda Shackleton]

re;-#72
Hello Thomas.
I read a great book called,"The Stolen Village; Baltimore and the Barbary Pirates" by Des Ekin. The whole population of the village of Baltimore, near Cork Ireland was captured by pirates in June 1631 and taken to North Africa as slaves. Apparently, there were also problems with Fishing boats being captured off Devon & Cornwall and even into the Bristol Channel. There's a lot of info' if you 'Google' it.
Regards
Brenda
ps I have a telegram from when my Dad was 3rd Mate on 'Greleden' dated 4/12/1929. "To all ships. Pirates thought to be at sea with arms concealed in cargo said to be baskets of shell fish. Extra vigilence is recommended. Cape D'Aguilar Radio." That's somewhere in the Far East near Hong Kong. It was said that the worst pirate was a woman !! Ching Shih. Dad said that the pirates would bring their boats to the Port and Starboard of a ship with a line connecting them, which would then foul the ship's propeller.

[Ivan Cloherty]

They were still at it in the 1950's, especially in the Malacca Straits, always had the high powered hoses rigged, searchlights and aldis lamp at night and a few 14lb hammer shafts to hand, even these days when the baddies have AK47's and the ilk, merchant ships by large still only have what we had in the 1950's to repel these criminals

[thomas michael]

hi Brenda
thanks for that imformation I was wondering where I got the gem about the Barbary pirates I read that book some time ago and I have misplaced it I am now going to re-order it and read it again
last time I was in Baltimore was when I took my boat there in the eighties, I'm going back on the west irish coast again this year and I will be investigating that myself further god willing
thanks tom

[thomas michael]

hi deasy
good to hear from you as you say you gloss over the issues, a couple of years ago I met ninety six year old Kerry man whom was on the d day landings when I asked why he had been there he couldn't in his words give a definitive answer this after I prompted him by asking him if he knew that he faced imprisonment for going

[Fouro]

I think it was a lot more moral than that, as you will see from my name I am from Irish stock, in the 1930's probably more than 50% of the Eire has someone English in their family (American Irish 99.9% who had never been to Ireland could never understand this, most of them probably didn't know where it was). My father (Irish) never did it because he wanted a job, he already had one in the British Merchant Navy, but he volunteered for the British Army in September 1939 and served for 2 years in REME, was at Dunkirk, was asked to rejoin the MN as it had lost so many experienced seafarers, he also served in Special Ops during D-Day and was in the MN until he died, there were thousands of Irishmen like him who served in the British Armed Forces, they did it not because they wanted job, but because they disagreed with the thought of living under nazism and allegiance to the families they married into or had relatives in

A true tale of Wartime Life at Sea.

Wartime life at sea • Ted Barris

FOURO.

[Keith at Tregenna]

Of the 12,000 Irish veterans an estimated 5,000 had deserted from the Irish Army to join the British and fight Hitler and they faced potentially severe punishment when they returned home. All of the veterans also had a practical reason for keeping their mouths shut -- they came back to a country that was severely depressed, and being an ex-serviceman did not help in the search for a job.

k.

[Deasy]

Hi Ivan, I think that's correct. And I wasn't in any way trying to diminish the motives of the people who fought and died. Believe it or not, about five years ago I started an initiative to erect a memorial to those from my county in Ireland who fought and died in the First World War. I came up against a lot of resentment (and a few veiled threats) for what I was doing. The memorial with their names was erected a few years ago.

When it comes to the Second World War anyone who left the Irish Army and joined the allies was treated as a deserter, a situation that was left lie until last year. It was utterly disgraceful. Nazism needed to be destroyed at all costs and those Irish men and women who joined up knew that. But I do think it provided an income for a lot of guys and when I was trawling through the log books at Kew I was amazed how many lads from my county I came across. When I have spoken to some of these families in the past and asked them why their relative joined up, the most often given reason was their relative went because their mates went. It's just my experience but a lot of young Irishmen were not primarily motivated by zeal, it was usually down to adventure and getting away from their personal circumstances.