LOVE, Charles Edwin

Ship's Steward, HMS Indefatigable, Royal Navy
Service No: 209188
Died: 31/05/1916
Age: 38

Remembered on Plymouth Naval Memorial
Remembered on family memorial in Bangor Cemetery

Charles Edwin Love was born in Curran, Larne, on the 23rd January 1878. He was the son of John Love, a coastguard, and his wife Martha (nee Mickels) and the fifth of their eight children. Both his parents were from Cork and had married there in 1864. John was in the Royal Navy and was serving on HMS Cambridge, then in Devonport, at the time.

In 1870, when their first daughter was born, Charles' father had joined the coastguard in Malahide and by 1873, the family had moved north where John had taken up a posting to Islandmagee. Over the next decade, John took up posts in Larne, Glynn, and was Chief Boatman in the Carrickfergus station when he retired.

By 1901 the family were living in Mountcollyer Street, Belfast, before finally moving to Holborn Avenue in Bangor by 1911.

On leaving school Charles served on a number of merchant vessels before enlisting in the Royal Navy on 1st March 1900 becoming Ships Steward from leading seaman in 1906.

In 1908, he married Cecilia Amelia Annie Bastin in Devonport and the following year their son John Charles Beresford was born in Saltash, Cornwall.

On finishing his 12 years service, Charles re-enlisted on 1 March 1912.

On the outbreak of war, Charles was serving onboard HMS Indefatigable and was killed in the Battle of Jutland in May 1916. His body was never recovered and he is remembered on the Plymouth Naval War Memorial.

Plymouth Naval War Memorial © CWGC

HANNA, Robert Alexander

Private, D Company, 1st Battalion, Australian Infantry
Service No: 1326
Died: 02/05/1915

Remembered on Lone Pine Memorial, Gallipoli
Remembered on family memorial in Bangor Cemetery
 
Robert Alexander Hanna was born on the 11th November 1882 in Main Street Bangor.
He was the son of Joseph Hanna and his wife Jane Hanna nee Bowman, and was the youngest of their six children.

Lone Pine Memorial. Image © CWGC

His father Joseph was a native of Banbridge and was a clerk and book-keeper with the firm of Messrs Dixon, Ferguson and Co., linen manufacturers, Belfast. He married Jane Bowman in Trinity Presbyterian Church, Bangor, in July 1871 and the family moved to live in Main Street.

Joseph changed careers to become a grocer and General Merchant after the birth of their first child, Isabella, in 1872. About 1885 he moved to Chicago where he worked for the packing firm of Messrs. Fowler & Co. as a town traveller.

Robert was working as a draper by the time of the 1901 census and sometime after emigrated to Australia.

His family had moved to Queens Parade by the time of the 1911 census but later that year moved to Beaumont Terrace, Bangor, and it was there his father Joseph died on 13th November 1911.

Robert was working as a grazier in Australia and enlisted on 12th November 1914 at Liverpool, New South Wales.

He went to Gallipoli with the ANZAC forces but was reported as missing in action on 2nd May 1915.

A Court of Enquiry was held on 11 January 1916 at Tel-el-Kebir on those men marked as missing during the landing at Gallipoli on the 25th April and subsequent actions.

The court found that "those missing during the action at Lone Pine... thinks that there is little possibility of any of those men being alive..." consequently Robert's service record records that he was "previously reported missing now reported killed in action".

Robert's brother, James, served also with the RAMC.

DORNAN, Matthew

Private, 1st Batt., Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
Service No: 8956
Died: 13/02/1919
Age: 30

Interred in Bangor Cemetery

Matthew was born in Beech Street, Belfast, on the 11th September 1889. He was the son of  Joseph Dornan, a brick burner, and his wife Mary Dornan (nee McGreavey) and was the third of their four children.

The family lived at various addresses in Belfast: Taggarts Houses, Lower Ballysillan, where sibling Agnes was born in 1895; Lawnview Street in the 1901 census; and Mayo Street in the 1911 census and later.

Matthew worked in the Blackstaff Flax Spinning and Weaving Co. on the Springfield Road.

On the 7th February 1907 Matthew, then aged 18, enlisted for full-time service in the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers having previously served in the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion.

He served in Malta, China and India where he spent part of his service working as a hospital orderly and in June 1914, he re-enlisted for another 2 years.

Matthew went to Gallipoli with the 1st Battalion in March 1915 and in August 1915 was sent to hospital with dysentery from which he suffered with continually off and on over the next year.

In 1916 the Battalion went to France but Matthew continued to suffer bouts of ill health.

In November 1917 he was finally discharged due to his health, his discharge papers recording that his discharge was due to "Disability caused by military service... attributable to... climate, stress of campaign, dysentery enteric and trench foot; Disability melancholia."

He is recorded as a Lance-Corporal on his discharge papers.

Matthew on being discharged went to live with his aunt Mrs Brown who lived in Ruby Street, Bangor.

It was there that Matthew died on the 13th February 1919 aged 28 of septic pneumonia and cardiac failure.