Somme Story

Tony FERGUSON


Regions:
East Riding, London, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Northern Ireland
Notice Period:
Short (maybe less than one month's notice)
Type:
Professional
Fee:
Paid: £200 - £250 including expenses
Category:
History
Updated:
30th April 2025

Andy Symington: Tyrone's Most Wanted Man

Andy Symington volunteered to join the Royal Irish Fusiliers in 1916. Over the next seven years, he participated in the Battle of the Somme, the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War, a trilogy of military service experienced by fewer than sixty men.

Honourably discharged due to wounds and shellshock, he returned to Ireland and fought against the British for the nascent IRA, becoming the most wanted man in Tyrone in 1921. In 1922, he became a lieutenant in the Free State army and fought against the IRA in the Civil War.

Somme Story uncovers a previously suppressed story of mutiny and officer murder in the trenches and reveals how the press covered it up. It also exposes a cover up in the War Diaries, as Army High Command sought to distance itself from an ill-conceived attack which cost the lives of 385 men, many killed by their own shells.

There is a poignant human-interest undercurrent, from his early days in a family of ten in Fermanagh to the post war impact of alcoholism and shellshock (today equating to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD) on a tortured family life. Over a century after the Somme, a remarkable twist of fate unfolds...

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About Tony FERGUSON

A highly accomplished, professional presenter, Tony Ferguson honed his presentation skills in the technology industry, working for Unisys and Accenture.

He has headlined major conferences in UK, USA, Malaysia and across EMEA.

Retiring in 2019, he has conducted extensive research in the Battle of the Somme, the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War, culminating in three books which tell the quite incredible story of his grandfather in the series "Andy Symington: Tyrone's Most Wanted Man".

He also speaks on Women in War: the contrasting roles of Irish & British women 1916-1923


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