The modern map above lists the main towns of Co. Antrim. Despite the 12th Btn Royal Irish Rifles being named the 'Central Antrims', the truth is that most of the men who joined its ranks in 1914 came from the geographical area which has Ballyclare at the bottom, Larne to the East, Portglenone to the west and 'all points north'!
It could be argued that the 12th Btn would have been better named 'The North Antrim Volunteers'. I have a theory about this - and it's only a theory, I hasten to add. It would have been entirely logical for the Btn to be named 'North Antrims' just as the 11th Btn were known as the 'South Antrims'. However, perhaps because Ballymena, which provided a substantial proportion of new recruits to the battalion, had the central position in the county , it may have been deemed 'diplomatic' to adopt the 'Central' monicker!
This recruitment areas is not written in tablets of stone. Men from all over the United Kingdom served in the 12th Royal Irish Rifles - even in the days pre-Somme when it truly was an overwhelmingly Co. Antrim unit.
Many of its officers, for example, were Englishmen, living in Ulster who had taken up the Unionist cause, many with even more zest than their native born comrades!
And, as the war's toll depleted the ranks, the battalion took more and more Englishmen (in particular) into its ranks and many of these men died in the latter stages of the war. This was due, in part, to the fact that conscription (enforced recruitment) was never imposed in Ireland for political reasons.
There are those who would argue that there was no need for conscription in Ireland. Frankly, that's a myth. Certainly Ireland produced many, many thousands of volunteers from all classes and creeds, but by the end of the initial great wave of pro-war patriotism in mid-1915, it would become harder and harder to fill the ranks with native born men.
Areas like Co. Antrim, which was overwhelmingly unionist in outlook did manage, for a reasonable time to provide the replacements needed by the battalion. But there were times when recruitment tactics verged on the sly - take for example in late 1915 when the editorial of the Ballymena Observer urged the farm boys of the rural areas to follow the lead given by the men from the town. The 'name and shame' approach seemed to have an effect in the Ballymena district at least, with almost 100 recruits, mostly from the targeted rural areas coming forward to the colours within a matter of weeks!
Ballymena 1915 - Funeral of Cpl. John Bowden of Slatt, a small hamlet lying to the south-west of Ballymena. Bowden died of illness in camp at Newtownards. There was a huge attendance at his military funeral which is shown in Church Street. The battalion marches behind the funeral carriage which was drawn his comrades.
ABOVE: a view which would have been instantly recognisable to hundreds of men of the 12th R Ir Rifs.
This is Salisbury Square circa 1920-22 but it had changed little from 1914. The view shows Queen Street stretching off towards the railway bridge in the distance and Henry Street with its 'half-door' houses. Many of the men who worked in the Braidwater Mill would have passed along these footpaths everyday.
A view few of the Ballymena men of the 12th Royal Irish Rifles would have seen! Although taken in the early 50s, the town had actually changed very little from the opening decade of the 20th century. This superb picture has Ballymena Castle (where the UVF had trained) and its demesne in the forground. St. Patrick's Church is also visible in this view which looks from east to west across the town.
SLEMISH mountain as seen from the Braid Valley. Because the mountain was visible from almost every part of the county, it was the name given to the 12th Royal Irish Rifles' pet/mascot. The name is recorded in a press report in the Ballymena Observer of 1915. I wonder how many men pictured this idyllic scene in their minds as they shivered and stamped their feet in the cold, wet trenches of France and Flanders?
Above: The monument listing the dead of the 1914-1918 war in Ballymena's Memorial Park. The park was built on a gift of land presented by Sir William Adair in 1917. Planted out with trees, shrubs and immaculately kept rose gardens, the park is thought to be the first war memorial on the island of Ireland. Many of the names recorded on it are of men who served with the 12th Royal Irish Rifles.
