Celtic cross in remembrance of the 16th (Irish) Division who captured the village of Wijtschate on 7 June 1917 at Wytschaete Military Cemetery


The 16th (Irish) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, raised for service during World War I. The division was a voluntary 'Service' formation of Lord Kitchener's New Armies, created in Ireland from the 'National Volunteers', initially in September 1914, after the outbreak of the Great War. In December 1915, the division moved to France, joining the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), under the command of Irish Major General William Hickie, and spent the duration of the war in action on the Western Front. Following enormous losses at the Somme, Passchendaele and Ypres, the 16th (Irish) Division required a substantial refit in England between June and August 1918, which involved the introduction of many non-Irish battalions.


Size: 5760px × 3840px
Location: Wijtschatestraat, 8953 Wijtschate, Heuvelland, West Flanders, Belgium, Europe
Photo credit: © DE ROCKER / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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