Military Heritage Trust of Ireland Ltd

The Military Heritage of Ireland Trust

Limited

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Welcome to the Military Heritage of Ireland Trust website...

A main purpose of the Trust is to encourage and facilitate research into the military heritage of Ireland. It attempts to do this by:

Helping you, through our links, to find your particular area of interest.
Helping you through our Contact Us page to find others who are interested in your area of research.
Promoting research and disseminating its useful results.

Study the table of contents on the left hand side of this page - in the yellow column - to locate your area of special interest, Also, before you start browsing the site, why not check out our new Research Guides:

A Guide to Military Research - tips on how to use archives, libraries, museums and heritage sites - and an extensive alphabetical list of institutions in Ireland.

Research On the Web - includes tips on how to approach a research topic and sites of interest in Ireland and abroad. This valuable section will save you many hours of searching and was produced as a commissioned piece of research on behalf of the Military Heritage of Ireland Trust.

Military Museums in Ireland

The Military Heritage of Ireland Trust Ltd is pleased to announce the addition of a major new section for its website. The Military Museums section provides background information and links to the various Military Museums on the island of Ireland.

The section will be of interest to military historians and to those interested in the Military Heritage of Ireland. The following link will bring you to this new section of the website:-

Military Museum Section

Heritage Award Scheme

HERITAGE AWARD SCHEME

The Trust will present an award of €350 annually to the student whose paper on Irish military heritage, read out at the Irish History Student’s Association Annual Conference, is deemed by a panel of judges to be outstanding. The award will commence with the Annual conference in 2010. The terms and conditions are attached and are also available on both the Irish History Student’s Association and the University History Mailing Lists.
The funding for this award has been kindly donated by Mr A. W. B. Vincent and has requested that the Award Scheme commemorate the late Major Charlie Trainor MM whose biographical details are also attached.

Download the Terms of Reference (PDF)

Mr Vincent has kindly donated the funding for this award through the Ireland Funds.

Read about Charlie Trainer here

Click here to read Major Charlie Trainor MM - Bio

Major Thomas (Charlie) Trainor MM

Thomas James Trainor was born in Greencastle in Belfast, Northern Ireland on the 25th of September 1919. He joined the ranks of the 2nd Battalion of The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers in 1938 at Catterick Camp. He became known to all in the Battalion as Charlie Trainor.

Soon after the declaration of war in September 1939 the Battalion was sent to France and into Belgium. In May 1940 Charlie Trainor was detailed to forward reconnaissance patrol to gather information about enemy activity and saw action before being evacuated from Dunkirk on the 31st of May 1940. The next few weeks were spent on standby in the South of England in readiness for the expected German invasion. When the immediate threat receded, the Battalion was sent to Scotland and brought up to strength with reinforcements. Their next assignment was in Bootle on fire watching duties, helping to protect the vital industrial areas around Liverpool from the effects of German incendiary bombs.

In early 1942 the Battalion travelled to Glasgow where they boarded the RMS Franconia II and sailed for Durban. Here, preparations were made to land in Madagascar in May 1942. Charlie was detailed to the reconnaissance patrol, their main enemy on this mission turned out to be mosquitoes, black water fever and the dense tropical undergrowth. After a brief but uncomfortable stay on the Island they rejoined the Franconia and sailed for Bombay.

The Battalion’s stay in India was shorter than expected, being recalled and diverted to Basra. The men travelled by road from there through Iraq to Lebanon, arriving in November 1942. It was here that Col. J.P. O’Brien Twohig took over as CO. He saw the need for a small, agile unit of well trained men under battalion command to carry out reconnaissance and disruptive action. To this end he asked for volunteers, some of whom were sent to the Mountain Warfare Training Centre at Cedars, Lebanon to hone their skills. Charlie Trainor was amongst them. Battle Patrol was formed.

From Lebanon the Battalion moved to Egypt in June 1943 to prepare for the invasion of Sicily. Charlie Trainor was involved with the activities of Battle Patrol throughout the Sicilian and Italian campaigns. He was active at the landing in Sicily, the crossing of the Garigliano, Anzio and the attack on Mount Spaduro and was awarded the MM in late 1943. He was commissioned in the field, succeeding Lieutenants Paddy long and Jock Crawford in command of Battle Patrol. He was wounded in late April 1945 during the crossing of the Po Delta and was convalescing in Rimini when victory in Europe was Declared.

After the war he continued his recovery in Villach, Austria where his experience at Cedars, Lebanon qualified him to set up a mountain warfare training school at Schmelz which he ran for two years until 1949. He married in 1948. He was posted to Cyprus during the Suez crisis leaving there in 1956 for England before being posted to Singapore from 1959 to 1960. He retired from military service in 1961.

Charlie Trainor died peacefully on 25 July 2009 at his home near Camberley, Surrey after a long illness. He is survived by his wife Mitzi and two sons. He was a soldier.

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Special Links
- Military Heritage Projects
Research Guide by Section
- Getting Started
Part 2
- Using Archives - Basic Tips
- List of Archives
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
- Pre 19th & 20th Century
- 19th & 20th Century
Part 6
- Using the Web
The Header Photograph:
"Prospect of the Barracks of Dublin from St James Church Yard" painting by Joseph Tudor, etched by James McArdell 1753.”
© National Museum copyright.
The Sword Logo
The sword is titled the Lisnacrogher (Co. Antrim) Sword, and the scroll on the side (one side is an inversion of the other) are from its scabbard.

The Military Heritage of Ireland Trust

Military Museums in Ireland

Heritage Award Scheme

HERITAGE AWARD SCHEME

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6