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Horsemen who transferred to the Royal Irish Fusiliers

 

 

In September 1917 the 2nd North Irish Horse Regiment was disbanded and the men compulsorily transferred to infantry (though they retained their cavalry rate of pay). They were transferred to the 9th (Service) Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers, together with a number of men surplus to the 1st North Irish Horse Regiment. The battalion, which had sustained severe casualties the previous month at Ypres, was renamed the 9th (North Irish Horse) Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers.

Most of the men (almost 500) were transferred to the new battalion, after a short stint of infantry training at the 36th Division Base Depot, on 20 September 1917. Another 68 were transferred on 6 October, after shipping the regiment's horses to Egypt. A small number of others, sick or otherwise detained, came in over the following months. The total number transferred was 581.

Some 395 of these were men who had enlisted in the North Irish Horse, 136 had enlisted in the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons Service Squadron and became part of the 2nd North Irish Horse Regiment in June 1916, and another 39 from various other cavalry regiments who had joined the 2nd NIH since June 1916. Eleven others are as yet unidentified.

Shown below are the men's names, their North Irish Horse/ Inniskilling Dragoons (UD)/ other number, and their new Royal Irish Fusiliers number.