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Over 38,000 men and women from Northern Ireland enlisted during the Second World War. Newry and Mourne made a significant contribution to the war effort and many people from the local area were involved in active service. As the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings is commemorated, we look at two servicemen with local connections who took part in the Normandy campaign.
A few local people, who had emigrated to America, served in the U.S. Army during the Second World War. One of these was James Quinn, originally from Tullyframe, near Kilkeel. He had emigrated to America in May 1927, just over a month before his twentieth birthday, joining his sister Mary in New York, where he settled and opened a grocery business. He became an American citizen in 1936.
He enlisted in October 1943 and served in the 563rd Motor Ambulance Company. Private Quinn began his military career as a basic medic for four months before becoming Private First-Class. He was involved in the Allied advance across Europe into Holland and Germany after the D-Day landings in 1944. Attached to the 96th Evacuation Hospital Unit, he drove an ambulance and carried out maintenance on the vehicle. In 1944 he spent the 23rd of November, Thanksgiving Day, ‘somewhere in Holland’ with the 105th Evacuation Hospital, 508th Collecting Company and the 5th Auxiliary Surgical Group. Christmas 1944 was spent with the 96th Evacuation Hospital in Germany, where, along with medical officers and other staff, Christmas Day was celebrated in the Hospital Mess Hall with a turkey dinner and peach pie.
He received an honorable discharge in October 1945, returning home to Kilkeel in 1950, where he married and bought a farm and business. He died in 1975.
After graduating with a degree in civil engineering Gerald Reside joined the family architectural practice in Newry. He enlisted in the British Expeditionary Force at the beginning of the Second World War and was deployed to France. He was rescued from Dunkirk in June 1940. After returning to France with the Royal Artillery 4th (Ulster) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment at the time of the D-Day landings in 1944, he was commander of an anti-aircraft battery and saw active service in France and Belgium. Like many veterans, he talked very little about his military career, speaking highly of those he served with, but revealing no detail.
He retained a connection with various ex-servicemen’s organisations and was a member of the British Legion and the Royal Artillery Association. Major Reside also maintained links with the military after the war and was awarded an O.B.E. in 1970 for his services to the Territorial Army. He attended the annual service on Remembrance Sunday, laying a wreath at Newry War Memorial. As an architect, he had designed the memorial in 1938 for fallen soldiers from the First World War. A simple construction of Newry Granite with the words “TO OUR GLORIOUS DEAD” the memorial was ready for the first Armistice Day of the Second World War.
Both servicemen’s uniforms are currently on display in Newry and Mourne Museum.
The Museum is currently offering free tours of the main exhibition galleries on Wednesdays at 2.00 pm. These must be booked in advance by calling our Education Officer at 0330 137 4422.
Newry and Mourne Museum is open Tuesday – Saturday 10.00 am – 4.30 pm. Please call 0330 137 4422 or email museums@nmandd.org for further information.
Please visit our website at www.visitmournemountains.co.uk/museums/newry-and-mourne-museum
