It's 84 years since the men of Ulster went 'over
the top' at the Somme, and in one of the most glorious episodes
in the history of the British Army, earned the admiration
of the nation and Empire for the gallantry displayed in the
face of overwhelming odds.
What relevance does the 36th (Ulster) Division heroism all
those years ago have for modern-day Northern Ireland? Is it
just a case of fading sepia photographs hanging on walls of
houses in Ulster, or perhaps, all too likely taking up space
in some forgotten part of an attic or a suitcase packed with
memories?
The carnage on the Somme, in which 3,500 Ulstermen died on
July 1, 1916, and thousands of others were wounded in body
and in mind - does it say anything to those smartly dressed
young teenagers in their trainers, or the more affluent middle-class
folk of Northern Ireland as they prepare for holidays in Benidorm,
Tenerife or Barbados?
In too many instances the large middle class Protestant population
of Northern Ireland has lost contact with its roots. Men whose
fathers and grandfathers proudly asserted Orange membership,
often feel no inclination to follow a long family tradition.
The glorious history of Protestant Ulster is all too often
left to the beleaguered working class of the Shankill, East
Belfast, Portadown, Lurgan, Waterside, and the Fountain, or
to people in the rural areas to pass on the next generation.
But what is the real legacy handed on by those young men,
although there were many exceptions?
There was the heroism and the bravery, but that of course
was not restricted to Ulstermen. It is perfectly true that
the Ulstermen penetrated deeper into the German lines on July
1, 1916 than any other British unit.
But there was great bravery on the part of the Scots, of
English Divisions, Welsh and Southern Irish. And Empire divisions
like the Newfoundlanders, the Canadians, the Anzacs and the
South Africans also fought a glorious fight and sustained
terrible casualties.
No, it is not the bravery, admirable though it was which
proved the most lasting memorial to the 36th (Ulster) Division.
Neither is it the huge war cemeteries, and the Ulster Tower
at Thiepval, moving and emotional as these are.
The most lasting memorial to those dead Ulster heroes is
the entity of Northern Ireland - six loyal counties contained
within the United Kingdom.
That entity may be under enormous pressure, and the United
Kingdom itself may be less impregnable, but the very fact
that six counties of Northern Ireland remained British after
the bloody turmoil of the 1920-22 period is the real legacy
handed on by those men whose last resting place is the valley
of the Somme and other parts of Flanders and France, as well
as the shores of the Dardenelles, and the sunbaked deserts
of North Africa.
Those young men gave their all for their beloved Ulster,
and for their King and Country. Their sacrifice was so awful,
so terrible, and so awesome that no British Government, not
even one as weak and as appeasing as the Lloyd George administration
in 1921 could hand over the six counties to the enemy of the
Empire - Irish republicanism.
Three counties were lost in the convulsion and it is to the
everlasting regret of Ulster Unionism that it had to shed
Donegal, Monaghan and Cavan in order to hold a territory for
the Protestant and British-Irish race loyal to the crown.
But Carson and Craig, and the utterly dedicated men who sailed
the Ulster ship through dangerous waters in the 1920-22 period
realised that the unrealistic could destroy the Ulster Protestant
and British position entirely.
They opted for the territory which would be defended, but
even though Ulster Loyalists were resolute and were bound
to one another in a Covenant often signed in blood in 1912,
they depended on the British Government to recognise their
position and to desist from forcing them into an all-ireland
Republic which would have been a disaster for Unionism.
Mere argument alone would not have won the day, even though
Carson was the greatest orator of the period, and neither
would political pressure alone.
No, what saved Ulster and kept the Union Jack flying over
the six counties of the new Northern Ireland was the blood
sacrifice of the 36th (Ulster) Division at the Somme. The
new state of Northern Ireland was the most tangible testimony
to their loyalty and resolution.
British generals like Haig, French, Gough, and many others
knew what Ulster's loyalty had meant in dark days - loyalty
to be displayed again not so many years later in the Battle
of the Atlantic and Battle of Britain - and their admiration
was shared by the people of Britain.
Most Britons were dismayed at the surrender of the Liberal
Government of Lloyd George to the I.R.A. in signing the Treaty,
and they were not going to countenance a betrayal of the Ulster
people who had shown such outstanding loyalty in the Great
War.
It is Northern Ireland itself - its existence as an integral
part of the United Kingdom which is the lasting monument to
those brave men who didn't count the cost or the odds as they
mounted the parapet to run towards the German machine-guns
on that dreadful day 84 years ago.
It is a sacrifice that the young people of Northern Ireland
growing up today must learn about, and they must cherish,
just as Australians and New Zealanders cherish the memory
of the Anzacs, and as the Canadians pay tribute to the memory
of those who fell at Vimy Ridge, and the South Africans at
Delville Wood.
Thiepval and the Somme are part of Ulster - indelibly imprinted
on foreign soil and recognised as such by the grateful French
and Belgians - and Northern Ireland is the precious entity
handed on by those sons of Ulster to the people of today -
that's something which must never be forgotten by the people
who live in this most loyal part of the United Kingdom.
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