Groups and Single Decorations for Gallantry


The cyclist patrol’s presence was reported to the I.R.A., and the men billeted near the public road at Lackelly started to prepare an ambush, but without any great sense of urgency. The patrol had already passed by, and they were waiting for their scouts to report whether it would return the way it had come or take a different route back. ‘The ten [some accounts say 12] men that [had]slept that night in Fitzpatrick's, Kincaid's, Taylor's and Callaghan's, not sensing that anything unusual was about to happen, discarded their defensive positions and wandered about the yards and houses. [Some gathered near] a bend of the old road which obscured their view from the public road.’ Meanwhile, the joint cyclist patrol had returned, unseen and unheard. Although a bicycle was silent, it took time for its rider to dismount and bring his service rifle into action, so something must have attracted the patrol’s attention and caused them to dismount and deploy before quietly and cautiously approaching the dead ground of the old road.


It was rare for the British forces suddenly to encounter the I.R.A. in the open, and they took full advantage of the opportunity presented to them. Soon, four Volunteers (Tommy Howard and Willie Riordan of the East Limerick Column, Jim Frahill and Pat Wade of mid- Limerick) lay dead, for no loss to the cyclists. At least two Witness Statements, including that of the Column commander, state that some prisoners (described as ‘local Volunteers’) were captured. The other members of the Flying Column in the immediate vicinity had fled out of sight, leaving behind equipment, ammunition and clothing. O’Shaughnessy alleges, on the basis of their external injuries, that Frahill and Riordan were finished off at close quarters, by bayonet and rifle-butt respectively.


Conscious that the noise of rifle-fire and/or the accounts of the I.R.A. fugitives might bring other groups of gunmen to the scene, the joint patrol now had to prepare to withdraw. A cart was commandeered and loaded with the four enemy corpses, their arms, ammunition and some of the other abandoned items. The cart was pulled along the long, narrow old road towards the railway line south of Knocklong, and a motor car from Callaghan’s was commandeered to replace it. As Burrett and his companions were transferring the bodies from the cart to the motor car, they were attacked by another part of the Column, 25 men under Maurice Meade, a former regular soldier who had joined Casement’s Irish Brigade in Germany early in the war and who admitted in his own Witness Statement to killing (on a separate, earlier occasion) three surrendered R.I.C. prisoners in cold blood. All the I.R.A. Statements agree on what happened next. ‘A pitched battle took place over an extended area. The enemy column was certainly made up of a brave band of fighting men - perfectly trained to take advantage of every bit of cover, and, on this account, were not an easy target.’


The British patrol succeeded in breaking contact and withdrawing in extended open order across country towards the south, but had to abandon the bodies, the motor car, their prisoners and their own bicycles. Evidently they slung some of the captured ammunition packs and bandoliers over their shoulders. The I.R.A. Statements indicate that the various sections of the combined Columns converged in an effort to hunt down, surround and wipe out the joint patrol. They did not succeed, due to repeated, aggressive counter-attacks and even a frontal charge made by Burrett and his comrades. ‘The fight was on now with all the intensity that this form of combat can produce. But as a result of the clever tactics on the part of their commanding officer and with scarcely a round of ammunition left after several hours of almost cease-less struggle, the British forces succeeded in evading their pursuers and making their way back to the safety and shelter of their fortress at Galbally. It was a tribute to the tactics and courage of the enemy.’ (O’Shaughnessy WS Appendix B refers)


The Statements show that the I.R.A. was totally conscious of having under-performed during their whole action against the heavily out- numbered joint patrol. Furious rows broke out between the Flying Column commanders about who was to blame. The joint patrol fired 1,000-1,500 rounds during the almost 300 minutes of their fighting retreat, always in the open and sometimes at close quarters. Why were there not more I.R.A. casualties at Lackelly? The British thought that there had been, based on what was written in the official recommendation for award of the Constabulary Medal. Two of the Green Howards had been wounded, but could still walk. It is likely that up to half a dozen Republicans suffered various non-disabling wounds (from which they recovered, and which didn’t seem important enough to mention 10 years later, and certainly not in the 1950s, when the Witness Statements were compiled). It is almost certain that more I.R.A. weapons, ammunition and clothing were lost during the various phases of the running battle.


As a result of the Lackelly action, Burrett was awarded a First Class Favourable Record on 1 July 1921 (p/n 970210 D refers), as well as the Constabulary Medal. His record contains another First Class Favourable Record on 9 September 1921 (p/n 71600 D), though this could be a duplicate. He was dismissed on 16 November 1921, four months after the start of the Truce, when negotiations for the Treaty were underway.


The reason for Burrett’s dismissal was not entered in his general record. Based on a limited sample (all the men who enlisted as Tans in the month prior to Burrett’s enlistment) the Canadian historian D.M. Leeson states that about 8% of Tans were dismissed for serious breaches of discipline (usually significant absence or drunkenness) or for civil crimes such as theft. This is a much higher rate of dismissal compared to the average of 1% for pre-war R.I.C. Peelers, but it is not much greater than the 4% for all contemporary British regular soldiers, especially given that many serious offences committed by soldiers were punished not by dismissal but by periods in military prison, after which the soldier’s military service could continue. In Ireland, Burrett was a soldier rather than a policeman. He was though a soldier who could more than hold his own in combat.


www.dnw.co.uk all lots are illustrated on our website and are subject to buyers’ premium at 24% (+VAT where applicable)


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148  |  Page 149  |  Page 150  |  Page 151  |  Page 152  |  Page 153  |  Page 154  |  Page 155  |  Page 156  |  Page 157  |  Page 158  |  Page 159  |  Page 160  |  Page 161  |  Page 162  |  Page 163  |  Page 164  |  Page 165  |  Page 166  |  Page 167  |  Page 168  |  Page 169  |  Page 170  |  Page 171  |  Page 172  |  Page 173  |  Page 174  |  Page 175  |  Page 176  |  Page 177  |  Page 178  |  Page 179  |  Page 180  |  Page 181  |  Page 182  |  Page 183  |  Page 184  |  Page 185  |  Page 186  |  Page 187  |  Page 188  |  Page 189  |  Page 190  |  Page 191  |  Page 192  |  Page 193  |  Page 194  |  Page 195  |  Page 196  |  Page 197  |  Page 198  |  Page 199  |  Page 200  |  Page 201  |  Page 202  |  Page 203  |  Page 204  |  Page 205  |  Page 206  |  Page 207  |  Page 208  |  Page 209  |  Page 210  |  Page 211  |  Page 212  |  Page 213  |  Page 214  |  Page 215  |  Page 216  |  Page 217  |  Page 218  |  Page 219  |  Page 220  |  Page 221  |  Page 222  |  Page 223  |  Page 224  |  Page 225  |  Page 226  |  Page 227  |  Page 228  |  Page 229  |  Page 230  |  Page 231  |  Page 232  |  Page 233  |  Page 234  |  Page 235  |  Page 236  |  Page 237  |  Page 238  |  Page 239  |  Page 240  |  Page 241  |  Page 242  |  Page 243  |  Page 244  |  Page 245  |  Page 246  |  Page 247  |  Page 248  |  Page 249  |  Page 250  |  Page 251  |  Page 252  |  Page 253  |  Page 254  |  Page 255  |  Page 256  |  Page 257  |  Page 258  |  Page 259  |  Page 260  |  Page 261  |  Page 262  |  Page 263  |  Page 264  |  Page 265  |  Page 266  |  Page 267  |  Page 268  |  Page 269  |  Page 270  |  Page 271  |  Page 272  |  Page 273  |  Page 274  |  Page 275  |  Page 276  |  Page 277  |  Page 278  |  Page 279  |  Page 280  |  Page 281  |  Page 282  |  Page 283  |  Page 284  |  Page 285  |  Page 286  |  Page 287  |  Page 288  |  Page 289  |  Page 290  |  Page 291  |  Page 292  |  Page 293  |  Page 294  |  Page 295  |  Page 296  |  Page 297  |  Page 298  |  Page 299  |  Page 300  |  Page 301  |  Page 302  |  Page 303  |  Page 304  |  Page 305  |  Page 306  |  Page 307  |  Page 308  |  Page 309  |  Page 310  |  Page 311  |  Page 312  |  Page 313  |  Page 314  |  Page 315  |  Page 316  |  Page 317  |  Page 318  |  Page 319  |  Page 320  |  Page 321  |  Page 322  |  Page 323  |  Page 324  |  Page 325  |  Page 326  |  Page 327  |  Page 328  |  Page 329  |  Page 330  |  Page 331  |  Page 332  |  Page 333  |  Page 334  |  Page 335  |  Page 336  |  Page 337  |  Page 338  |  Page 339  |  Page 340  |  Page 341  |  Page 342  |  Page 343  |  Page 344  |  Page 345  |  Page 346  |  Page 347  |  Page 348  |  Page 349  |  Page 350  |  Page 351  |  Page 352  |  Page 353  |  Page 354  |  Page 355  |  Page 356  |  Page 357  |  Page 358  |  Page 359  |  Page 360  |  Page 361  |  Page 362  |  Page 363  |  Page 364  |  Page 365  |  Page 366  |  Page 367  |  Page 368  |  Page 369  |  Page 370  |  Page 371  |  Page 372  |  Page 373  |  Page 374  |  Page 375  |  Page 376  |  Page 377  |  Page 378  |  Page 379  |  Page 380  |  Page 381  |  Page 382  |  Page 383  |  Page 384  |  Page 385  |  Page 386  |  Page 387  |  Page 388  |  Page 389  |  Page 390  |  Page 391  |  Page 392  |  Page 393  |  Page 394  |  Page 395  |  Page 396  |  Page 397  |  Page 398  |  Page 399  |  Page 400  |  Page 401  |  Page 402  |  Page 403  |  Page 404  |  Page 405  |  Page 406  |  Page 407  |  Page 408  |  Page 409  |  Page 410  |  Page 411  |  Page 412  |  Page 413  |  Page 414  |  Page 415  |  Page 416  |  Page 417  |  Page 418  |  Page 419