32-583: Cather may refer to: Geoffrey Cather (1890–1916), Victoria Cross recipient Joan Cather (1882-1967), British suffragette , awarded a Hunger Strike Medal Mike Cather (born 1970), baseball player Ted Cather (1889–1945), baseball player Willa Cather (1873–1947), author William Cather Hook (1857–1921), judge See also [ edit ] Brad Cathers Cather House (disambiguation) Willa Cather Birthplace Willa Cather House [REDACTED] Surname list This page lists people with
64-842: A brigade 's worth of men, but instead received a division, equivalent to three brigades. Major-General Oliver Nugent took command of the division in September 1915 and it moved to France in October 1915. The Ulster Division was one of the few divisions to make significant gains on the first day on the Somme . It attacked between the Ancre and Thiepval against a position known as the Schwaben Redoubt . According to military historian Martin Middlebrook : The leading battalions [of
96-704: A reputation for conduct and devotion deathless in military history of the United Kingdom, and repeatedly signalised in the despatches of the Commander-in-Chief. John Buchan North of Thiepval the Ulster Division broke through the enemy trenches, passed the crest of the ridge, and reached the point called The Crucifix, in rear of the first German position. For a little they held the strong Schwaben Redoubt, which we were not to enter again till after three months of battle, and some even got into
128-621: Is different from Wikidata All set index articles Geoffrey Cather Geoffrey St. George Shillington Cather VC (11 October 1890 – 2 July 1916) was a recipient of the Victoria Cross , the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. A soldier with the Royal Irish Fusiliers during the First World War , he
160-783: Is on the walls of the main building of Hazelwood School, which he attended in his youth; and he is listed on the Royal Fusiliers Regimental Memorial in St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast . King George V presented Cather's VC to his mother on 31 March 1917, in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace . He was also entitled to the 1914–15 Star , the British War Medal , and the Victory Medal . His VC and other medals were later donated by his brother to
192-728: The Royal Irish Fusiliers , the Royal Irish Rifles and the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers . The division served from October 1915 on Western Front as a formation of the British Army during the Great War . The division's insignia was the Red Hand of Ulster . The Ulster Volunteers were a unionist militia founded in 1912 to block Home Rule for Ireland . In 1913 they organised themselves into
224-697: The Royal Irish Fusiliers Museum in Armagh , Northern Ireland. 36th (Ulster) Division The 36th (Ulster) Division was an infantry division of the British Army , part of Lord Kitchener 's New Army , formed in September 1914. Originally called the Ulster Division , it was made up of mainly members of the Ulster Volunteer Force , who formed thirteen additional battalions for three existing regiments:
256-409: The surname Cather . If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name (s) to the link. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cather&oldid=1001006438 " Category : Surnames Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description
288-564: The 19th Royal Fusiliers from 1909 to early 1911. The following May, he requested a transfer to the Royal Irish Fusiliers on account of his parents both being from Northern Ireland. He was accordingly granted a commission in the 9th Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers, which was part of the 36th (Ulster) Division . Sent to the French sector of the Western Front in October 1915, Cather was soon promoted to lieutenant and became adjutant of
320-726: The Battle of the Boyne: "Come on, boys! No surrender!" However, historians Robin Prior and Trevor Wilson, quoting Northern Irish historian Keith Jeffery , state that such stories are myths. On 1 July, following the preliminary bombardment, the Ulstermen quickly took the German front line, but intelligence was so poor that, with the rest of the division attacking under creep bombardment (artillery fired in front or over men; they advance as it moves)
352-521: The Division, "Their attack was one of the finest displays of human courage in the world. Of nine Victoria Crosses given to British forces in the battle, four were awarded to Ulster Division soldiers. Thiepval – Somme The Ulster Division's sector of the Somme lay astride the marshy valley of the River Ancre and the higher ground south of the river. Their task was to cross the ridge and take
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#1732797492997384-628: The Empire which has treated them none too well. The much derided Ulster Volunteer Force has won a name which equals any in History. Their devotion, which no doubt has helped the advance elsewhere, deserves the gratitude of the British Empire. It is due to the memory of these brave heroes that their beloved Province shall be fairly treated. After the war, King George V paid tribute to the 36th Division, saying: In these days of rejoicing I recall
416-659: The German second line near Grandcourt. In their path lay not only the German front line, but just beyond it, the intermediate line within which was the Schwaben Redoubt. The first day of the Somme was the anniversary (in the Julian calendar ) of the Battle of the Boyne , a fact remarked on by the leaders of the division. Stories have often been told that some men wore orange sashes into battle. According to David Hume: "There
448-549: The Somme and the men who died there, including those from the Ulster Division. It is the biggest British war memorial to the missing of the Western Front, both in physical size and in terms of the numbers it commemorates (more than 73,000). It was built in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The Ulster Memorial Tower was unveiled by Field-Marshal Sir Henry Wilson in Thiepval , France, on 19 November 1921, in commemoration of
480-516: The Somme, Captain Wilfred Spender of the Ulster Division's HQ staff was quoted in the press as saying: I am not an Ulsterman, but yesterday as I followed their amazing attack I felt that I would rather be an Ulsterman than anything else in the world [...] My pen cannot describe adequately the hundreds of heroic acts that I witnessed [...] The Ulster Division has lost more than half the men who attacked, and in doing so has sacrificed itself for
512-498: The Ulster Division, and all Ulstermen who died in the great war. The tower itself is a replica of Helen's Tower at Clandeboye , County Down . It was at Helen's Tower that the men of the then newly formed Ulster Division drilled and trained on the outbreak of World War I. For many of the men of the division, the distinctive sight of Helen's Tower rising above the surrounding countryside was one of their last abiding memories of home before their departure for England and, subsequently,
544-521: The Ulster Division] had been ordered out from the wood just before 7.30am and laid down near the German trenches [...] At zero hour the British barrage lifted. Bugles blew the "Advance". Up sprang the Ulstermen and, without forming up in the waves adopted by other divisions, they rushed the German front line [...] By a combination of sensible tactics and Ulster dash, the prize that eluded so many,
576-641: The Ulster Volunteer Force to give armed resistance to the prospective Third Home Rule Act (enacted in 1914). Many Ulster Protestants feared being governed by a Catholic-dominated parliament in Dublin and losing their local supremacy and strong links with Britain. At the outbreak of the Great War , Sir Edward Carson , one of the unionist leaders, made an appeal to Ulster Volunteers to come forward for military service. Kitchener had hoped for
608-593: The Ulstermen would have come under attack from their own bombardment in the German first line. But they still advanced, moving to the crest so rapidly that the Germans had no time to come up from their dugouts (generally 30–40 feet below ground). In the Schwaben Redoubt, which was also taken, so successful was the advance that by 10:00 some had reached the German second line. But again they came under their own barrage, not due to finish until 10:10. However, this successful penetration had to be given up before nightfall, as it
640-574: The Western Front. The Ulster Division was deeply involved in the fighting around Spanbroekmolen on the first day of the Battle of Messines (7–14 June 1917). Many of its men are buried in Spanbroekmolen British Cemetery and Lone Tree Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery on Messines Ridge. In total, nine members of the Ulster Division were awarded the Victoria Cross: After the first day on
672-540: The battalion. The following July, the 36th Division took part in the Battle of the Somme . On 1 July 1916 , the opening day of the battle, Cather's battalion was tasked with capturing Beaucourt Station, near Beaumont-Hamel . However, there were heavy casualties amongst 9th Battalion and the adjacent 12th Battalion, and the Irish had to return to their starting positions leaving behind many wounded in no man's land . That night, Cather went out to locate and bring in wounded. He
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#1732797492997704-594: The battle of the Somme on 1 July 1916; at Wytschaete on 17 June 1917, in the storming of the Messines Ridge; on the Canal du Nord, in the attack on the Hindenburg Line of 20 November the same year; on 21 March 1918, near Fontaine-les-Clercs, defending their positions long after they were isolated and surrounded by the enemy; and later in the month at Andechy in the days of "backs to the wall", they acquired
736-416: The capture of a long section of the German front line, had been accomplished. During the Battle of the Somme the Ulster Division was the only division of X Corps to have achieved its objectives on the opening day of the battle. This came at a heavy price, with the division suffering in two days of fighting 5,500 officers and enlisted men killed, wounded or missing. War correspondent Philip Gibbs said of
768-479: The contributions of the 36th (Ulster) Division during World War I. The tower marks the site of the Schwaben Redoubt, against which the Ulster Division advanced on the first day of the Somme. Lord Carson had intended to perform the unveiling himself but, due to illness, Field-Marshal Wilson took his place. The money was raised by public subscription in Northern Ireland in memory of the officers and men of
800-490: The deeds of the 36th (Ulster) Division, which have more than fulfilled the high opinion formed by me on inspecting that force on the eve of its departure for the front. Throughout the long years of struggle, which have now so gloriously ended, the men of Ulster have proved how nobly they fight and die. Winston Churchill The record of the Thirty-Sixth Division will ever be the pride of Ulster. At Thiepval in
832-409: The outskirts of Grandcourt. It was the anniversary day of the Battle of the Boyne, and that charge when the men shouted "Remember the Boyne," will be for ever a glorious page in the annals of Ulster. The splendid troops, drawn from those volunteers who had banded themselves together to defend their own freedom, now shed their blood like water for the liberty of the world. The following units served with
864-766: Was able to retrieve three men before retiring for the night. The next morning he went out again to locate more survivors but was killed by machinegun fire. For his actions, he was awarded the Victoria Cross (VC). The VC, instituted in 1856, was the highest award for valour that could be bestowed on a soldier of the British Empire . The citation for his VC read as follows: For most conspicuous bravery. From 7 p.m. till midnight he searched 'No Man's Land', and brought in three wounded men. Next morning at 8 a.m. he continued his search, brought in another wounded man, and gave water to others, arranging for their rescue later. Finally, at 10.30 a.m., he took out water to another man, and
896-533: Was curtailed in his mid-teens by the death of his father. He went to work for his late father's company, Joseph Tetley & Co. He spent much of the period from 1911 to 1914 in the United States and Canada on business. On 3 September 1914, Cather enlisted in the British Army 's Artists Rifles . He already had some military experience, having served for two years in the Territorial Force with
928-483: Was many who went over the top at the Somme who were Ulstermen, at least one, Sergeant Samuel Kelly of 9th Inniskillings wearing his Ulster Sash, while others wore orange ribbons". Martin Middlebrook recounts a story that when some of his men wavered, one company commander from the West Belfasts, Major George Gaffikin, took off his orange sash, held it high for his men to see, and roared the traditional war-cry of
960-651: Was posthumously awarded the VC for his actions on 1 July 1916, during the Battle of the Somme . Cather was born in Streatham Hill , south-west London , on 11 October 1890 to R. G. Cather, who worked for the tea merchant company Joseph Tetley & Co. , and his wife Margaret née Shillington . His mother was the sister of the politician David Graham Shillington . He was educated at Hazelwood School in Limpsfield before going onto Rugby School . His schooling
992-617: Was proceeding further on when he was himself killed. All this was carried out in full view of the enemy, and under direct machine gun fire and intermittent artillery fire. He set a splendid example of courage and self sacrifice. Originally buried near where he was killed, Cather's grave was later lost. His name is listed on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing , which was established near Thiepval in Picardy . A plaque to his memory
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1024-412: Was unmatched by those at its flanks. The Ulstermen were exposed in a narrow salient, open to attack on three sides. They were running out of ammunition and supplies, and a full German counter-attack at 22:00 forced them to withdraw, giving up virtually all they gained. The division had suffered over 5,000 casualties and 2,069 deaths. The Thiepval Memorial commemorates the 1916 Anglo-French offensive on
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