An Irish Soldier recalls World War One, 1965
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ม.ค. 2021
- Johnny Burke from Ballinasloe, Co. Galway talks about his experiences during the First World War,
including a heavy defeat to the Turks in the Mesopotamian campaign. During a break in the fighting to bury the dead, Johnny recalls meeting with Turkish soldiers.
Johnny fought first in France after the retreat at Mons. From France, Johnny went to Mesopotamia where the British army suffered a heavy defeat. Johnny praises the Turks for allowing time for the dead to be buried. During the amnesty for the dead to be buried, Johnny met some of those he had been fighting. His memory of the Turkish soldiers is of the poor condition they were in.
Johnny also recalls marching through the desert to Baghdad and to Falluja. - บันเทิง
72 years, and 3 weeks. I like the way he said that. He was probably a funny man that made many people laugh. There's value in that.
I agree
Definitely
He said he was in Baghdad and Fallujah. History really does reapeat itself.
Stay woke !
Doesn't it just.
Those who fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat its mistakes.
@@scatmann5839 that’s true however many people in society often underestimated this saying
Beware for the bots below!
A Really lovely man that you would have loved to listen to his stories on a winters night in the Pub !
💯 ❤
That was a man that I’ll never be. Humble respect for that great man.
Thanks for uploading old Irish veterans. The world needs to know about these men. Do you have anymore?
th-cam.com/video/DWnc-ZlIo5s/w-d-xo.html
@Daniel Barrett that was a different man
@Daniel Barrett the man on the Gay Byrne Show was a Dubliner this man is a native of Ballinasloe, Co. Galway.
@taxid3rmy Ahh fer fuck sake, and dead men can’t talk. Ah well.
@Daniel Barrett no, that man's name was Jack and he was from Dublin.
The irony is here that more years have passed between this video of WWI veteran in 1965 and now than the video here and WWI.
What a nice man I could listen to him talk all day
God bless him, what a lovely man. A real hero 💯❤️
A hero fighting for the enemy whose occupying your country & killing your catholic brothers & sisters...
Treasonous rebel who deserves jail or a noose.
@@quiricomazarin476 Rather than writing a statement like that, you would be better off asking why they went to war. Ireland was promised home rule if Irishmen went to fight. That was one reason they went. Now you know why.
@@seancassidy4812 Hmmm we've commited genocide on your peoples & tried to eliminate you from existence, but we'll give you your freedom if you support us your enemy who hates you.
You really have to be an addled brain dufus to fight for the people who tried for centuries to erase you from human existence.
This treasonous fool fought for them when his country was smart enough to reject her ungodly enemy.
BTW: Britain just forced a law on Éire allowing innocent people to be murdered.
Some brainwashed ignorant people never learn ( your looking In a mirror now).
@@paulmcgrath6118 black hand boot licker
A real traitor
I was born in East Galway, Ireland in the 1950s. My close neighbour was a veteran of WWI. I recall seeing daylight through the muscle above his left elbow, an unwelcome feature, caused (he said) by a German sniper. That was a close one!
His service is still appreciated!
It nust have given him a lot of grief
over the years,
Many fine Irishmen in the British Army!
/
I clicked this because the veteran was from the same area as my Mother. But coincidentally he talks about the Mesopotamian campaign that my paternal British grandfather fought in, so they must have been part of same overall battlegroup or division. My grandfather served in the South Wales Borderers regiment. I think the ANZACs also fought in that campaign against the Ottomans in modern Iraq - and I've heard stories from relatives here in England that match up with what Johnny said about Baghdad and Fallujah. I had no clue the Irish regiments were out there as well though. Thank you for your sacrifices and God bless Johnny Burke and all the veterans of WW1.
Sure, the Irish fought in the British Army, from the North, and people from the south too. For all sorts of reasons.
They were noble, courageous and brave men all...may God be good to them...+++
Thank them for what?
@@paddymac5161 Their sacrifices because YOU owe them a debt.
@@paddymac5161 knob.
Many Irish men never returned Home from the Trenches, the Horror and Hardship they went through.
50,000 never came home.
@@corkboy4523 a lot of these boys and men (a big percentage from Cork, Royal Munster Fusiliers) went to war believing Ireland would be given Home Rule after the war- Remember Ireland was completely under British rule at that time- it didn't happen and the rest is history..
@@tearitloosetearitloose4670 The war was still 2 years away from ending at the time of the 1916 Easter rising.
I remember doing ww1 in history and out teacher telling us that 50,000 men never came home and one lad said their must have been some women in france
My great uncle was one of them.
I went to Iraq 🇮🇶.Amazing to hear a man near me speak about his experience eighty years later .
My grandmother had a friend in the 80,s who still received a WW1 widows pension as her late husband served in Italy in The Great War.
When he was wounded out there he met a girl from his village who nursed him in the dressing station .
Fantastic. My Irish grandfather was with the Royal Navy at Gallipoli. He went from there to East Africa, then to Capetown and home when the war ended. What I wouldn't give for a film of him describing his experience! Many thanks for posting -- I hope this man's descendants are aware of this film.
what an experience it would have been to have a pint or two with this man.
Sounds just like my father-in-law who served in the Irish Army. Happy memories John, you produced a beautiful daughter, we miss you.
The reporter saying "back to the u... uh Britain" really cracked me up 😂
Could listen to Johnny all day. What a lad! May he rest in peace.
My uncle fought in the British expeditionary force in North Russian and in the Dardanelles. Came home to Ireland on convalescence form Bayonet wounds and died shortly after arrival. His and many many others erased form Irish history after independence.
Keith to date the Irish need to erase their Britishness in any way possible while this bravery was outstanding Irish personality and strengths that enhances Irish history. And british in battle is to be admired. In 2022 Irish Irish still join British regiments following in respect of their family who served.
@@joprocter4573 The Irish sent their condolences to the German leader after his death in WW2. Many merchant seaman are at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean because of Irish neutrality in WW2
Be it recompense, atonement or otherwise, these men have NOT been forgotten in the UK. Pax.
@@Neil-yg5gm Many of those Merchant Seamen were ‘Irish’,. Our neutrality was wrong, for sure but that didn’t stop more than 80,000and more people from the republic signing up in WWII, all volunteers including my father a Limerick man from the Irish Republic was a tail gunner in Lancasters (43 to 45) more than 30 missions . One of your top Aces was a man called ‘Paddy Finucane’ born in Dublin to a catholic family, we were not Neutral in any shape or form, except for our politicians. An estimated 29,000 British (including Irish volunteers) died in Merchant shipping during WWII, how many died of the Irish famine thanks to ‘British’ politics, you’ll have to add a few zeros.
@@bfhfhfhdj I am sure the merchant seaman at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean were impressed by Irish neutrality?
These videos are absolutely golden, thank you for uploading them
Fair play to ye johnny.
Wow!! I'm in awe of this old boy, irrespective of who/what he was fighting for 💚
Sounds like Johnny was just fighting to make a living
@@Minime163 Couldn't agree more WM, my grandad was put in that position also, it was the only way men could put food on the table :(
Man, remarkable video! Actually, remarkable YT channel! Thank you for sharing
These men where built differently, I love to sit and talk to him for hour sadly he's gone ,,,but these archives are priceless,,true hero who probably had no choice but go to war or starve,,
I JUST HAD TO WATCH THIS AGAIN WE LOVE YOU LADS SO MUCH IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A DREAM TO HAVE MET YOU RIP MY DEAR WONDERFUL MAN XXXX
That's so sweet I'll tell my cousin
Big props for finding this and putting it up. Love to see videos like these. Shows me how good we have it here in Ireland these days.
Salut to Mr. Burke ( is laoch é )
DEAR GOD HOW MUCH DO WE OWE THESE AMAZING BRILLIANT MEN YOU WILL NEVER NO HOW MUCH WE LOVE YOU LOVE FROM NEW YORK CITY XX
Thank you x
The reporter is Ted Nealon, later a TD and editor of Nealon 's guide to dail elections in the 1980s.
He was a great political pundit.
Haven't seen him for years.
Good man Johnny, you did Galway and Ballinasloe proud boy...!
Fighting for the Brits? Right.
@@galwaytribesman9289 Fighting for the rights of small nations such as ourselves...they promised us a united Ireland if we fought with them....
@@sherp2u1 Ya and that turned out pretty well. Sure
@@sherp2u1 The rights of all small nations except Ireland. Cop on .
@@galwaytribesman9289 Are you free today...? I'd say so, so it turned alright then...
I think the interviewer is Ted Nealon. Both he and Mr Burke long gone to their eternal reward. Thank you for loading, CR.
A moment of silence for the boys whi never came home❤❤
Brilliant character, the sort of man you'd love to have on your side if you ended up in a war
Fascinating tale from the man, thank you for uploading. I recall that there was a similar armistice to that with the ANZACs and the Turks during the Gallipoli campaign. It's good to hear that even in moments as dark as that there can be a little common humanity between people.
Thanks johnny
Long gone johnny is.rip old soldier
Absolutely brilliant. What a man .
Respect sir. Made it through the war
Great videos I appreciate these.
''When you go home, tell them of us and say , for your tomorrow we gave our today.
Great interview.
Thank you for posting these clips. Very interesting but a shame that the clip is so short.
Excellent great interview Johnny was a brave man
Really likeable man,God bless him and give him eternal happiness
72yrs and 3 weeks he values every day it's just like Dave Allen Comedian Described Please God just one more day
When young children say ide hate to live to that Age
Wonderful to listen to this old boy, i would love to know what regiment he was in?...being from Galway, i would suggest the Connaght Rangers?..........I absolutely love all these old films where the old lads speak of their exploits....God bless you Johnny Burke, from Ballinislow.
I think you might be right with Connaught Rangers. The 2nd Battalion served in France and Belgium in 1914, took so many losses it was disbanded and the survivors sent to the 1st Battalion who sailed for Mesopotamia in 1916 as part of the Tigris Corp seems to line up pretty well with what he is saying.
Yes you're right.
Ireland wasn't free . So what questions are u asking? We have no understanding. As we were born free . My dad uncle had no clue off a free Ireland, stories are pass down what da black an tan done before that . Who in the video. From his childhood
@@phniox3636 Mate, I haven't got a single clue as to what you are talking about...have you been drinking?...taking drugs?
Go and give your head a shake and then come back and join the conversation about Mr Johnny Burke.
@@rockinbillyboy I'm not the one on TH-cam completely clueless. About Irish history. It be your self that need to be shaking. My own family as if I need your permission. Talk about your entitlement to says that . .
One of a kind we will never see again, fantastic generation.
"You have not begun to appreciate the depth of our guilt. We are intruders. We are subverters. We have taken your natural world, your ideals, your destiny, and played havoc with them. We have been at the bottom of not merely the latest Great War (World War 1) but of every other major revolution in your history. We have brought discord and confusion and frustration into your personal and public life. We are still doing it. No one can tell how long we shall go on doing it. Who knows what great and glorious destiny might have been yours if we had left you alone." - Marclis Eli Ravage, ( a Jew,) Century Magazine, February - 1926.
Brilliant heart warming story from someone who actually was there to witness events.
What a wonderful man, a true unassuming hero.
Yes, but they never thought of themselves as such. Just a duty.
@@vespelian5769 He ran away from a war at home and turned his back on the Irish.
A Galway Man first...then an Irishman...may God be good to him!
@@mob3144 He WAS Irish, and he didn't "run away" from anything. Oh, how I wish it were possible for you to say that to one of this brave man's Irish descendants, face to face. I'd just love to hear (and see!) their response!
@@yvonnewalesuk8035 I didn't say he was not Irish. He joined an army that was killing his own people. He grew up seeing the atrocities committed by the british army in Ireland and still joined them. Thank God when they came home they were treated like the shit they were.The only good british soldier is a dead one.
What a fella !!!
What a man
The media wouldn’t give a soldier to talk frankly like that now. The media certainly wouldn’t transmit it now
Sadly that is true. It's why these videos are so important to keep history alive. God bless these men 🙏
Are you suggested that there are no broadcasts being made now featuring veterans? Seriously? During the centenary of the war the BBC put out hours of content, including the 1964 Great War documentary featuring hours of interviews. WW2 veterans, the few who are left, have been regularly interviewed in recent year across all forms of broadcast media. Where do you pull statements like this from? I can't think of anything less controversial than listening to the memories of veterans.
Nonsense. When the last WW1 veterans died, about 10 years ago they were still allowed to speak frankly too
Rubbish when the WW1 anniversary came up and for 4 years there were lots of programmes featuring veterans. The same happens with WW2 anniversaries.
Search for WW1 veterans speak you can find videos from the BBC and commercial stations like ITV
What a silly and completely unjustified comment
Decent old man
Absolutely, and given that De Valera shamefully offered his condolences to the Germans on Hitlers death,even more remarkable.
You are mixing up the wars Paul !
This is about WW1 .
You are making a comment about WW2.
@@khiggins7231 thanks for the correction.
I was following on from a previous post,regarding the general attitude,including WW2.
(Regarding Dev,l used to deliver papers to Lincoln nick,and drink in the boozer he stopped off at!!)
(
k higgins Of course you’re correct.
I was referring to the part of the post referencing Ww2.and Dev.
(Regarding Dev,l was a paperboy to Lincoln jail and regularly drank in the boozer that he sort refuge on escape)!
So cool
Respect.
Wow, the audio is really crisp for it's age.
God Bless them all...
He sounds genuine to me. This is a genuine historical witness.
Bless
Brave men
my uncle died in the first world war William Russell benburb street Dublin R I P
A very brave man from a generation of heroes.
Quality stuff CR 👍🏻
God bless him
God bless auld yin, no words, we'll never forget you all.
What an amazing generation of people the Irish from this time were real characters, and not a doubt about their honesty and sincerity such beautiful people the absolute light in the world if ever the world seen gods people Twas the Irish from this time my god these people were just so amazing on every level ❤❤❤
My. Love too u. Johnny. God bless you
Good Man Johnny, as a fellow Burke ( deBurgo ) I am proud of you, rest in peace.
The older generation of Irish are extremely tough and hard working. I know from my Grandparents. It's because Ireland has a very violent and tough history full of famine and war and poverty.
Take this as a hint to grab your smartphone and interview your elderly relatives while they are still sharp. They will have stories from their parents and from their youth that arent written down and will be lost with them.
hero...............
What a memory
It never ends.
God bless that man
Those unfortunate men were to say the very least abandoned and villified by their own country. At least 500,000 men and dependants cancelled.
Good.
What’s your beef?
Yep with the Wolfe tones playing and the lads flogging em wearing Celtic jerseys. Spot on shredder boy. Your a real tough guy
@@djharto4917 better than British regiment tunes you west Brit hardman
@@djharto4917 Butchers Apron lackey.
Sold to the public as; "The War That Will End All Wars".
they just don't make 'em like they used to ...
considering the horrors of 'the great war' and the hardships these men (and women of course) endured in their time generally is humbling to say the least.
the absence of resentment or bitterness, even just the way they present themselves in spite of everything is inspiring.
regardless of what we may think about the politics with hindsight, i believe these men truly believed they were fighting "so small nations could be free"
a true stoic and gentleman ...
respect!
Fascinating stuff really
Legend alert
It's odd that we're constantly at war somewhere in the world yet you hear of people seeing the humanity in their enemies all the time, like allowing your enemies time from gunfire to bury the dead and sharing food and cigarettes, and playing football with each other at Christmas time.
People don't fight each other, it's governments who fight each other.
@@dreamdiction Definitely not true, people constantly fight each other for almost any reason seemingly, it's just state against state violence causes people to war with people they should have no personal grudges against.
@@ShinyShinyIsAlwaysBeingSerious Obviously I was not talking about individuals when I said "people". Do the British "people" even know why Britain was in World War One?
You got to love the Irish
The man must've been happy to see the Cold breeze in Ireland after leaving a place like fallujah
Idk why I'm suddenly finding a bunch of these videos of irish veterans but I've been looking for ww1 stories and I've found them
Wow, I can't think of anything else to say. Almost unbelievable to hear those accents speaking about those places and their experiences. Shame on the government and others of the day who badly mistreated these actual heroes, Irish heroes. Thank you for sharing.
British heroes, not Irish. Irish heroes died fighting AGAINST that mans army.
@@mob3144 , you are a shit stirrer. You are also a brainwashed fool.
@@mob3144you know there are accounts of people spitting at the feet of the Easter Volenteers when they were defeated? "Don't you know there's a war on? And so forth
@@liammeech3702 Plenty of collaborators here at the time. Most of the people spitting and throwing stuff at the defeated volunteers were filth trying to get their army pensions in the GPO for their husbands who were in the british army fighting in France.
I am in awe of the recollection of these brave men. He makes little of the horrors, but likes to talk about the 'lighter' sides of the Great War. His recollections of being in 'Iraq' eg Baghdad, Fallaujah strike terror into the hearts on non-military people - all he was bothered about was that his puttees would stop snake bites!
May God be good to you and all belonging to you Johnny....+++
Ahh Johnny , I loved hearin your stories, I nearly pulled up a sandbag and put my helmet on, you’re a grand fella......... an Ulsterman😎👍
He never smoked .. and he lived a long life...
Real Warriors are usually humble.
A great memory.
Great story
I wish there were subtitles.
@goinghomesomeday1 Did I insult your shitty accent?
Asoutle irish hero
What a Champion!!
The town is called Ballinasloe :-) He sounds very brave and articulate.
Tommy’s a beast!😁🇮🇪
One passing point - he is definitely from what is the Republic. The men of the 26 counties (to be) were discouraged from joining the British Army at the time. Though many clearly did not.
Its nice to hear about history on video instead of reading on paper. Sadly we are part covid 19 history. May the people who died covid rest in peace. I hope you all in a happy nice. Love and peace to the families
Visits to Carrick on Shannon visiting my Gran and Grandad in the 1950s,Grandad lost two brothers in the Great War,in France and Gallipoli John O'Hanlon Anderson wifes comp.
😂he was in fallujie ! Now that’s a pure irishism .
Brave man he was so young