1st Faughs prepare for France

On the outbreak of war on 3 September 1939, the 2nd Battalion The Royal Irish Fusiliers was in Malta while the 1st Battalion was at Thame in Oxfordshire.

On 13 September, after mobilisation, the Colonel of the Regiment, Brigadier General A B Incledon-Webber CMG DSO, addressed the 1st Battalion before their departure for France. The Commanding Officer at the time, Lieutenant Colonel M J W O'Donovan MC, wrote of their stay at Thame: 'It was a most pleasant prelude to the very exacting demands of the future'. His Battalion Headquarters had been based in the Spread Eagle Hotel!