The story of the Moate soldier who was killed on D-Day

It's one of the most significant dates in modern history. D-Day: June 6, 1944. The day when a major Allied offensive against German troops helped bring World War Two towards its conclusion. Although military historians have penned thousands of pages about D-Day, not much local attention has surrounded the fact that one of the men killed on the Normandy coast was Joseph Mullally, a 28-year-old from Moate. Joseph, one of 4,648 casualties buried in Bayeux War Cemetery, has a number of relatives living in the Athlone area. He previously served in the Irish Army, though little is known about the circumstances in which he left the force to join the effort against fascism and Nazism. He and others who signed up for the British Army during World War Two were vilified by the Irish Government. After the war, under Fianna Fáil Taoiseach Eamon DeValera, the Government circulated a list of 4,983 names and addresses, including Joseph Mullally's. Entitled the 'List of personnel of the Defence Forces dismissed for desertion in time of National Emergency,' it formally fired these men from the Army and stripped them of all pay and pension rights. It's understood that approximately 100 soldiers from Westmeath were included on the list. The story of how Irish troops who fought in World War Two were castigated by the Irish authorities is told in 'Spitting on a Soldier's Grave' a book by Robert Widders which was published last year. A public campaign was started this summer to have the Government pardon Joseph Mullally and all of the other Irish soldiers who were included on the De Valera administration's list in 1945. Joseph Mullally was the son of Maria and Fredrick Mullally of Rosemount, Moate. When researching this article, the Westmeath Independent spoke to Auburn Heights resident Paddy Mullally and two of his brothers, Charlie and Frank, both of whom live in Monksland. Joseph Mullally, who was nicknamed 'Joner' was a first cousin of Paddy, Charlie and Frank's late father, James Mullally from Moate. It's not known whether Joseph had any brothers or sisters. What is known is that he served as a Private under Company Sergeant Major Stanley Hollis in the Green Howards, a Yorkshire regiment of the British Army. Joseph and the other Green Howards spent months preparing for D-Day. They boarded ships on June 1, 1944, but, with a thick cloud of secrecy surrounding their mission, they had to spend the next four days waiting onboard in cramped conditions. Robert Widders' book states that well-attended Church services were held on all of the ships on June 4, shortly before they set sail from Portsmouth. Bad weather then resulted in the postponement of D-Day for 24 hours, as the ships were forced to turn back. "The feelings of tension and anti-climax amongst the men must have been almost palpable," wrote Widders. The Green Howards set sail again on June 5, spending the night sleeping in hammocks onboard. They were awoken at 3am on June 6. "Breakfast, including a tot of strong rum, was served by the ship's cooks at 4am. Twenty minutes later, the soldiers started boarding the small landing craft that would take them ashore," stated Widders. "As each landing craft hit the beach, the ramp in each bow was lowered. The troops raced out, thankful to be ashore again; one of them was Private Joseph Mullally. Nothing in his previous life, as a labourer in Westmeath or as a soldier in the Irish Army, could have prepared him for the sight that lay before him." One of the Green Howards soldiers, Private Tateson, later recalled that: "The beach was in a state of organised chaos with tanks, guns, jeeps, personnel carriers; in fact, every type of army vehicle. Some had been hit and knocked out. Some were on fire. The heather, or grass, just off the beach was burning and clouds of smoke prevented a view of what lay beyond. "Wounded men, including some Germans, were sitting at the top of the beach, and stretcher-bearers were carrying others down to the boats from which we had landed." Company Sergeant Major Stanley Hollis was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest military decoration for valour "in the face of the enemy" as a result of his bravery on D-Day. In his account of the day's events, Stanley Hollis recalled a joke which Joseph Mullally made about the shells and mortar bombs that were being dropped from the sky in the moments before his death. "We ran up to the top of the beach and along a ridge," wrote Hollis. "There were heaps of rolled wire. An Irishman was alongside me and believe it or not there were two or three birds sat on this wire. This Irishman, Mullally, said to me, 'No bloody wonder they are there Sergeant Major, there's no room in the air for them!' He was killed a few minutes later going down the road." The German fire which killed him had come from a well-camouflaged 'pillbox' or bunker. His death is thought to have occurred less than an hour after he landed at Normandy. The balance of pay owed to him, £12, 12 shillings, 0 pence, was paid to his mother as his next of kin. Frank Mullally and his nephews Aaron and Colin have done some research into the family tree, and they plan to contact the British military authorities to seek a record of his war service and find out what other combat operations he may have participated in prior to D-Day. In recent years Colin twice visited Joseph's grave at Bayeux War Cemetery and, using a map contained in a biography of Stanley Hollis, he managed to locate the actual pillbox from which Joseph was shot dead. Frank, who also hopes to visit the grave, is keen to find out whether Joseph's parents, Frederick and Maria Mullally, have any living descendants. If anyone has any details in relation to this they are welcome to contact the Westmeath Independent. Frank said he believed Joseph and other soldiers like him now deserve to be honoured. "These are men who died in battle in World War Two and I agree with the campaign in support of them. Instead of 'spitting on their grave', as that book is called, I think they should be exonerated and honoured." * 'Spitting on a Soldier's Grave' is currently available in bookshops. More details about the campaign to pardon the Irish Army personnel who left to fight in World War Two can be found at: www.forthesakeofexample.com