Tuesday next, November 11, marks the 107th anniversary of the ending of the First World War, Armistice Day in 1918 ending four years of bloody conflict, in which hundreds from Galway were among the thousands of Irishmen who died, as historian WILLIAM HENRY recalls.

On August 3, 1914, the British Foreign Secretary, Sir Edward Grey, was standing at the window of his room in the Foreign Office in London. The lamp lighters were in the process of turning on the lamps in St James Park. Dusk was falling and the Great War would be declared the following day.

Overcome by sadness at the prospect of war, Grey looked out through the gathering gloom. Presently he turned to an assistant and uttered these solemn words: “The lamps are going out all over Europe and they will not be lit again in our generation.”

A distressing, but true prediction, considering both sides were informing their soldiers they would be home by Christmas. They were also told that it would be a ‘war to end all wars’; words that fell miserably short of the promise for a lost generation. In times of war, the lamps of civilised behaviour, tolerance, mutual respect, peace and decency are extinguished.

The tragedy of the Great War now engraved in the consciousness of many nations, was first and foremost a huge blood-letting exercise. It stands alone in terms of the sheer volume of fatalities among soldiers.

Thrown into unspeakable conditions in arenas of conflict, into situations where all the trappings of martial glory which might sustain men-at-arms were stripped away, all that remained was personal courage, self-sacrifice and an unbreakable comradeship.

An understanding of why these men went to war is important. There was a variety of reasons, duty, adventure, political idealism, Irish Home Rule and in particular, economic necessity. Propaganda of course played a huge role in sending young men to the battlefronts.

Members of Galway Urban Council took an active part in encouraging men to join the army. They set up the Galway Recruiting Committee in June 1915. This was, of course, supported by the army sending officers along to speak at recruiting meetings.

The recruiting drives in Galway were initially successful and they then concentrated much of its efforts throughout the county. Local authorities and councillors from the various population centres, such as Loughrea, Ballinasloe, Moylough, Mountbellew, Tuam, Clifden, Oughterard, Moycullen, Williamstown and many other areas were contacted and encouraged to form their own sub-committees to support the recruiting drives.

‘Pregnant nuns’

One example of methods used came from the memories of Jack King (Bohermore), who attended a recruiting meeting at Eyre Square. During proceedings, two ‘heavily pregnant nuns’ were brought on to the stage. According to the recruiting officer, both nuns had been raped by German soldiers a number of months earlier.

The audience was stunned and became more troubled when he said that this would be the fate of many Irish women if the Germans weren’t stopped.

It had the desired effect; Jack and a number of his friends enlisted immediately. Many years later, an older and wiser Jack, said how easily they had been fooled by two ‘bogus pregnant nuns’.

Recruiting offices urged the men to fight ‘now’, while the war was still in France and not wait until the Germans arrived in Galway Bay. At other meetings, the crowds were told that County Galway farms had been mapped out in Berlin and were already earmarked for German families.

People were told that Kaiser William was a demon; and the devil was sitting on the throne of Germany. The proof of this they said, was the hell he was making of Europe; they had soaked the earth and stained the oceans with the blood of men, ‘just look at Belgium’ – whole towns and villages blotted out of existence; the homes of the rich and poor looted; women ravaged, and the aged, weak and unarmed murdered.

Pictured: A Royal Artillery gun crew. Malachy Goode, Aughrim, is standing on the extreme right of the photograph, November 11, 1918 — Armistice Day.