Kircassock House was situated near Magheralin and became home to the Headquarters of the Eighth Air Force. This large country mansion was requisitioned for the purpose of accommodating US personnel.

The HQ of the 8th Air Force Composite Command was initially situated at Long Kesh airfield temporarily from mid-September until mid-November 1942. The 8th AFCC was the organisation which had overall administrative responsibility for USAAF activities in Northern Ireland, especially the bomber crew training programme.  In mid-November, 8th AFCC took up residence in Kircassock House and remained there until February 1944 when it was transferred to England.

In preparation for the American stay at Kircassock around 80 buildings including barrack huts, mess halls, sick quarters, admin offices, a fire station and sewage disposal works were constructed as part of the HQ. The grand Kircassock House became the Officers’ Club.

According to Ernie Cromie in his book Overhead and Over Here, the command personnel arrived keen to get to work but the decision to invade North-West Africa serioulsy slowed the build-up of the 8th Air Force in the UK. As a result of this hold up, it left them with little to do for months. Their days consisted of dealing with common administrative matters in relation to the Army Air Force stations such as military discipline, morale, general housekeeping and relations with the local civilian population.

Above is an outline of what the Kircassock Estate looked like during the American ‘occupation’.  The AAF Station 231 was code named ‘Nyack’. This site plan has been kindly shared with us by Ernie Cromie and is included in his book Overhead and Over Here.

Kircassock is now privately owned however there there is no barrier to enter the site.  The house itself was demolished many years ago so unfortunately there is not much left to see. There is however a small residential building which adjoined it, still standing. Kircassock House and its surroundings was a beautiful location and still is.

Derrymore House is another National Trust property which still has evidence of the US presence remaining. Most of the buildings constructed during the war have since been demolished but a concrete path built during the war and nissen hut bases still remain. Please visit The National Trust site for visiting information.

Derrymore House was built 1776-1787 for Isaac Corry and the Demesne around the house was apparently planted with about 140,000 trees. The house passed through several owners when in 1952 all 110 acres were acquired by the National Trust. During the Second World War the property was occupied by units of the British Army and nissen huts were built in the grounds. They were in Bessbrook for several years and the day after they moved out the Americans arrived. The Americans were in occupation from November 1943 to August 1944.

American troops were based in Northern Ireland for approximately nine months in 1943–44. In May 1944 most of them went to France to take part in the Normandy Landings and the following push into Germany.

Aerial photo showing Derrymore House and surroundings in 1952

Derrymore firstly hosted British troops, and this was recalled by a John McDonald of Bessbrook as a child of 6. He remembers nissen huts being built in the grounds of Derrymore House on what had been a nine-hole golf course. The ‘pond field’ was dug up to provide practice in trench warfare.

“On the day the British troops moved out, the Americans moved in. The Yanks were very patient with us kids when we hung around and gave us chocolate and chewing gum, we had the odd ride in a jeep. We naturally got involved in some mischief, it was not uncommon for them to hear the engine of a jeep or lorry start up when they were left unattended. We enjoyed the subsequent chase across the pond field. “

A story written by Mr F G Quinn, a resident of Bessbrook during the War, was submitted to the BBC WW2 People’s War Archive in November 2004.

“A large number of American Army troops were stationed in Bessbrook. They were billeted in the Town Hall, the Technical School and the Orange Hall, the officers were housed at Mount Caulfield, the home of Sarah Richardson. They constructed a large camp at Derrymore. They had Nissan type huts, footpaths and roadways and also had a PX Stores where they stored all their equipment, food, and gear. They also had plenty of cigarettes, chocolate and even nylon stockings, which they sometimes gave to their girlfriends in the village.
I was working in the Post Office and delivered telegrams to the Townhall. I became friendly with the young soldiers and one especially whose name was George Earl Cooper. He was about 20 years old. He was a Cherokee Indian, another was a Mexican called Chicko.
In May 1944 they were confined behind barbed wire in the pond field and my friend told me that they were soon leaving.
The Normandy landings started early in the morning of 6th June 1944 and my friends were some of the first to land at Omaha Beach. Many were killed. After some hold up at the beachhead cliffs they broke out and were soon on their way through France to Germany.
Top Sgt George Earl Cooper survived the War and came to Bessbrook to see me before he returned to America. It was both exciting and sad times especially remembering all the young men and women who lost their lives in WW2.”

The was a signifigant presence of black soldiers in units of the US Army in Bessbrook. Reports from the time suggest that the Northern Ireland natives treated the black personnel as equals to the white. If you want to learn more about African Americans in the Second World War please follow this link to the National Archives site.

African American soldiers drawing rations in Northern Ireland, Aug 1942

To find out more about the US presence at Derrymore, please follow this link to a study carried out by the Ulster Archaeological Society. Much of the above information was taken by this study.

Above image from ww2ni.webs.com

Across the river from The Argory (a site on our GI Trail itinerary) was Derrygally House, which was another billet for US soldiers. The official camp of the 654 Tank Destroyer Batallion was divided into two distinct sectors; Derrygally House on one side of the river and The Argory on the other. At Derrygally the officers stayed in the house while the men lived in nissen huts in the grounds. Some concrete bases of these huts remain to be seen.

There used to be a bridge over the river to allow passage from Derrygally House to The Argory on the other side. The garages at the house were built by the US Army and inside is a selection of pigeon holes and notice board for various orders. Vehicles were kept under the visual cover of trees on a nearby hill to prevent them being seen by any enemy aircraft.

Andy Glenfield of ww2ni.webs.com found the name CAM GARNER carved into one of the trees at Derrygally House. After doing some research into the name, Andy was able to confirm that Mr Garner survived the war and only died in recent years after living a long life. To find out more about this please follow this link to his page : ww2ni.webs.com

With many batallions scattered around towns and villages in Antrim, soldiers in the main town centre was a common site. On 1st April 1944 at 10am soldiers of the US 2nd Infantry Division along with various other units were formed up in The Mall in Armagh to be inspected by General Patton.

It is said that women and children were ushered from the area by Military Personnel who were aware of the usual content of Patton’s speeches . He ended this particular speech with the comment – “Veterans of the third US Army remember this, if you can’t stick the son of a bitch in the ass, shoot him in the ass as he runs away”

A few days later on 3rd April 1944 Patton inspected Derrygally House and complimented Colonel Martz on the appearance of the camp and battle readiness of the men.

Above information from from ww2ni.webs.com

List of US troops billeted in Armagh and when they arrived:

1942 : 109th Ordnance Medium Maintenance Company (V Corps) [Minnesota National Guard]
1943 : 2nd Reconnaissance Troop, Mechanized (2nd Infantry Division) 1st Platoon, 552nd Quartermaster Railhead Company
9th Infantry (2nd Infantry Division)

Armagh Barracks

1943 : Military Police Platoon, 2nd Infantry Division

Above photo shows Tynan Abbey in all its former glory. This photo is from caledonww2.com

* This site is not generally open to the public *

Tynan Abbey was a large neo-gothic-romantic country house built circa 1750, situated outside the village of Tynan. It was home to the Stronge family until 1981, when it was bombed. The ruins of this once grand house were finally demolished in 1998, having stood for 249 years. During the Second World War the US Army took up residence in this house in the 1940s, leaving the remains of nissen huts and american quonset huts. The Belgian army also were housed here for a time.

In 1942 American soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, 133rd Infantry (34th Infantry Division) arrived followed by the 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry (2nd Infantry Division) in October 1943, who remained until 11th April 1944.

The above photo is from caledonww2.com. It shows school children sitting in a Willys Jeep with US personnel. Davy Fitzsimons believes their names are as follows : Jackie Gillispie, Edmond O’Conner, Samuel Houston, Tom Paul Hegerty, Leo Devlin. There are also two boys who are evacuees. He believes their names were Robert & Jack Magee.

This overview above shows the whole camp including the Chapel Hill area at Caledon. The green boundary line takes in the whole camp area including the Chapel Hill camp area. The red boundary takes in the camp living area were the nissen huts were and the open field to the left of the gun yard was used as a sports area, i.e. baseball. The blue boundary line is Tynan Abbey itself where Sir Norman Strong lived and also officers of the visiting units during WW2. Image from caledonww2.com

Map showing the Tynan camp. Image also from caledonww2.com

An amazing collection of photos and history from Tynan Abbey and Caledon can be found by following this link to the caledonww2 website… This website was compiled by Davy Fitzsimons.

More information on what you can find at Tynan Abbey can be found at ww2ni.webs.com