Download or read book WHO ANSWERED THE BUGLE CALL? written by Raymond Metters and published by Raymond J Metters. This book was released on 2022-01-01 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The revised manuscript for the WW1 book, sponsored originally by Westmeath Community Development in 2011, focuses upon Kilbeggan in the Irish Republic while making comparisons with the experiences of similar towns in Counties Westmeath and Offaly. The suffering, heroism, and poignant accounts of so many young men sacrificing their lives, become alive in what would otherwise remain as the forgotten history of long since abandoned Irish regiments. Many youngsters also returned as physically and mentally scarred wrecks, to a civilian existence ill-equipped to help them. One surprise from the study concerns the number of older recruits, a few even over fifty years, who served as infantrymen. The study also recalls defunct regiments like the Connaught Rangers, or the Leinster Regiment, which gained four Victoria Cross awards in WW1. Military units emerge with less familiar names; for instance, the Inland Water Transport Corps. The study extends to the wider local civilian communities drawn into the European war of 1914-1918, especially the enormous contribution made by the remarkable women involved in relief work, and the tragedy sometimes resulting from that commitment. An example from the region is Venice C.H. Hackett, a Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) nurse who returned ill to London from abroad, only to die in October 1918 from the raging Spanish flu. Her remains lie in Liss, County Offaly. Yet, countless names of civilian helpers are unknown. Who indeed answered the bugle call?