William Calvert was born at Drumbeg, Co Antrim on 11 March 1897, the son of William and Annie Calvert. He attended the Charley Memorial School and on completing his education was apprenticed to Britton's Dye Works on the Lisburn Road. He recalled his days there :

"I enjoyed working there. I was there about two years, but as soon as the war started I left to join the army."

William, then aged seventeen, enlisted into the Royal Irish Rifles and was posted to the 11th Battalion (South Antrim Volunteers) which, together with 12th and 13th Battalions of that regiment, plus the 9th Royal Irish Fusiliers, formed 108 Brigade, one of the three brigades which comprised the newly raised 36th (Ulster) Division (the others being 107 and 109). 108 Brigade was commanded by Brigadier-General G.Hacket Pain, C.B.

William was a bugler in the battalion band and began his training at Clandeboye, Co Down. He remembered those days clearly:

"There were only tents at first but then they built wooden huts which were much better and warmer. We didn't have proper equipment at first but as the weeks went by we got more equipment and rifles. Most of our time was taken up with route marches; our officers believed that a soldier must be fit and after a while we certainly were. Then word came through that we were going to England in May to finish our training. The Division paraded through Belfast. I never saw such crowds; I think the whole of Belfast was there to see us".

A few days later the Ulster Division arrived at their new training camp at Seaford, in Sussex, where they finalised their training and then moved to Borden and Bramshott where they fired their musketry course. What did William remember about his time at Seaford?

"It was a lovely place and the people welcomed us warmly, although I think they were a bit wary at first having so many Irishmen in their town. But when we left there they gave us a great send off".

On 27 July 1915 the men of the Ulster Division were inspected by Lord Kitchener and two months later by His Majesty King George V. The following month the Division sailed for France. Their first camp was at Flesselles, about ten miles north of th city of Amiens. I asked William what he remembered about those early days in France.

"It was a terrible winter that year, rain and snow and no way to keep warm. After a few weeks we (108 Brigade) were split up and transferred to other divisions to learn about trench warfare. Two battalions went to the 4th Division and two to...I can't remember the other division. (48th) We weren't with them very long, I think about a month, then we returned to our own Division."

In February 1916 the Ulster Division moved to the Somme area; 108 Brigade moved into the line for the first time, taking over trenches in the Mailley-Maillet-Serre Road Sector. The following months were a very quiet period for the Ulster Division, the troops taking their turn in the trenches and taking part in trench raids, the latter, in the opinion of some, being considered a waste of time and sometimes men's lives. I asked William his opinion.

"I think they were useless; we never learned anything important from captured Germans. What did the ordinary German soldier know?"

Mr William Calvert being introduced to HRH Princess Alexandra
and Sir Patrick Mayhew at a garden party in Hillsborough.

I have read and heard a lot about conditions in the trenches in those early days and I wondered what William remembered about the trenches he had been in. I asked him exactly what they were like. His reply was typical of the answer given by other 'veterans' I have spoken to.

"Sometimes there was five or six inches of water in them and it was hard to get the water out. Duckboards were put down but the water rose above them. They (engineers) dug big holes for the water to drain into and then it was pumped out, but it always seemed to find its way back in somehow."

One of the commonest complaints suffered by troops was 'trench foot'. I asked William if he had suffered from it.

"Not 'trench foot', but I did suffer a bit from frostbite, though not too serious. When you were in the trenches, especially in the winter, you had to keep moving, either marching up and down or marking time; if you didn't you would have got frostbite. We were issued with sheepskin coats to keep us warm but the only thing they kept warm were the lice, so we got rid of them. We were also given 'dubbin' to rub on our hands and feet; it helped a bit."

Probably the worst thing for the troops, apart from the constant shell fire, was the vermin. How did the men cope with this problem? William explained:

"Oh yes, the rats were terrible, but like everything else you got used to them. There were hoards of them,  especially when we were using the farmers' barns as billets. They ran all over you, and they were big, because of the dead bodies - they fed on them. You couldn't keep food, no matter where you put it they got into it somehow; they were terrible things."

By June 1916 preparations were now well in hand for the Allied Spring offensive on the Somme which was to begin on 28th of that month, but due to bad weather it was decided to postpone the attack until 1st July. Just what was it really like during the two days the Ulster Division were in action in this most terrible of battles? This is one part of the war William hates talking about, but with emotion in his voice he told me.

"In my company we had only four men left after the battle, including me. It was terrible, seeing all those young men being slaughtered. Many of my friends died that day, they were falling at my feet, but you couldn't stop, you had to keep moving, it was terrible. I was wounded by shrapnel but it wasn't too bad. I was one of the lucky ones; how we weren't all killed is a mystery. I suppose it was just luck, but many weren't so lucky. I remember German prisoners coming in with their hands up shouting "Merci, Kamerad!" I took some of them back to our headquarters and the were trying to show me photos of their families, but I hadn't time to look at them. War should have never been allowed to happen again, so many men killed, blown to pieces."

During two days of fighting the Ulster Division suffered over 5,500 casualties: killed, wounded or missing. It was relieved on the morning of 3rd July by the 49th Division. The Division, less its Artillery and Field Companies, moved back to the village of Rubempre, just north of the city of Amiens, and five days later to the Bernaville area. While at Bernaville orders were recieved to move to Flanders, to a training area west of St Omer. A short time later William's brigade (108) moved to an area west of the Bois de Ploegsteert, more familiarly known to the British troops as 'Plug Street Wood', where they were soon joined by the other two brigades of the Division.

The Division remained in this area for almost a year, until, on  7 June 1917 they were once again in the thick of fighting during the Battle of Messines. The 16th (Irish) Division were on their left attacking the village of Wytschaete. This was the first, but not the last, time the two Divisions would fight side-by-side during the war. Casualties for the Ulster Division at Messines were nowhere nearly as high as they had been at the Somme. I asked William why he thought this was. He had no doubts as to the reason.

"It was much better planned, and we now had more experience. The Somme was our first taste of action and it taught us a lot."

Prior to the battle, mines had been laid under the German lines. These were set to detonate at zero hour 3.10am on 7th June. Three of these mines were on the Ulster Division's front, at Kruisstraat Cabaret, Spanbroekmolen and Peckham. There was some doubt as to whether the mine at Spanbroekmolen would be finished on time, and the troops were told that if this mine did not detonate at zero hour, they were to wait no longer than fifteen seconds after the opening barrage before leaving their trenches. Two of the mines detonated on time, but as feared the one at Spanbroekmolen did not. The troops in this sector waited fifteen seconds then left their trenches. I asked William if he recalled these mines exploding. He remembered it clearly.

"I do, the noise would have deafened you and you couldn't see a thing in front of you with the black smoke. Some of the men were blown off their feet as they went forward, but I don't think anyone was seriously hurt. I was lucky as Messines, our gas blew back into our lines and a lot of men suffered from it. The gas masks weren't very good then."

In July 1991, the 75th Anniversary of the Somme, William, together with two other WW1 veterans, travelled as a guest of the Somme Association back to the battlefields of France and Flanders. I asked him if he had recognised any of the countryside around Messines from his days spent there during the war. His reply was not surprising.

"No, it was completely changed, and the mine crater is now full of water. It's a nicer place now than it was then, so peaceful, but very sad, seeing that cemetery (Lone Tree) with so many men from the 'Rifles' buried there. But they are at peace now."

William saw action at Langemarck, and when the Ulster Division moved back into France he was once again in action at Cambrai. During the final German 'Push' of 1918 William was wounded in October and repatriated back to hospital in England. How serious was his wound?

"I was shot in the wrist. It was pretty bad; I was sent back to hospital in Colchester. After about a month there, I got ten days' home leave. I arrived home on Monday and the Armistice was declared the next day, so for me the war was over. I reported back to Colchester Hospital and was demobilised. I never returned to my regiment and got my discharge papers in 1919. I returned to Lisburn and I've lived here ever since."

Mr William Calvert recieving his Somme Association medal from the Mayor of Lisburn,
Cllr George Morrison.

William continued to live in Lisburn and worked as a foreman in the Lilliput Laundry for forty years until retiring in 1962 aged sixty-five. Like so many of his returned comrades, William is a shy, retiring person and does not like talking or remembering, those terrible days of the war, so I am indebted to him for allowing me to come into his home and recalling his time in the service of King and Country during the Great War.

I am that everyone will join me in wishing William continued good health for the years ahead.