Hello Phil,
I’m not the IrelandXO volunteer referenced by David Whyte in response to the Friday 25th June 2021 message about your ancestor E.J. Hurley.
Also, my ancestors were not Irish in the British military who fought at the disastrous Gallipoli battle during the 1st World War.
Instead, this reply is in reference to two old maps of the Fermoy Barracks where E.J. Hurley joined the military.
Both maps are Ordnance Survey Maps. The first map, attached to this reply, is from the 1888 to 1913 time period, and shows the locations of the New Barracks and Old Barracks on either side of Barracks Hill in Fermoy.
On the west of the New Barracks you’ll also see the location of the Drill Field, and the Military Cemeteries, one of which was “Disused” by the time this map was compiled.
The second Ordnance Survey Map that is attached to this reply is from the 1837 to 1842 time period. This map shows the East Barracks Ordnance Ground and the West Barracks Ordnance Ground in Fermoy. They are situated on either side of Factory Walk and Barracks Hill. You’ll notice just north of the East Barracks are the “Forage Yard” and the “Calvary Barracks.”
Both Ordnance Survey Maps come from the GeoHive website.
When Winston Churchill was First Lord of the Admiralty, he was one of the planners of the Dardanelles Naval Campaign and the British and Anzac troop landings at Gallipoli. It is estimated by historians that 115,000 British troops had died or were wounded at Gallipoli, a disaster which Churchill was soundly blamed for.
I’m not sure if you’ve ever heard the song, “And the band Played Waltzing Matilda,” by Eric Bogle. It is about a young soldier from Australia who fought at Gallipoli and was severely wounded there. You can hear the song by Eric Bogle here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnFzCmAyOp8&ab_channel=undercovermusicv…
A Matilda in this case was not a girl, but what the Aussie’s called a swag, like a one man tent that a soldier carried everywhere as part of his kit, hence, Matilda was his constant companion.
With Kind Regards,
Dave Boylan
