Category Archives: Ireland

Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Devonshire Regiment, Great War, history, illness, Ireland, photography, story, war

Boy George Hunt

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Boy George Hunt

The funeral took place at the Tiverton Cemetery, on Tuesday afternoon, of George Hunt, 17… a member of the Devon band, who died in Ireland as a result of an illness brought on by exposure. Pte. Hunt visited Tiverton for the last time at Christmas. On the return journey to Ireland he, with several others, were drafted to camp to await the arrival of a steamer. Whilst in camp he contracted a severe chill which he was unable to throw off and his parents recently received a message stating that his condition was giving rise to some anxiety. Mr and Mrs Hunt journeyed to Ireland and satisfied themselves that everything possible was being done to save their son. In spite of all efforts he died on Thursday, June 16th.

[Tiverton Gazette (Mid-Devon Gazette): Tuesday 28th June 1921]

George Cockram Hunt was born on 15th January 1904, and was the youngest of five children to William and Emily Hunt. William was a carpenter and joiner from Tiverton in Devon, and this is where the family were born and raised.

There is little additional available about young George’s life. He had enlisted in the army by the middle of 1920, and, as a Band Boy, was attached to the 1st Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment. Given his age, it is unlikely that he spent any time overseas before the Armistice but, as the report of his funeral suggests, he was stationed in Ireland at the time of his death.

Boy Hunt died in barracks in Queenstown – now Cobh – in the south of Ireland. His body was brought back to Devon for burial.

George Cockram Hunt was laid to rest in Tiverton Cemetery, on the outskirts of the town he had called his home for less that two decades.

Captain, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, Hampshire, history, Ireland, Kent, London, Mesopotamia, photography, Royal Army Medical Corps, Somerset, story, Surrey, Tipperary, unknown, war

Captain Robert Graves

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Captain Robert Graves

Robert Kennedy Grogan Graves was born on 1st January 1878. An announcement in the local newspaper confirmed that “at Baronne Court, County Tipperary, the wife of Lieutenant-Colonel W. Grogan Graves, 82nd Regiment, of a son (prematurely).” Robert was the older of two children, while his parents were William Graves, a Justice of the Peace in Ireland, and his wife, Georgianna Graves.

William died in 1890, and Georgianna moved the family to London. The 1891 census found her residing at the Golden Hotel in St Martin in the Fields, while her two boys, Robert and his younger brother, Geoffrey, were boarding students at Francis Napier’s classics school on Shooter’s Hill Road in Kidbrooke, Kent.

Robert found his calling through education. He studied medicine, and by January 1896 he was a student at St George’s Hospital in Tooting, Surrey.

By 1906 Robert had set himself up in an infirmary on Southgate Street in Gloucester, Gloucestershire. That same year, he married Kathleen Schofield: the couple went on to have two children, Robert Jr in 1912, and Bernard the following year.

Graves, Robt. Kennedy Grogan, Scison Lodge, Clevedon, Somerset (Tel. 11 Y Clevedon) – MRCS, LRCP London 1904; (St Geo.); Hon, Med, Off. Clevedon Cott. Hosp.; Med. Off Mutual Insur. N.Y. & Clevedon Hydro. Estab.; late Sen. Ho. Surg. & Asst. Ho. Surg., & Surg. Gloucester Co. Infirm., & Asst. Med. Regist. & Obst. Clerk St Geo. Hosp.

[The Medical Directory, 1910]

Robert had set himself up well during his life. The 1911 census found him and Kathleen – who was better known by her middle name, Gladys – living in their 17-room house on Linden Road in Clevedon. They afforded themselves three servants, including a housemaid, a cook and a motor driver. By the outbreak of war, Robert has an entry in the town’s Kelly’s Directory, and seemed to be a focal member of the community, joining the local Grand Lodge in September 1908.

Robert’s time in the army, is hard to piece together. He joined the Royal Army Medical Corps as a Captain, and appears to have been connected to the air force. His headstone suggests that he served in Mesopotamia, but when and exactly where, however, is lost to time.

After the war, Robert returned to Britain. Leaving the Somerset coast, however, he and Kathleen appear to have set themselves up in Dorset. He died, through causes not detailed, on 12th December 1920, at 42 years of age. His entry on the probate register states:

GRAVES Robert Kennedy Grogan of 1 Charnwood Chambers Seabourne-road West Southbourne Hampshire died 12 December 1920 at The Grange Buckfastleigh Devonshire…

It is unclear whether Charnwood Chambers was his working address, with The Grange being the family’s official home, or if Buckfastleigh served as a place of convalescence.

Robert Kennedy Grogan Graves left an estate totalling £370 14s 7d (approximately £21,100 today) to Kathleen. He was buried in the graveyard of Holy Trinity church, Buckfastleigh.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Ireland, Kent, killed in action, photography, Royal Navy, Stoker, story, war

Stoker George Marshall

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Stoker George Marshall

George Patrick Marshall was born in Dublin, Ireland, on 17th March 1896. One of ten children, his parents were plumber and gasfitter Robert Marshall and his wife, Rachel.

When he finished his schooling, George found work as a messenger. By the time war broke out, however, he was working as a builder’s mate. Keen to play his part and serve his country, he decided to enlist in the Royal Navy.

Stoker 2nd Class Marshall enlisted on 7th March 1915. His service records show a little of the man he had become. He was noted as being 5ft 4ins (1.62m) tall, with brown hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion. His first trip overseas took him to HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent, where he would receive his training.

Tragically, George’s time in the navy would not prove a lengthy one. By the end of May he was part of the crew of HMS Princess Irene, an ocean liner that had been put into service as a minelayer when war was declared.

On 27th May 1915, a series of explosions ripped through the ship, killing more than 350 crew, Stoker Marshall included. He was just 19 years of age.

George Patrick Marshall was laid to rest in Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, alongside the other victims of the disaster.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Ireland, photography, Private, Royal Irish Regiment, Somerset, story, war

Private Ernest Patterson

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Private Ernest Patterson

Ernest Patterson was born in Roscrea, Co. Tipperary, Ireland, in 1900. He was the oldest of six children to Robert and Matilda Patterson. Robert was a boot machinist when his son was born but, by the time of the 1911 census, he had turned his hand to farming.

When war came, Ernest stepped up to serve his King and Country and, in his eagerness to do so, he lied about his age. He enlisted in the Royal Irish Regiment on 1st September 1915, and stated that he was 19 years old. Given that his service records show that he was 5ft 8.5ins (1.64m) tall and that he weighed 130lbs (59kg), it is not surprising that the military were willing to take him on his word.

Private Patterson was initially posted to the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion in Dublin. While there, he contracted German measles, and was hospitalised for two weeks. When he recovered, Ernest was moved to the 2nd Battalion, and shipped off to France with his new unit.

His time overseas was cut short, however, and he was medically evacuated to Britain for treatment on 9th March. He was noted as suffering from ‘debility’, and admitted to the Royal Surrey County Hospital for a week.

Out of hospital again, Ernest was re-assigned to the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion. As summer came and went and winter moved in, his health wavered again. On 19th December 1916, he was admitted to the Bath War Hospital in Somerset, suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis. He remained in hospital for the next three months, the condition finally leading to his medical discharge from the army on 29th March 1917.

Private Patterson’s discharge from the army did not mean a discharge from hospital, however, and he remained there for the next week or so. His health was deteriorating by this point, and his body finally succumbed to tuberculosis on 8th April 1917. He was just 17 years of age.

It was not practical to return Ernest Patterson’s body to his family in Ireland. Instead, he was laid to rest in Locksbrook Cemetery in Bath, not far from the hospital in which he had died.

accident, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Ireland, killed in action, Northern Ireland, photography, Private, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, war

Private Frederick Bundy

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Private Frederick Bundy

Private Frederick Arthur Bundy, of the 1st Somerset Light Infantry is to be buried in Locksbrook Cemetery tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon with full military honours. He met with a fatal accident in Belfast on Sunday last. In the afternoon when in quarters he was passing from one room to another when a rifle which was bring cleaned by a comrade in the room which he was entering went off. The bullet passed through Private Bundy’s wrist and entered the stomach. He was at once removed to the military hospital, but passed away at midnight, from internal haemorrhage. Deceased, was the son of Mr FA Bundy, of 93 High Street, Upper Weston, and enlisted at the Drill Hall, Bath, in August 1919, when only 15 years of age, being accepted as he was a youth of exceptionally fine stature. At the time of his death he was 16 years and 10 months of age. After a short period of training at Taunton he went with a draft of Somersets to Ireland and was stationed for some time at Carrickfergus Castle, being moved into Belfast when the riots occurred there.

[Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette: Saturday 4th December 1920]

Frederick Arthur Bundy was born early in 1904, and was the middle of three children to Frederick and Mary Ann Bundy. Frederick Sr was a labourer from Bath, Somerset, and it was in the Weston area of the city that the family were born and raised.

The 1911 census – the only one Frederick Jr would be recorded on – noted the family as living at 45 High Street, Weston. The household consisted of Frederick Sr, Mary Ann, Frederick Jr, his older sister Sarah, younger brother William and Mary Ann’s daughter from a previous marriage, Annie.

Sadly, due to his young age, there is little additional documentation to build a picture of Frederick Jr’s life. He passed away on 28th November 1920, and was laid to rest in Bath’s Locksbrook Cemetery, not far from the family home.

Frederick Arthur Bundy’s funeral was shown in a photo-spread in the Bath Chronicle of 11th December 1920.

Editor’s Note: While Frederick enlisted nine months after the end of the First World War, his acceptance for a Commonwealth War Grave is because his passing being between the qualifying dates and the cause being as a result of his military service.

Artificer, Commonwealth War Graves, County Tyrone, Great War, history, illness, Ireland, Kent, Northern Ireland, photography, Royal Navy, story, war

Engine Room Artificer James Donnelly

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Engine Room Artificer James Donnelly

James Donnelly’s life is a challenging one to pin down. Based on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission information, he was born in 1888 in Cappagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, and was the son of Owen and Mary Donnelly. Unfortunately, there are no baptism or census records to expand on his family background.

Military records are equally sparse. James enlisted in the Royal Navy as an Engine Room Artificer 4th Class. He was assigned to HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent; given how early in the conflict, and his position at the lower end of the ERA rankings, is it likely that he was posted there for training.

James’ time in the military was to be brief. He was admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital in Chatham, suffering from cerebrospinal meningitis. The condition was to prove severe: he succumbed to it on 19th May 1915, at the age of 27 years old.

Finances may have prevented the Donnelly family from bringing their boy back home. Instead, James was laid to rest in the Roman Catholic section of Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, not far from the naval base at which he had served.

Engine Room Artificer James Donnelly
(from findagrave.com)
Commonwealth War Graves, Egypt, Great War, history, Hussars, illness, Ireland, photography, Private, Somerset, story

Private Reginald Payne

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Private Reginald Payne

Reginald Payne was born on 27th January 1898 in Milverton, Somerset. He was the third of five children – and the oldest son – to Thomas and Mary Payne. Thomas was a dairyman, and both he and Mary were from Devon: the family moved back to the county after Reginald was born, and, by the time of the 1911 census, they had settled in the village of Halberton.

Reginald, at this point, was still in school, and there is little information about his life. When war broke out, he volunteered to serve his country, but, with no military records remaining, the only point of reference for him is a newspaper report of his funeral.

Quite a gloom was cast over Halberton when it became known that Pte. Reginald Payne, eldest son of Mr & Mrs T Payne, of Brimery Dairy, had passed away at the Military Hospital, Devonport. Deceased, who enlisted in 1916 in the Hussars, and was attached to the 1st City of London Yeomanry, proceeded to Egypt, and whilst there he underwent two operations for appendicitis. He returned to England after recovering, and was sent to Ireland, where he had a return of the old trouble, and was again operated on four times, and then sent to Devonport, where he passed away.

[Western Times: Friday 6th February 1920]

Reginald Payne was a day over 22 years of age when he passed away. He was taken back to Halberton for burial, and was laid to rest in the peaceful St Andrew’s Churchyard.

Able Seaman, Commonwealth War Graves, County Antrim, Great War, history, illness, Ireland, Kent, Northern Ireland, Ordinary Seaman, photography, Royal Navy, story, war

Able Seaman Charles Dorman

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Able Seaman Charles Dorman

Charles Columbus Dorman was born on 21st October 1892, and was the middle of three children to James and Margaret Dorman. Charles’ parents both hailed from Belfast, Country Antrim, but the 1901 census records his and his older sister’s birthplace as America. No baptism documents are available and no later information supports this, so, while his unusual middle name may suggest the place of his birth, it seems destined to remain unclear.

When he left school, Charles found work as a printer’s apprentice. He sought more, however, and was drawn to a life at sea. On 29th November 1910, he enlisted in the Royal Navy as an Ordinary Seaman. His service records confirm that he was 5ft 3.5ins (1.61m) tall, with brown hair, hazel eyes and a fresh complexion.

Charles was sent to HMS Pembroke – the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent – for his training. In January 1911, he was assigned to the ill-fated HMS Bulwark, before moving to the battleship HMS Implacable three months later. He would remain on board until the summer of 1914, gaining a promotion to Able Seaman during his three year stint there.

Charles was serving on Implacable when war was declared. At the beginning of September, after a week back in Chatham, was assigned to the sloop HMS Cormorant. After six months aboard, the cruiser HMS Blenheim became his home, and he spent the next month supporting troops who were being sent to Gallipoli.

By this point, Able Seaman Dorman had become unwell. He had contracted the autoimmune disease pemphigus, resulting in blistering to his skin and body. He returned to HMS Pembroke, and was stood down from the service on medical grounds 9th July 1916.

It is unclear whether or not Charles was admitted to hospital for his condition. Either way, he succumbed to the illness on 31st August 1916. He was just 23 years of age.

Charles Columbus Dorman’s family appear to have been unable to bring their boy back to Ireland for burial. Instead, he was laid to rest in Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, not far from the Kent naval base he had come to call home.

Channel Islands, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Ireland, Jersey, photography, Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Royal Jersey Militia, story, war

Rifleman Joseph Gionta

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Rifleman Joseph Gionta

Joseph Marie Louis Gionta was born on 7th January 1897 in St Ouen, Jersey. He was the oldest of three children to Matthieu and Marie Gionta. Marie has been married before, and so her two children – Joseph’s older stepbrothers – made up the household.

Shoemaker Matthieu passed away when Joseph was just a teenager. By the time of the 1911 census, Marie was living in two rooms in St Ouen’s, supported by her five children. She was working as a charwoman, while her two children from her first marriage were farm labourers, bringing in three probably meagre wages to the family home.

When war broke out, Joseph stepped up to play his part. Initially enlisting in the Royal Jersey Militia, his unit was absorbed by the 7th (Service) Battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles shortly after he joined up. Rifleman Gionta’s service records confirm he was 5ft 3.5ins (1.61m) tall, and that he was 19 years old when he enlisted.

Joseph’s battalion served in France from December 1915, and he spent the next ten months overseas. In October 1916, he returned to the UK, and was transferred to the regiment’s 4th (Extra Reserve) Battalion, serving in Ireland.

Towards the end of 1917, Rifleman Gionta became unwell, contracting tuberculosis. This led to his medical discharge from the army on 29th January 1918, and he returned to the Channel Islands. At this point, his trail goes cold, and it is not until the autumn of 1920 that he resurfaces.

Joseph Marie Louis Gionta passed away on 24th September 1920: he was 23 years of age. A cause of death is unclear, although the likelihood is that it was related to the lung condition that he picked up while on active duty. He was laid to rest in the peaceful St Ouen’s Churchyard in Jersey.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, Ireland, Northern Ireland, photography, Private, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, war

Private Henry Weakley

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Private Harry Weakley

Henry Weakley was born in 1885 in Bath, Somerset. The second of six children, he was the eldest son to James and Fanny. James was a cab driver, and Henry – who was better known as Harry – followed suit, becoming a coachman by the time of the 1901 census.

In 1910, Harry married a woman called Jennie. There is little information available about her, but the following year’s census return found the couple living with his family at 1 Cork Street, Bath, not far from the city’s Royal Crescent. The census had two records for that address, which confirmed the family’s living arrangements. Harry and Jennie had one room, while the rest of the Weakleys – James, Fanny, four of their children and a grandson – took up four rooms.

Harry was still employed as a coachman as this point, but, with war on the horizon, things were to change. Full details of his military service are lost in the mists of time, but it is clear that he enlisted in the Somerset Light Infantry, and that he was assigned to the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion.

Private Weakley’s unit was a territorial battalion and it remained on UK soil throughout the war. Initially based in Devonport, Devon, the 3rd moved to Londonderry, Northern Ireland, in November 1917, and Belfast the following April. Sadly, the little that remain of Harry’s records do not confirm where he served.

Harry was demobbed on 13th May 1919: his pension ledger notes that he had received gun shot wounds to his neck and back, although no further records identify when or how these injuries occurred. He returned home – 5 St George’s Buildings, Upper Bristol Road, Bath – and seems to have settled back into his pre-war life, although his health was still impacted.

Harry passed away at home on 27th March 1921. He was 36 years of age, and had died of heart failure. Despite his wartime injuries, the war office determined that his condition had been contracted after his army service: Jennie was denied a war pension.

Henry “Harry” Weakley was laid to rest in Bath’s sweeping Locksbrook Cemetery, not far from where his widow still lived.