Robert Carroll was born on 15th October 1874 in Ballymena, Co. Antrim. He was one of three children to Henry and Mary Ann Carroll.

There is little additional information about his early life, but, on 6th April 1896, he married a woman called Martha Keenan. Robert was a plasterer at the time of his wedding, and the couple went on to have four children. Tragically, the youngest, Robert Jr, was just five months old when he passed: even worse, Martha was to die just weeks later, in June 1908.

With three children to raise, the grieving Robert married again, wedding Sarah O’Hara in October 1909. They were to have a son together, another boy they called Robert, the following year.

When war came to European shores, Robert stepped up to play his part. He enlisted in the Royal Irish Regiment and was assigned to the 1st Battalion. By September 1915, Private Carroll was sailing for the Eastern Mediterranean, where he was to remain for more than a year.

Little further information is available for Robert’s life. He was discharged from the army on 27th April 1917. As his service records no longer remain, it is not possible to determine why he left the army, but is likely to be as a result of illness or injury.

Robert returned to Northern Ireland, and his trail goes cold. All that can be confirmed is that he passed away at home on 7th August 1919, at the age of 44 years of age.

Robert Carroll was laid to rest in Crebilly Cemetery, on the hills outside Ballymena.

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