Friends Of East Belfast
This Association was formed in proud memory of the East Belfast Regiment of Lord Carson's Ulster Volunteer Force in 1912. Then in 1914 the East Belfast Volunteers became the 8th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles, affectionately known as "Ballymacarrett's Own" as part of the 107th Infantry Brigade, 36th Ulster Division that fought in World War One.
With our Ulster members & our links steadfast in East Belfast, it is an honour to remember those men that fought and died as soldiers of the 8th Battalion which was formed in September 1914, who marched down the Newtownards Road on 8th May 1915, heading off to the Belfast city center rally as part of the 36th Ulster Division and then ultimately to the war in France & Belgium.
The Formation
On 28th September 2008, Two founding members were attending an "Ulster Day" celebration in East Belfast arranged by The Cosy Somme Association with bands parading alongside Somme Association members in tribute to the signing of the Ulster Covenant and also an unveiling of The Cosy Somme Association mural you see below. The same two members were back in Belfast that November along with the Cosy Somme Association once more for Remembrance Day, it was at this visit that plans were made to start up our own Association at the start of the New Year.
The first meeting was held on the 5th February 2009, in Kilmarnock, where we set up our Aims, Constitution and our Committee.
On the 22nd February, we were accepted into the 36th Ulster Division Memorial Association which is a great honour to all us all!
The club itself is growing from strength to strength every meeting with new members joining each month, at the time of writing we have members both here in Scotland & Ulster and we now have members in England too!
Our first official outing as a Somme Association was a visit to Hebburn Somme Association, South Tyneside, England on May 23rd with our first Memorial Parade in Belfast 31st July. We will be attending many of the 36th Division Memorial Association events arranged throughout the UK and we are planning a visit to the Somme battlefield itself in 2012 during the 100th anniversary of the formation of Carson's UVF.
From the 1st February 2010, we had a Ladies Branch, thats was up and running alongside us and recruiting from all over the UK, but by the end of year, they had moved on and became a club in their own right within the 36th Ulster Division Memorial Association.
Flowing into 2011, we are hoping to have another successful year for the club.
Our main aims are to remember those brave men by:-
* Raising awareness of the sacrifices made for us by the men of Ulster & Scotland along with the rest of the Allied forces in the First World War.
* Learning more by visiting the battlefields of France & Belgium
* Fundraising for the likes of the Somme Heritage Centre in Newtownards, Co. Down and the Thiepval Ulster Memorial Tower in France.