Ireland’s Call - Stephen Walker

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of the finest Irish performances of all time. The Rugby writer E.H. D. Sewell described it as ‘the greatest of all wins in international or any rugby’.

      Eight months later, in November, Basil Maclear, playing some of the finest rugby of his career, would return to Belfast for the infamous South Africa match. The game would once again excite and enthral in equal measure, and was the occasion when he would produce his, and arguably Ireland’s, finest ever try, demonstrating how essential he was to the Irish team.

      1907 marked Maclear’s final season in an Irish jersey, and he was once again on the winning side when England visited Dublin for the start of the international championship. A 17 points to 4 victory set Ireland on their way, but an away defeat in Scotland put paid to any talk of Triple Crown success.

      Maclear joined the Irish team in Cardiff in March for his final game. It seems that his participation in the match was in doubt, as some newspaper reports suggested that he may have been injured. Despite such fears he played in the game, but it was not one of his better performances. He did have two exciting runs in the game, but they didn’t lead to tries. In the first half he picked up pace and used his trademark handoffs to keep several Welsh players at bay. He was eventually brought down inside the home team’s 25-yard line. In the second half he had another sprint, but this time it ended after he passed forwards. Wales made much of their chances, and in the second half took a commanding lead with a number of tries. One reporter summed up Maclear’s final contribution:

      Basil Maclear, who has won games for his country before today, was for once in a way faulty and it was in vain that he tried to get in some of his telling runs.

      With Wales leading by 29 points to nil, the game came to a close, and so did Basil Maclear’s eleven-game international career.

      He continued to play club rugby, and the next month was selected for the Barbarians as part of their Easter tour. In early April he played for the invitation side at Exeter, and his old form returned as they beat the home side by 18 points to 3.

      Family matters took precedence in August when one of his four brothers, Ronald, got married back in the family’s home town of Bedford. Like Basil, he was a keen rugby player and played for a number of clubs, although he never made it to international level. Just like his younger brother, he too had joined the army and was a lieutenant with the 5th Middlesex Regiment.

      A knee injury ultimately ended Basil’s rugby career, but he continued to play hockey and cricket, and two years after he finished playing international rugby he was still playing county cricket for Bedfordshire.

      Away from sport, he had much to occupy his time. He was very busy with army life in Ireland, and continued to serve with the Royal Dublin Fusiliers. In 1912 he returned to England and the familiar surroundings of Sandhurst as a member of staff at the Royal Military College. He was appointed an Inspector of Physical Training, an ideal job for a man with his interests and background.

      For the next two years, until 1914, he kept an eye on the recruits. When war was declared in August, Basil Maclear must have known that it was only a matter of time before everything would change, and he would find himself in front-line action. Within days, the horrors of war hit home when news arrived that his older brother, Percy, who was attached to the West African Frontier Force, had been killed in the Cameroons. He was the first of three Maclear brothers to die in the Great War. In October 1914, from his room at the Royal Military College in Camberley, Basil wrote to his brother Arthur about Percy’s death.Like the other Maclear brothers, Arthur was also in service, and was a member of the Royal Guernsey Light Infantry.Basil had received some information about Percy’s death from the Colonial Office, and asked Arthur to keep the details confidential.It seems that the family was originally hoping that Percy had survived a gun battle, but the statement from the Colonial Office ended those thoughts. Basil wrote to Arthur, after receiving official confirmation, that ‘I am afraid we can hope no more’. Basil described Percy as ‘one of the best fellows in the world.’ After Basil wrote to Arthur, he then sent a similar letter to his other brother, Ronnie, giving him the same details he had received about Percy’s death.

      As the war progressed, it became obvious that Basil Maclear’s leadership skills were needed on the battlefield rather than on the training ground. In February 1915 he left Sandhurst to become a captain in the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, where he prepared for active service on the Western Front.

      He arrived in Belgium in March, and was put in charge of the reserve company of the battalion, which was preparing the ground for what would become the Second Battle of Ypres. The fighting was intense, and within days Basil Maclear was at the front line, directing his men and leading attacks on enemy trenches. When a break came and he withdrew behind the lines for some rest, rugby was very often on his mind. In mid April he was in Nieppe, and was asked to referee a game between the 48th Division and the 4th Division. It was a fun occasion, and many of the players were household names from Scotland, Ireland and England. They included famous internationals like Ireland’s Billy Tyrell and England’s Ronald Poulton- Palmer, who would be killed shortly afterwards.

      For Maclear, it must have been an enjoyable distraction to spend some time in the company of rugby men and forget about the trenches for an hour or two. Sadly, it was only a temporary respite.

      Later that month, back in the front line, Maclear and his troops came under sustained heavy fire from the Germans over a four-day period. According to official reports, when the enemy attacked he showed ‘great coolness and knowledge’. For his bravery and leadership during that time he would later be Mentioned in Despatches, but Maclear would never hear about that recognition.

      On 24 May 1915, in the early hours of the morning, he was with his battalion at Wieltje near Ypres when the Germans launched a gas attack and then opened fire on the British trenches. Maclear helped to organise the defence of the British positions, but the Germans were able to capture some of the British trenches very quickly, and the Dublins experienced heavy losses. It became clear that the British lines were going to be overrun if they did not get reinforcements. There was continued fighting at an area known as Mouse Trap Farm, which was held and then lost by the British. The situation reached crisis point, and Maclear sent a message back: ‘Very many of our men are surrounded, we must have reinforcements.’

      One of his comrades got another message back to the headquarters of the battalion, which was just as dramatic. It read: ‘For God’s sake send us some help. We are nearly done.’ Another officer sent a note to the headquarters of the 10th Infantry Brigade, which had similar sentiments: ‘Reinforce or all is lost.’

      As soon as the Germans advanced it became too late for reinforcements; they seized crucial ground and killed many within the ranks of the Dublin Fusiliers.As Maclear attempted to repel the attackers he led a bombing party and hurled hand grenades towards the advancing Germans. As he faced the enemy he was heard to shout, ‘Come on! Do you want some more?’ He was then shot in the throat and fell down. One fellow soldier, Gerald Tarleton, recalled: ‘I saw Basil shot in the throat or near there and instantly topple over to the ground where he bled profusely’.

      Another of Maclear’s men, Lieutenant W. Shanks, explained how Basil was hit in the neck and chest and ‘died almost immediately and said nothing’. He said that Basil had died ‘fighting, very bravely indeed, not thinking of his own safety but inspiring the men with his energy and courage’.

      Lieutenant Shanks said that he tried to bandage Basil Maclear’s wounds, but they were too severe and he was unable to retrieve any of his possessions. However, he said he was able to get a piece of a trench mirror that Basil used, and he promised to forward it on to the family.

      Basil Maclear’s death shocked his battalion and devastated his mother, who was still grieving the loss nine months earlier of her son Percy. Mrs Maclear received many letters from men who had been under her son’s command, and she was sent comforting words of support from his superior officers. Whilst it was common practice for relatives to receive notes of sympathy from comrades, the volume of correspondence and the language used in the letters indicates how highly Basil Maclear was regarded.

      The commandant in charge of the Royal Military

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