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On the 21^st May around 130 men of the 2^nd Battalion Dublin Brigade of the IRA raided and then destroyed the historic Customs House on the banks of the Liffey, an iconic symbol of British rule in Ireland, and the images of its burning were transmitted worldwide. However the raid proved disastrous for the IRA in that it was rapidly surrounded, engaged and attacked by elements of two companies of Auxiliaries, resulting in 5 IRA dead and around 100 volunteers captured. The Dublin Brigade was effectively out of action from that point until after the Truce – furthermore in Collins own assessment the IRA itself was within weeks, possibly even days, of collapse.

Drastic attempts were made to strike back and step up the pressure on the British in order to improve the Sinn Fein negotiating position in the ongoing Truce talks. In early June a meeting was convened and plans laid to concentrate eight groups of gun men in Grafton Street on a certain date, with the objective of surrounding and killing members of the Crown Forces therein. The gun men involved included members of Collins' 'Squad'.

It was known that the military and police forces used undercover men – or more simply men dressed in civilian clothing – to observe and even arrest suspects on the streets of the City. These men comprised Military Intelligence, undercover police and detectives, and even members of the Auxiliary Division.

In his book 'With the Dublin Brigade' Charles Dalton describes the operation in Grafton St. Along with Squad members Joe Leonard and Bill Stapleton, he set off in a captured Ford military van and parked up in Duke St (near Davy Byrne's pub), armed with a Thompson sub-machine gun. A number of military lorries passed by, but as they were awaiting the arrival of other IRA units, they did not open fire. As it turned out the majority of the Active Service Units failed to arrive in Grafton St on time, and the planned operation fell through. However, at approximately five minutes past six shots were heard higher up in Grafton St. Two of the units had been able to make their way to the street, and located and killed two Auxiliaries.

The two men were Cadets Leonard George Appleford and George Gerald Warnes, both of F Company and based in the Castle.

According to the reports, the two Auxiliaries, who were dressed in civilian clothes, had just left a restaurant when they were identified to their assassins by a woman dressed in blue. She had apparently trailed them from the time they had left Dublin Castle. As they crossed Chatham Street towards Lambert Brien's they were surrounded by their killers and shot from behind by three men around 18-20 times, whilst other gun men held back the pedestrians. One cadet died instantly, the other after arrival at hospital. A waitress from the restaurant rushed to help and held Appleford's head in her lap, trying to stop the bleeding.

The following sketch was made shortly after the event, based on witness statements and reports. It shows how the IRA gang isolated their targets and held back any civilians brave or foolish enough to help, whilst the killers themselves closed in on their prey. The tactics used were instigated by Michael Collins and refined by the Squad from 1919 onwards, when they pursued a policy of killing some of the best and most efficient Irish police detectives working in the Dublin Metropolitan Police. Such scenes became commonplace as the IRA, closely copied by police and military undercover squads, shot at and killed their targets all over Dublin. For the ordinary passer, this must have been a terrifying and awful predicament, not knowing who was killing who at any time.

The scene outside Lambert Brien's

Close up of the guard units shielding the killers from interference

And the assassination gang themselves

The Dead

Leonard George Appleford
Cadet Appleford held the rank of Section Leader in F Company, and has ostensibly been identified as a member of the 'Special Gang' that, to all accounts, performed undercover observation and intelligence gathering in the city.

He was 28 years old when he died, married and with a two year old son, His wife's name was Grace (nee Abraham) and the child was Leonard Derrick. His RIC number was 73555 and ADRIC number 589, having joined the Auxiliary Force on 8 September 1920. During the Great War he joined the Royal Fusiliers in 1915 and was commissioned in the Machine Gun Corps in 1918. He lived in Harold Wood, Essex, and was buried there in Hornchurch graveyard.

Cadet Appleford has been purportedly identified on a photo in the Piaras Beaslai collection (NUI) as being a member of F Company 'Special Gang'. The identification has been attributed to another Auxiliary, John Charles Reynolds, who worked as a double agent for the IRA. The likeness of the photo in the Special Gang to the official photo issued at his death is not entirely conclusive.

George Gerald Warnes
Cadet Warnes (sometimes mis-spelt as Wames) was 28 years old and from Eye in Suffolk. He joined the Auxiliaries on 21 December 1920 (RIC 80208, ADRIC 1214). He was a Cambridge graduate and was commissioned into the 1/5^th Suffolk Regt as a cadet in 1912 (Lt, 1914), serving at Gallipoli, then Egypt and Palestine. Appointed Captain, 2/13 London Regiment in 1917. In his younger years he attended Haileybury College, Hertford, whose other alumni included no less than 17 Victoria Cross winners, and perhaps more interestingly, Erskine Childers.

George Warnes father, a solicitor, was a noted dog breeder and judge and the 'Harold Warnes Memorial Cup' for best Bedlington terrier, is an annual award at Cruft's.

caplestreetman wrote:

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Many thanks to Dez and Peter Mc for answering my queries. Dez in an earlier post of yours - ref - the Envelope, I too have visited the N.P.Archives and found it fascinating, my notes refer to Piaras Beaslai.
L.V.11
Photographs of British Agents. I took copies of 3 that interested me.
1) - a small cigarette card sized photograph of a Constable O,Lone R.I.C.not in uniform, I have a relative who is married to an O,Lone but I have not investigated further.
2) - a photograph of 3 men, 2 civillians and 1 in uniform, the civillian seated on the right has an X marked above his head and "CAPT" JONES S.S.CASTLE,again I have not investigated further.
3) - a photograph of 6 Auxiliaries in uniform with the numbers 1 - 6 marked above their heads, attached to the photograph was a list of names, copied as written.
1) - CORSON CAPT
2) - STOKES MAJOR. S.S.
3) - THOMPSON
4) - REYNOLDS.SNR.SEC.L (  g or a d, my note, it is unclear )
5) - BENNETT
6) - WARRIOR
In your excellent post - Traitor in "F"Company, you state that J.C.Reynolds of "F"Company was promoted to Section Leader on 25/12/20, could this be the same Reynolds.
In my research into the Beaslai Papers he says that small cigarette card sized photographs of British Agents were copied and sent to the   I.R.A.Intelligence department and given to chosen men and women to help them track down and identify the B.A, sometimes they were sewn  inside jackets or coats for safekeeping, if they were stopped and searched and these photographs ever found the consequences would have been very grave, although I have never heard of this happening. On the other hand, if this is the same Reynolds, the reason he is identified is so he can be protected and not to be touched or interfered with by the I.R.A, a strange double standard, he must have led a charmed life.
I will try and forward the photographs to your site.
CSM  
  
    

caplestreetman wrote:

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please find photographs as promised. i look forward to any comments you might have.