Bushmills and the Great War exhibition proves a success

The Lord Lieutenant of County Antrim, Mrs. Joan Christie, performed the opening ceremony and the Roamer of the Newsletter and Amanda Moreno both took part.

Amanda brought the Victoria Cross won by Robert Quigg and it was in the possession of the organisers for most of the day.

Robert Quigg’s niece, Jane Gibson, came over from her home in Scotland for the occasion and enjoyed viewing the displays.

There was a great response to the request for donations for a statue to Robert Quigg and there are still cheques coming in, according to those behind the project.

A number of items have been handed in for display at next year’s exhibition among them a Testament which had belonged to Tillie McNeill, a nurse from Bushmills.

Also, among the items was a dead man’s penny in remembrance of Andrew McGahey of Bushmills. Another surprising item was two scrolls in memory of Johnston Kane.

Mr. Robert Thompson, the principal organiser of the exhibition, had seen these years ago when he was writing the Bushmills book and were shown to him by Mary Kane.

They were handed to him two weeks ago by the family and are in good condition. They have now been framed so they can be safely displayed and will be on show next year.

Mr. Thompson is in the process of putting a collection of Bushmills items together before it is too late!

It is important that items are preserved and not lost to the community.

Mr. Thompson is encouraging anyone that if they find something let him know by phone or call at his home 9 Riverside Road, Bushmills, or call 028 207 32875.

Robert Quigg VC, a young farmer from the town, enlisted for WWI with hundreds of others from the vicinity.

Young Robert’s Victoria Cross, presented to him by King George V in January 1917, came with an awesome citation.