General Service Medal clasps Iraq; NW Persia (29169 PTE. T.TIERNEY. R.IR.FUS.)
29169/7040895 Pte Thomas Tierney 1st Bn Royal Irish Fusiliers
The Royal Irish Fusiliers was reduced to two battalions, 30 December, 1919.
Iraq: The nationalist Arabs had limited arms, mostly acquired during the First World War after the defeat of the Turks. They were now using these against the British and so the 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Fusiliers, was nominated to carry out a difficult and thankless internal security task.
One of the incidents that the Battalion was involved in was when the Battalion set out on 1 September 1920, from Khanikin, north east of Baghdad, for Mirfana which was 20 miles away. They expected trouble at two passes, Fasilah and Qizil. Lying on a high ridge in the Fasilah Pass, the enemy were waiting and opened fire on C Company. The enemy advanced over exposed ground down a forward slope where they were struck by the machine guns and artillery of the supporting column.
The enemy was driven from the pass and the Faughs suffered only two casualties, one of whom, Lieutenant H V Gough, was severely wounded.
