Mags GarganIt has been revealed that Fr Francis Browne SJ, best known for photographing the last images of the Titanic in 1912, was a decorated hero following World War I.
A new book has outlined how the Cork-born priest served on the western front, ministering to shell-shocked soldiers and the seriously wounded for more than two years.
Field Marshal Haig described Fr Browne as “the bravest man I ever met”, and the cleric was honoured with the award of the Military Cross by the British, while the French gave him the Croix de Guerre and the Belgians similarly honoured him.
The medals are on display in Cobh’s Queenstown Heritage Centre as part of a memorial to the Belfast-built Titanic.