Irish Officers in the British Forces, 1922-45
Irish Officers in the British Forces, 1922-45 by Steven O'Connor
English | 2 Apr 2014 | ISBN: 1137350857 | 272 Pages | EPUB/AZW3/PDF (conv) | 4.36 MB
English | 2 Apr 2014 | ISBN: 1137350857 | 272 Pages | EPUB/AZW3/PDF (conv) | 4.36 MB
In the last decade there has been a plethora of books about Irish soldiers in the First World War, yet the fact that recruitment to the British forces continued into the interwar period and the Second World War has received comparatively little attention. Steven O'Connor's work addresses this gap by providing a much-needed assessment of officer recruitment to the British military after Irish independence. Based on archival research, oral testimony and a database of 1,000 officers it examines the reasons why young Irish people took the king's commission. It explores their subsequent experiences and identity in the forces, and places them within the wider context of Commonwealth recruitment to the British forces. Drawing on evidence from police reports, debates in town councils and local newspapers this volume also offers the first comprehensive account of reactions in independent Ireland to British recruitment and the shared military past.