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Peter Mc RIC

A Company

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Posts: 1640

Jul 25 10 5:16 PM

Inspector-General

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Based at Woodstock House, Inistiogue, Co. Kilkenny.

Peter Mc

Edited 3 times by Peter Mc RIC Mar 10 12 6:16 PM.

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Peter Mc RIC

Arthur Cecil Stopher

#1

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Posts: 1640

Oct 16 10 9:46 AM

Inspector-General

An interesting little item related to a T.C. in thus Company appeared on the market recently. A Colonial Police Medal, George VI issue; "Inspr AC Stopher" was offered for sale:

The "man behind the medal" in this instance really had an amazingly varied career in service.

Arthur Cecil Stopher was born in 1898 in Woolwich. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lt in the Royal Welsh Fusileers in January 1916 and then transferred to the RFC in November 1916. He served as a pilot with 47 squadron in Salonika, where has his plane landed behind enemy lines and he was taken prisoner by the Bulgarians. There are various mentions of Stopher in the Flight magazine archive mentioning this. Also included in the sale is the rare book "Over the Balkans and South Russia" a history of the No 47 Squadron RFC by HA Jones MC. Stopher is mentioned in the appendix as a casualty (POW) albeit the name is (incorrectly) given as 2nd Lt S (sic) Stopher.

It would appear Stopher did not get to fly for long as he was taken POW on Feb 12 1917.He is also referred to in Henshaw's "The Sky their battlefield" in which it states FK3 AW6219 47 Squadron forced to land at Demir Hisoda. Stopher was held captive at Phillipopolis (modern day Plovdiv) for the remainder of the war when he was repatriated- there is a POW record for Stopher at the National Archives

On return to the UK Stopher then enlisted for the "Black and Tans" in the Royal Irish Constabulary he was in A division at Instogue- the scene of an incident at which the IRA attempted to assault the police station, but it all went wrong and their leader Ernie O'Malley was captured with a note book containing a list of IRA members. Stopher served in Auxillary division no 41, with the service number 72168, appointed to "A" company Adric 30 July 1920, section leader 9 dec 1920, platoon commander 21 feb 1921, dispersed january 1922.

Stopher then enlisted in the Ceylon Police, for which he earned this medal. Stopher served in the Ceylon Police from 1925-1947, he would have earned this medal around 1943 (I have not looked up the ceylon gazettes to get the actual date)

in 1949 stopher transferred to the Malayan police following independence of Ceylon. There is a pension record for Stopher for the malayan police stating about stophers service in Ceylon.

Stopher returned to the UK and retired to Oxfordshire where he died in 1972. He obiously enjoyed his time in Malaya as his house was called Yam Seng, which is Malay for "Cheers!"

The medal is named Inspr AC Stopher and comes in its Royal mint box, Stopher was also entitled to a WW1 pair, potentially WW2 service medals and the medal also came with a piece of ribbon from a St Johns Ambulance Medal so he may well have earned one of those as well in Ceylon.

All In all a great story with plenty more research to look into his varied career.

Peter Mc

Edited 1 time by Peter Mc RIC Aug 14 11 9:37 PM.

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toffeeman9

Stopher in Bulgaria

#2

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Constable

Posts: 4

Oct 27 10 10:10 PM

This was just after he was forced to land in Bulgaria (aircraft marked 6219)

Edited 1 time by Peter Mc RIC Aug 14 11 9:39 PM.

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toffeeman9

Photograph of Cameron Bruce whilst in Russia

#3

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Constable

Posts: 4

Mar 6 11 12:38 AM

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Dez

Major Ewen Cameron Bruce, DSO, MC, MID.

#4

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District Inspector 1st Class

Posts: 82

Sep 10 11 3:55 AM

Major Ewen Cameron Bruce was accepted into the Auxiliary Division, R.I.C. on the 3rd August 1920 and was given Auxiliary No. 154 and R.I.C. No. 72351. He was appointed Platoon Commander of No. 3 Platoon in "A" Company, this Company (along with B, C, D, and E Companies) being formed while the Division was still in quarters at the Curragh Army Camp, in County Kildare. In September 1920, "A" Company was posted to Inistioge, County Kilkenny and took over Woodstock House as their headquarters. Shortly afterwards an incident occurred and Major E.C. Bruce was accused of assaulting a civilian and forced to resign. According to Brig. General Crozier, the Commanding Officer of the Auxiliary Division, "I had to dismiss a DSO, MC, Major as unsuitable for the Auxiliary Division, for striking a civilian without cause". In the light of the murders and violence that had occurred in Ireland up to this time, and subsequently, this offence seems relatively mild, but it ended his career in the Auxiliary Division, R.I.C.

Edited 1 time by Dez Sep 10 11 4:00 AM.

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Peter Mc RIC

Dangerous Work

#5

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Posts: 1640

Oct 16 11 7:23 PM

Inspector-General

"Vernon Parsons, barber of Thomastown, who wortks for A Coy, Aux Division, received copies of two threatening letters during the month, warning civilians with serious consequences if they visited his shop. His wife also received one similar notice".
Ref - County Inspectors Report, C.I. F Whyte, 31 May 1921 CO904/115

"On 10:9:21, Mrs Parsons, wife of a barber at Thomastown, who was boycotted for working for the Auxiliaries, received a threatening letter warning her of danger if she did not pay £6:11:0, rent due to Mrs Mullins, whise son, a member of the I.R.A. was killed in the Coolbawn ambush: the Parsons family have since left the country".
Ref - County Inspectors Report, C.I. F Whyte, 30 Sep 1921 CO904/116

Peter Mc

Edited 2 times by Peter Mc RIC Oct 25 11 4:48 PM.

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mgbarrett1

Hand over of Woodstock house

#6

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Head Constable

Posts: 24

Oct 24 11 5:07 PM

What i would like to know if anyone has info on the signature A Hulse it looks like to me

Edited 1 time by Peter Mc RIC Oct 25 11 5:52 PM.

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Peter Mc RIC

Major Adrian Hulse

#7

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Posts: 1640

Oct 25 11 5:48 PM

Inspector-General

Correct on the signature Michael. Major Adrian Hulse (9/R.Irish Fus. attd 9/R. Inniskilling Fus.; prev Captain 6th Inniskilling Dragoons); previously 2 i/c O Company ADRIC.

Adrian Hulse had served in the Buckinghamshire Yeomanry during the South African War, the Cape Mounted Rifles in 1903–11, and the Malay States Volunteer Rifles in 1912–14. On the outbreak of war he returned to the United Kingdom from Kuala Lumpur at his own expense and, writing to the War Office from the Junior Conservative Club, requested a commission in the ‘Ulster Volunteers’; he was ultimately posted to the 16th Royal Irish Rifles (sic).

Refs
Major Adrian Hulse, TNA, WO 339/14050.
Officering Kitcheners Armies - Timothy Bowman 2009

Peter Mc

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Dez

#8

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District Inspector 1st Class

Posts: 82

Oct 8 12 3:27 AM

Auxiliaries attacked in Cork City.

On Thursday 18th November 1920, two members of the Auxiliary Division, belonging to "A" Company, stationed at Woodstock House, Co. Kilkenny, who are on duty in Cork City, were attacked by a crowd of ten or twelve men, at Parnell Place. Captain Jones was knocked down and deprived of his revolver, Major Moon fired five shots, and the attackers decamped. Two of the assailants are believed to be wounded, but the two officers escaped without injury.

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Peter Mc RIC

#9

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Posts: 1640

Oct 8 12 8:19 PM

Inspector-General

CI's report places this at 9.30pm

Peter Mc

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Dez

#10

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District Inspector 1st Class

Posts: 82

Jan 16 13 3:32 AM

Important raid in Kilkenny. 9th December 1920.

On Thursday 9th December 1920, a group of volunteers was surprised and captured by Auxiliary Cadets of "A" Company at Cappagh near Innistioge, Co. Kilkenny. The leaders had Mills bombs, loaded automatic pistols and documents in their pockets. The documents showed that notes had been taken up to date, of military and police dispositions, strengths of stations etc. They also showed the strengths of Co. Kilkenny I.R.A., with the names of leaders. The I.R.A. force in the county was given as 8 battalions in 4 brigades with 103 rifles and 4900 rounds of rifle ammunition, also 471 shotguns with 2010 re-filled cartridges and 1480 ordinary cartridges.

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Peter Mc RIC

#11

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Posts: 1640

Jan 16 13 1:36 PM

Inspector-General

This was the incident that netted Ernie O'Malley. This photo of him was taken following his arrest

In his rather rambling memoirs, James Comerford (My Kilkenny IRA Days) writes -

"At about 10 in the morning, on Thursday 9th December 1920, three RIC men and four Auxiliaries walked into O'Hanrahans yard in The Rower. They did not enter the dwelling house. Instead, they walked over to a tilled field where turnips had grown and had not been pulled. Why they went to that field has always remained a mystery. Ernie O'Malley was inside at this time in O'Hanrahans kitchen. He was reading a book. Prior to that he had been studying maps. Ned Holland was reading The Kilkenny People. Commandant O'Hanrahan was out working in his fields".

Comerford's account of his actual capture is rather less thrilling than the version O'Malley gives in 'On Another Man's Wound' though the details are much the same. O'Malley was taken into Woodstock House and interrogated rather forcefully according to his own story before being removed to Kilkenny Military Barracks and ultimately Dublin Castle. Given that he was captured in flagrante delicto so to speak with a gun, maps and lists of IRA personnel it is a wonder he was not shot on the spot.

O'Hanrahan's house was burned 'for harbouring rebels'. O'Malley, although his carelessness had led to the identification and capture of almost all of the Kilkenny IRA, was less than fulsome in his praise and estimation of the Kilkenny men.

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