36th Ulster Division DONAGHADEE Commemorative Ulster Loyalist Badge 11 Nov 2011

Excellent Condition 36 th Ulster Division Ulster Volunteers WW1 DONAGHADEE Lighthouse 11-11-11 (Remembrance / Armistice Day 11 th November 2011) Commemorative Metal and Enamel Badge / Pin Superb Military, N. Ireland, Political, Commemorative, Collectable Pin/ Badge The Badge Excellent Condition This badge measures approximately 2.7cm by 1.8 cm and is made from a Silver coloured metal with a butterfly type clasp on the reverse. The badge is in excellent condition. The Badge shows a depiction of Donaghadee Lighthouse in White colour against a dark Blue coloured sky. There is also an image of the 36 th Ulster Division soldiers (Ulster Volunteer Force) emerging from the trenches at the battle of the Somme during World War 1. There are 3 windows in the lighthouse represented by the letters 11 – giving the date 11-11-11. This image is surrounded by a garland of Red Poppy’s with Green coloured leaves. There is a Yellow coloured banner at the bottom of the badge bearing the legend – “Donaghadee 11-11-11”. The badge was produced to commemorate the Fallen Men of the 36 th Ulster Division from the Donaghadee area of County Down and all their comrades from the Great War, on Remembrance Day November 11 th 2011 – hence the date 11-11-11. This badge is a collectable Commemorative badge from Northern Ireland. The badge refers to the Ulster Volunteers (UVF) who made up the 36 th Ulster Division during World War 1 and does not represent any later organisation of the same or similar name. This is an excellent collectable item for anyone interested in Northern Irish Political affairs, World War 1, British Army, Militaria, Unionism or Loyalism. This is a very collectable item of Northern Irish Political memorabilia. The 36 th Ulster Division and the Battle of the Somme 1916 The 36th (Ulster) Division was a division of Lord Kitchener's New Army formed in September 1914. Originally called the Ulster Division , it was made up of members of the Ulster Volunteer Force , who formed thirteen additional battalions for three existing regiments: the Royal Irish Fusiliers , the Royal Irish Rifles and the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers . The division served on the Western Front for the duration of the First World War .The division's insignia was the Red Hand of Ulster . The Ulster Volunteers contributed thirteen additional battalions to the Division. The Ulster Volunteers were a unionist militia founded in 1912 to block Home Rule for Ireland . In 1913 they organised themselves into the Ulster Volunteer Force to give armed resistance to the prospective Third Home Rule Act (enacted in 1914). With a rival Irish Volunteers being formed by nationalists in response, outright civil war in Ireland seemed inevitable. However, the outbreak of the Great War intervened: the Act was put in abeyance until after what was expected to be a short war.The 36th Division was commanded by Major-General Oliver Nugent from 1915 to 1918. The 36th 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 the 36th (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, 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 ... read more