William of Orange presented a Fermanagh man with what is
believed to be the oldest existing medal for gallantry in
the British Isles.
Major Rodgers of the Inniskillings was presented with the
Boyne Medal for Valour at the 1690 battle and it was produced
in 18 carat gold.
Replicas of the medal have been presented over the years
to Sir Winston Churchill and to Field Marshall Alanbrooke,
one of the 'fighting Brookes' of Colebrooke, Co. Fermanagh.
Whenever Lord Alanbrooke was presented with the replica medal
by the Parliament of Northern Ireland, he reflected on his
many happy associations from childhood at Colebrooke.
Lord Alanbrooke, appointed Chief of Imperial Staff in December
1941, told of one occasion during the war when he was on a
flight with Churchill and looked down on the western approaches.
"I knew that the western approaches depended for their
protection on the airfields and naval bases in Ulster and
I realised then more than ever before what a tremendous part
Northern Ireland was playing in the battle against tyranny.
I experienced at that moment, as a son of Ulster, a feeling
of unbounded pride in the glorious part played by this country
in those critical years," he said.
Alan Brooke, the son of the wealthy Victor Brooke of Ulster,
was born in France on July 23, 1883. He joined the British
Army and served in Ireland and India before going to France
in 1914. Brooke served on the Western Front during the First
World War. An expert on artillery tactics, Brooke was mentioned
six times in dispatches and became chief artillery officer
in the 1st British Army.
In August, 1939 Brooke was appointed head of Southern Command
and on the outbreak of the Second World War went to France
as a member of the British Expeditionary Force under General
John Gort. In June 1940 Brooke played a leading role in the
evacuation of British troops at Dunkirk.
Brooke returned to Britain and in July 1940 he became commander
of the Home Forces. In this post Brooke had several major
disagreements with Winston Churchill about military strategy.
It therefore came as a surprise when Churchill appointed him
Chief of Imperial Staff in December 1941.
Although the two men continue to disagree about a large number
of issues, he gradually became Churchill's most important
military adviser in the War.
Brooke was offered command of the British troops in the Middle
East in August 1942, but turned it down suggesting General
Harold Alexander for the post. In his diary Brooke recorded
that it was more important for him to remain in Britain in
order to stop Churchill making any major military mistakes.
Churchill had promised Brooke command of Operation Overlord
in 1944. However, President Franklin D. Roosevelt insisted
that General Dwight Eisenhower should be given this important
task.
Promoted to field marshal in January 1944 he was created
Baron Alanbrooke of Brookeborough in September 1945. After
retiring from the British Army he was a director of Midland
Bank. Alan Brooke died on 17th June 1963.
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