Royal Irish Constabulary Auxiliaries & Black and Tans

[Phelan]

I've been researching the history of the 1919-1921 Irish War of Independence. The RIC Auxiliary Cadet Force (all ex military officers) were reviled as Black and Tans (a separate unit in fact) and I've got the feeling they've had a bad press. I'm trying to get behind the rhetoric and propaganda and find out about the stories of the real people. Material is quite hard to come by. Any ideas?

[Ulsterman]

Admiral Hezlett in Armagh-the Linen Library collection (central Belfast) and the Queens' U. sociology Dept. .

[Bob Hunter]

Please let us know if new information comes to light. I have the impression that their bad press is richly deserved.

[Phelan]

Please let us know if new information comes to light. I have the impression that their bad press is richly deserved.

That may well be the case but I think we have to see them in the context of the time & place they were operating. Too much of what passes for Irish history is little more than propaganda posted by the victors. Only one book has been written about them. It's a good book but lacks footnotes & references. I'm interested in their backgrounds, motivations, experiences etc as they appear in primary sources - records, diaries, letters, conversations etc. I think we owe them that objectivity.

[Bob Hunter]

Fair enough. Here's a time, a place and a bit of context: My greatgrandfather sitting at his dining room table in a cottage outside Dublin. He is murdered by a shot through the window by a member of that organization.

Perhaps your research will show this to be a random act of violence by an otherwise gallant and noble force attempting to maintain civil order or perhaps it may show a pattern of behavior characteristic of a band or renegade enforcers.

You have taken on a difficult research task and I wish you well with it.

[Phelan]

Fair enough. Here's a time, a place and a bit of context: My greatgrandfather sitting at his dining room table in a cottage outside Dublin. He is murdered by a shot through the window by a member of that organization.

Perhaps your research will show this to be a random act of violence by an otherwise gallant and noble force attempting to maintain civil order or perhaps it may show a pattern of behavior characteristic of a band or renegade enforcers.

You have taken on a difficult research task and I wish you well with it.

Hi Bob, I fully understand the personal aspects of all this. One of my ancestors at the time was Sean Treacy (shot dead in a gunfight in Dublin by Crown Forces) whilst both my Tipperary Grandfathers fought in the British Army in WW1. I currently live in W. Cork (the real hotbed of violence in the War of Independence) and few of my neighbours' families were left untouched. Indeed, my wife's uncle, a teenager at the time, was shot in the arse by a passing patrol of Tans near Mallow (N. Cork) in a fit of joie de feu. All of this notwithstanding, it's the job of the historian to get beneath individual incidents to try to understand the cogs & wheels that drove them. Poverty in UK drove many men, some Irish, to take the 10 shillings a day for Tans and the ?1 a day for Auxilliaries (massive sums in 1920/21, when I joined the British Army in 1971 I got ?1.10s a day at 1971 rates). Europe in 1920/21 was full of men who knew nothing other than violence and hardship. I want to know what motivated this largesse on the part of UK government and whether it drew in the enterprising, the hopeless, the adventurous etc. Having taken the metaphorical 'King's shilling', what was it that made them work so hard for it, if indeed they did? A sense of duty to Empire, camaraderie, vengeance, badness, drink, an amalgam of all those? It is a fascinating piece of specific research that offers an insight into a whole range of attitudes and policies that went on to shape the future of not just Ireland but the greatest Empire the world had ever seen and, by default, much of the world's history in the 20th Century. All The Best - Phelan.

[Nick]

Phelan

A very emotive issue and as you say a difficult subject to research in an impartial manner. It stirs up age old passions and emotions. Also very difficult for us to put into context and understand in today?s modern age.

As you say the victor often has the prerogative to write history to suit their own ends. Without a doubt getting an unbiased viewpoint from either side of the spectrum will be a difficult thing to manage, as you rightly know there is still too much passion there in Ireland and to a certain extent in the US on this issue. Here in England it is very much the forgotten past with the more recent troubles in the North being the central focus in every ones minds. But even that is (hopefully) being consigned to the history books.

Having read of the exploits of the regular RIC and DMP during the troubles I can only comment that there were without a doubt atrocities undertaken by both sides.

However I can also say that the actions of some RIC officers and men rate as some of the most gallant acts of bravery and dedication to duty I have ever encountered. That same dedication and heroism was in my opinion carried through in the North by the RIC men who became the RUC and this torch was carried down through later generations to the modern troubles.

The Black & Tans are name most people remember from that conflict and are most definitely associated with the worst aspects of the Crown forces. I for one would like to see what the truth is behind the name. Bob uses two extremes, gallant, noble and renegade enforcers. I would believe that the truth is somewhere in the middle, a mixture of both. But you are going to have your work cut out in finding the truth and I wish you the best of luck for a challenging project.

[Guest Rick Research]

An interesting comparison might be made with the German Freikorps of the same period:

Naval Freikorps were considered loyal, picked men, who stood by the government when the fleet-Reds revolted. As a consequence, after fighting in Silesia, most of those who wished entered the Reichsmarine and formed the very heart of the tiny Weimar navy. That so many came from small units like submarines where officers and men did not live with the social gulf of the battleship navy was no coincidence, and would have consequences for the Kriegsmarine later.

Army Freikorps on the other hand were tied to personal allegiance to their paymaster-commanders, and were apt to be considered street brawling riff raff by the Regulars (who remained quite pleasantly sitting in barracks until the mass demobilization of March 1920 stopped THEIR 3 square meals and board for nothing at long last). Some were thugs. Others were patriots--particularly those fighting for their own border homes and not for the cash and food. A generation ago's Received Wisdom lumped them all together as "Vanguards of Nazism" which was, actually, quite contrary to the general norm. Individualists in 1920 were... individualists in 1940. The number of Luftwaffe generals cashiered for insubordination, refusing (largely criminal) orders etc during WW2 fits quite neatly with having been a Freikorps member, recalled in the 1930s without intervening years as a paradeground soldier.

I would be VERY surprised to learn of anyone in the Black & Tans being taken back into British regular forces after 1922. And yet there must have been a cadre of former officers commanding--

so what became of THEM afterwards?

[Ulsterman]

A subject near and dear to my heart. In the 1980s I interviewed a few surviving "Tans".

There actually have been four books on the subject-if one includes the RIC one (and there's a separate one about the Northern Loyalists) and a few articles here and there.

The really rough troops were the "Auxis"-mostly ex-officers in the army. Many had decorations and in some photos almost half have the MC on the uniforms.

This area of history is, as was mentioned above, rarely viewed objectively. The IRA men who wrote their memoirs had a vested interest in making themselves and their cause sound heroic-and demonizing the enemy. One thinks of "Guerrilla Days In Ireland" or "The Singing Flame".

Many of the Auxis went home and went into normal life, were recalled in the 1940s and served in the war.

Many of the records from this era are still sealed-mostly to protect intelligence sources (and their families) from embarassment.

I'd start with "The Green Flag"-a superb book.

[Phelan]

A subject near and dear to my heart. In the 1980s I interviewed a few surviving "Tans".

There actually have been four books on the subject-if one includes the RIC one (and there's a separate one about the Northern Loyalists) and a few articles here and there.

The really rough troops were the "Auxis"-mostly ex-officers in the army. Many had decorations and in some photos almost half have the MC on the uniforms.

This area of history is, as was mentioned above, rarely viewed objectively. The IRA men who wrote their memoirs had a vested interest in making themselves and their cause sound heroic-and demonizing the enemy. One thinks of "Guerrilla Days In Ireland" or "The Singing Flame".

Many of the Auxis went home and went into normal life, were recalled in the 1940s and served in the war.

Many of the records from this era are still sealed-mostly to protect intelligence sources (and their families) from embarassment.

I'd start with "The Green Flag"-a superb book.

Thanks for your reply. I would be most interested in what those 'Tans' had to say even though I'm trying to focus on the Auxilliaries in particular. As far as I'm aware only Richard Bennett has written a book called 'The Black and Tans' (well written but direly referenced) even though one can find 'references' to 'Tans' & Auxilliaries in numerous works. 'The Green Flag', as you say, is one of the most objective works on Irish Nationalism per se but Robert Kee was painting with a broad brush. I'm trying to get specifics relating to:

Parliamentary decisions

Qualifications Desired/Accepted

Scope of Workl

Remuneration offered

Experiences

Reflections

[Phelan]

An interesting comparison might be made with the German Freikorps of the same period:

Naval Freikorps were considered loyal, picked men, who stood by the government when the fleet-Reds revolted. As a consequence, after fighting in Silesia, most of those who wished entered the Reichsmarine and formed the very heart of the tiny Weimar navy. That so many came from small units like submarines where officers and men did not live with the social gulf of the battleship navy was no coincidence, and would have consequences for the Kriegsmarine later.

Army Freikorps on the other hand were tied to personal allegiance to their paymaster-commanders, and were apt to be considered street brawling riff raff by the Regulars (who remained quite pleasantly sitting in barracks until the mass demobilization of March 1920 stopped THEIR 3 square meals and board for nothing at long last). Some were thugs. Others were patriots--particularly those fighting for their own border homes and not for the cash and food. A generation ago's Received Wisdom lumped them all together as "Vanguards of Nazism" which was, actually, quite contrary to the general norm. Individualists in 1920 were... individualists in 1940. The number of Luftwaffe generals cashiered for insubordination, refusing (largely criminal) orders etc during WW2 fits quite neatly with having been a Freikorps member, recalled in the 1930s without intervening years as a paradeground soldier.

I would be VERY surprised to learn of anyone in the Black & Tans being taken back into British regular forces after 1922. And yet there must have been a cadre of former officers commanding--

so what became of THEM afterwards?

An interesting comparison indeed, but I don't think it holds up for very long. Germany was badly fragmented at this time and had all but descended into anarchy with a variety of virtual warlords attracting allegiance on the grounds of politics, ethnicity/regionalism (to a certain extent), or past Service Records. The Tans & Auxiliaries were much more coherent, driven by a central political impetus and deployed as a solution to a very particular problem. I don't know about their further employment post-1922 but I doubt whether the Regular Forces would have seen their Irish Service as a hindrance. Many seem to have ended up in a variety of Colonial Police Forces (Palestine in particular). Interestingly a number of British Army officers, who were relatively junior in the Irish War of Independence, went on to great things. Montgomery (Bde Major Cork) and Lt Gen Percival of Singapore fame (Intelligence Major Cork) were perhaps the two most famous. Two lectures on guerrilla warfare by Percival (found in a book, 'British Voices' by Sheehan, 2005) are of particular interest as they seem to sketch out many of the tactics and strategies subsequently employed by the British Army during the more recent 'Troubles'. He was deployed in Bandon (a few miles from where I live) with the Essex Regiment who had a fierce reputation in W. Cork, largely because of their success in raiding and countering the activities of IRA Flying Columns.

Phelan

[Phelan]

Phelan

A very emotive issue and as you say a difficult subject to research in an impartial manner. It stirs up age old passions and emotions. Also very difficult for us to put into context and understand in today?s modern age.

As you say the victor often has the prerogative to write history to suit their own ends. Without a doubt getting an unbiased viewpoint from either side of the spectrum will be a difficult thing to manage, as you rightly know there is still too much passion there in Ireland and to a certain extent in the US on this issue. Here in England it is very much the forgotten past with the more recent troubles in the North being the central focus in every ones minds. But even that is (hopefully) being consigned to the history books.

Having read of the exploits of the regular RIC and DMP during the troubles I can only comment that there were without a doubt atrocities undertaken by both sides.

However I can also say that the actions of some RIC officers and men rate as some of the most gallant acts of bravery and dedication to duty I have ever encountered. That same dedication and heroism was in my opinion carried through in the North by the RIC men who became the RUC and this torch was carried down through later generations to the modern troubles.

The Black & Tans are name most people remember from that conflict and are most definitely associated with the worst aspects of the Crown forces. I for one would like to see what the truth is behind the name. Bob uses two extremes, gallant, noble and renegade enforcers. I would believe that the truth is somewhere in the middle, a mixture of both. But you are going to have your work cut out in finding the truth and I wish you the best of luck for a challenging project.

Thanks Nick,

in Ireland the mere passage of time does not confer a badge of historicity on any event. I've spoken to people in N. Cork who speak of the 17c Battle of Knocknanuss and the death of Lord Inchiquinn as if they were a car crash that happened yesterday and left some current families bereaved. In the case of 1919-22 I think the word 'atrocity' is probably key to understanding what went on. Atrocity wasn't simply an occasional by-product of an otherwise 'clean' war. Atrocity was the entirety of both the strategic and tactical War of Independence as fought by either side (a policy that was to achieve bloody fruition in the Irish Civil War, when Anti-Treaty and Free State forces visited horrors upon each other that made the Tans & Auxiliaries look like Social Workers). Contemporary sources suggest that the Army was unwilling and the RIC/DMP were incapable of fighting that kind of war. The IRA, meanwhile, seems to have been under no real central control, with the actions of local commanders appearing to define a series of faits accomplis that IRA GHQ had to endorse in retrospect in order to maintain an appearance of directing things. The IRA largely became hostage to the sensibilities, or lack thereof, of their local commanders. HMG needed somebody that would and could fight this dirty war, whilst being 'deniable' as 'renegades'. Enter the 'Tans' & Auxiliaries. That's my loose working theory anyway.

Phelan

[Peter Mc]

Phelan

you should also look out for the following books

1. 'Ireland for Ever ' Big Gen FP Crozier; Jonathan Cape 1932. Crozier was O/C of the ADRIC for a period.

2. 'The British Campaign in Ireland 1919-1921' Charles Townshend OUP 1975

3. 'Bloody Sunday' James Gleeson Windmill Press 1962 (see chapter "The Auxiliaries Story"; a personal account by Bill Munro ex-ADRIC, mostly concerning Kilmichael but covering all the aspects you are looking for).

You know of Bennett's book, and the 'Kerryman' series which gives incidents but few names. There are many other references to the Auxies but not in the detail you are looking for.

Peter Mc

[Ulsterman]

Townshend is excellent-albeit a bit dry.

Arming The Protestants

The Correspondence of Field Marshall Henry Wilson by the Army Records Society touchs on some of the era.

[Bob Hunter]

Thanks to all for the additional references. Phelan, it looks like I'll be reading along with you.

[Phelan]

Thanks to all for the additional references. Phelan, it looks like I'll be reading along with you.

Thanks Bob. This will be a protracted project as most of the solid material is likely to be held at the British Public Record Office in Kew, London. I work in Africa in the private security industry month on-month off and I can't really justify extended periods in London during my downtime. I hope to be able to focus my study on the activities of the Auxiliaries in W. Cork since it's the area that saw most of the real action. Contrary to popular belief the War of Independence didn't inflame the whole island and membership of the IRA only became really 'fashionable' after the Treaty was concluded (its ranks swelled by the so-called 'Trucileers'). Generally the War seems to have been effectively fought in Cork, Tipperary and Dublin City and by its end it had been more or less 'won' militarily by the British. Politically, however, HMG were looking to get out of Ireland (Irish Home Rule having been one of their primary objectives since the turn of the 19th/20th centuries). Ireland had always been strategically crucial to the defence of England (both the Spaniards, in the 17c, and the French, in the 18c, had landed considerable forces in Western Ireland and the Germans had contemplated it in WW1) and HMG were happy to relinquish Ireland so long as they could be assured of its military integrity. The Treaty clearly assured this and the British continued, as part of the Treaty, to maintain bases in the Free State/Republic until 1938 just to be on the safe side. Ireland's neutrality in WW2 was a thorny issue since British Naval & RAF bases in W. Cork could have extended anti-submarine actions right across the Atlantic and aided the convoys considerably. Ireland remains coy about this phase in her history as many of the goods that sailors died to convoy across were destined for Ireland. The Irish government had a tough job to both justify and maintain its neutrality and were, doubtless, well aware that HMG would re-invade at the drop of a hat if any real favour was shown to the Third Reich. My father, a Tipperary man who was in the British Army (3rd King's Own Hussars) from 1937 to 1947, recounts an interesting story. He was part of the ill-fated expeditionary Force to Greece in WW2 and was finally captured at Malame Airfield in the Fall of Crete. He escaped 15 times in the next 4 years (apparently it was fairly easy to escape but difficult to stay at large) and during one of his sojourns in a Prison Camp all of the Irish prisoners were taken aside and invited to join one of the many 'Foreign Legions' that populated the German Army. To a man they all refused. Two of my Uncles (on my mother's side) were in the Irish Army during WW2 (one subsequently deserted to N. Ireland to join the British Army and the other got himself discharged and went on to join the RAF) and much of their effort was focused on the capture of downed German and Allied airmen. As a neutral country they were obliged to intern combatants from both sides but it was remarkable how many Allied pilots made it back to UK on various medical or other grounds. I recount these tales in order to both inform other members generally and to illustrate the extraordinary military ambivalence that exists between UK and Ireland. There's little real hatred between the bulk of UK and Ireland, they're more like journeyman boxers who are happy to fight each other with great vigour, if there's nobody else worth fighting together, and only really want to split the purse and get on to the piss-up afterwards. Since 1911 (the earliest date for which I have records) every male member of my family, on both sides, has seen active service in the IRA, the Irish Army and/or the British Army and one, John Cunningham, won the VC in WW1. The rest of us did it elsewhere in the North West Frontier, WW1, WW2, Korea (cousin in the 8th Irish Hussars, captured at the Imjin River), Kenya, Aden, Cyprus, N. Ireland (no medals of any note in those campaigns). Yet we would all (still living) support Ireland when it comes to sport, especially Rugby, (the real test of nationality).

Anyway, further to the War of Independence references, check out anything by Peter Hart, 'The IRA at War', 'The IRA and Its Enemies' for instance. Hart's history of this period is a little controversial because he's actually applying historical, psychological and sociological principles to his work. In terms of academic rigour he's the only one doing it for this period of Irish history.

ATB

Phelan

[Ulsterman]

Thanks Bob. This will be a protracted project as most of the solid material is likely to be held at the British Public Record Office in Kew, London. I work in Africa in the private security industry month on-month off and I can't really justify extended periods in London during my downtime. I hope to be able to focus my study on the activities of the Auxiliaries in W. Cork since it's the area that saw most of the real action. Contrary to popular belief the War of Independence didn't inflame the whole island and membership of the IRA only became really 'fashionable' after the Treaty was concluded (its ranks swelled by the so-called 'Trucileers'). Generally the War seems to have been effectively fought in Cork, Tipperary and Dublin City and by its end it had been more or less 'won' militarily by the British. Politically, however, HMG were looking to get out of Ireland (Irish Home Rule having been one of their primary objectives since the turn of the 19th/20th centuries). Ireland had always been strategically crucial to the defence of England (both the Spaniards, in the 17c, and the French, in the 18c, had landed considerable forces in Western Ireland and the Germans had contemplated it in WW1) and HMG were happy to relinquish Ireland so long as they could be assured of its military integrity. The Treaty clearly assured this and the British continued, as part of the Treaty, to maintain bases in the Free State/Republic until 1938 just to be on the safe side. Ireland's neutrality in WW2 was a thorny issue since British Naval & RAF bases in W. Cork could have extended anti-submarine actions right across the Atlantic and aided the convoys considerably. Ireland remains coy about this phase in her history as many of the goods that sailors died to convoy across were destined for Ireland. The Irish government had a tough job to both justify and maintain its neutrality and were, doubtless, well aware that HMG would re-invade at the drop of a hat if any real favour was shown to the Third Reich. My father, a Tipperary man who was in the British Army (3rd King's Own Hussars) from 1937 to 1947, recounts an interesting story. He was part of the ill-fated expeditionary Force to Greece in WW2 and was finally captured at Malame Airfield in the Fall of Crete. He escaped 15 times in the next 4 years (apparently it was fairly easy to escape but difficult to stay at large) and during one of his sojourns in a Prison Camp all of the Irish prisoners were taken aside and invited to join one of the many 'Foreign Legions' that populated the German Army. To a man they all refused. Two of my Uncles (on my mother's side) were in the Irish Army during WW2 (one subsequently deserted to N. Ireland to join the British Army and the other got himself discharged and went on to join the RAF) and much of their effort was focused on the capture of downed German and Allied airmen. As a neutral country they were obliged to intern combatants from both sides but it was remarkable how many Allied pilots made it back to UK on various medical or other grounds. I recount these tales in order to both inform other members generally and to illustrate the extraordinary military ambivalence that exists between UK and Ireland. There's little real hatred between the bulk of UK and Ireland, they're more like journeyman boxers who are happy to fight each other with great vigour, if there's nobody else worth fighting together, and only really want to split the purse and get on to the piss-up afterwards. Since 1911 (the earliest date for which I have records) every male member of my family, on both sides, has seen active service in the IRA, the Irish Army and/or the British Army and one, John Cunningham, won the VC in WW1. The rest of us did it elsewhere in the North West Frontier, WW1, WW2, Korea (cousin in the 8th Irish Hussars, captured at the Imjin River), Kenya, Aden, Cyprus, N. Ireland (no medals of any note in those campaigns). Yet we would all (still living) support Ireland when it comes to sport, especially Rugby, (the real test of nationality).

Anyway, further to the War of Independence references, check out anything by Peter Hart, 'The IRA at War', 'The IRA and Its Enemies' for instance. Hart's history of this period is a little controversial because he's actually applying historical, psychological and sociological principles to his work. In terms of academic rigour he's the only one doing it for this period of Irish history.

ATB

Phelan

Oh-What about Bowyer-Bell? Admittedly, the man is a bastard personally, but the book, done before the Troubles erupted, is very well done and balanced in comparison to many of the others doneon the IRA.