HOLLAND, Julius Charles

Sergeant Julius Holland

Sergeant/Observer, 107 Sqdn., Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Service No: 745631
Died: 23/07/1940
Age: 19
    
Interred in Tangmere (St. Andrew) Churchyard
Remembered on family memorial in Bangor Cemetery

Julius Charles Chennell Holland was born on 17 October 1920 in Bombay India. He was the son of Julius Alfred Holland and his wife Beryl Ethel De La Hoyde Chennell. Julius, 24, who was working in the Imperial Civil Service, had married 17-year-old Beryl in Poona, Bombay, the previous January.

The family moved to England where his sister Phyllis was born in 1923, and thence to Bangor when his father joined the Northern Ireland Ministry of Finance.

On 23rd July 1940 his aircraft, a Bristol Blenheim Mark IV, was returning to RAF Wattisham in Suffolk after a night raid on an airfield near Criel in Northern France when it was lost over the channel. His body was washed ashore and he was buried in Tangmere Churchyard in Sussex. The bodies of his crew mates Sergeant William Patrick O'Heney and Pilot Officer Peter George Anthony Watson where never recovered and both are remembered on the Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede.

A Bristol Blenheim Mark IV

 

BANGOR AIRMAN MAKES SUPREME SACRIFICE

SERGEANT-OBSERVER C. J. HOLLAND
BRILLIANT R.A.F. CAREER
OLD GRAMMAR SCHOOL BOY

We regret to record the death on active service of Sergeant-Observer Charles Julius Holland Royal Air Force.

The deceased airman, who was only 19 years of age, was a member of the R.A.F. Reserve and on the outbreak of hostilities joined his unit in England as an Aircraftsman. He took a very keen interest in the Air Force and was successful in passing the rigorous examinations. On 1st July he was posted as a Sergeant/Observer and began his short career of active service. He took part in several raids over enemy territory and it would appear it was whilst returning from a raid that he lost his life.

Sergeant Holland attended the Central P.E.S. and passed to the Grammar School on an entrance Scholarship. It is probable that he is the first Old Boy to make the supreme sacrifice in the present war. During his school career he was a prominent member of the Debating Society and the Dramatic Society, and took part in a number of the public performances of the latter Society.

He entered the Northern Ireland Civil Service two years ago and was employed in the Ordnance Survey Department. Possessed of a cheerful, winsome personality, Sergeant Holland was extremely popular and highly-respected by his colleagues.

The deceased airman was gifted with a distinct literary ability and it is possible that he might have made a name for himself in literary circles if his life had not been cut short.
Sergeant Holland’s father transferred from the Imperial Civil Service to an executive post in the Ministry of Finance. He was a great admirer of the town and came to live in Bangor seven years ago. Unfortunately he succumbed to an illness shortly after his arrival.

The first news of Sergeant Holland’s mishap was the receipt of a telegram by his mother on 23rd July stating that her son was missing. On Tuesday she received a further telegram stating that the body had been washed ashore on the Sussex coast and had been buried with full military honours.

To the bereaved mother and sister, who reside at 8, Hazeldene Park, we tender our sincere sympathy and trust that they wall receive consolation by the thought that their loved one sacrificed himself willingly in a noble and righteous cause.

County Down Spectator, 3rd August 1940

Memorial in St Comgall's Parish Church, Bangor

 

DEAD BANGOR AIR HERO'S MOVING LETTERS

NOBLE SENTIMENTS FINELY EXPRESSED
“WE WILL WIN THE WAR”

We are privileged to print extracts from letters written to his mother by 19-year-old Sergeant-Observer Charles Julius Holland, R.A.F., during the weeks immediately before his death in a raid over Germany. The fine, manly, Christian spirit that breathes in every line may well give us confidence in the knowledge that our glorious Air Force, manned by Britain’s steadfast, fearless youth, cannot know defeat.

In his last letter, dated 20th July, Sergt.-Observer Holland gives, to use his own words, “a wee word of advice and comfort.” “Don’t let the situation get you down,” he writes. “There is absolutely no danger of England losing this war. This is a time of hardship for everyone, and each Briton, worthy of that name, stands shoulder to shoulder with his fellow. Every farmer, every citizen, is a soldier. There is no panic here. That Elizabethan spirit of adventure and courage is stirring this country in a way that only the beacons and lands could do in the Middle Ages. I never thought we could be so aroused  — perhaps England is like a lion wakening from sleep, a little drowsy, but in a minute ready to roar and, more effective still, ACT! Don’t listen to that foul traitor whose nickname is Lord Haw Haw; he reminds me of a viper. His subtle outpourings are really made for the ears of the credulous. Never yet has one been true. When he fades off the air suddenly, one of us is going near his little haunt at Bremen. Then he fears and trembles and tells his wireless station to close down, so terrified is he of our bombers.
“Dearest Mother — England’s stake in this war can be helped by you and the thousands of Home Front soldiers as much as by us. If I repeat myself remember “Every careless, thoughtless word spoken at home is but another bullet in my ’plane.”

“I Have Got my Flying Badge.”

The young airman’s pride when he gets his flying badge gives an exultant note to his letter of 24th June.

“To-day is the grandest day in my life,” he writes, — “it ranks with my scholarship exam, and my Civil Service Exam.; — I have got my flying badge. I am now a real observer. I look at it every minute to make sure it does not fade away — oh! I am so pleased. It has been a long time in coming but now it’s here, resting above my left hand top pocket.

“Cheer up and don’t be upset because France is out,” the letter continues. “There is no need to worry. That spirit that won Waterloo and the Grand Armada has suddenly risen up again in this slow moving country. The ghosts of the past, Nelson, Drake and Wolffe, will rejoice at the grim determination that is sweeping over the country. It has taken this to awake Englishmen and Irishmen too. What greater watchword can we have than “No Surrender,” that glorious cry which awoke fear in the attackers of Derry. We, in the 20th century, can well turn back the pages of history and find that invincible spirit of England, Britain, Youth and glory. Who can fear now — are we cowards, are we down-hearted? — No! Life is given man to enable him to accomplish things and what greater cause is there than that of right, freedom and God. Tough and terrible as we are, we still look to God for victory and the support of his angels.”

Action at Last.

“Action at last!” he writes further on. “Where I am going is a secret which I do not know. Roaring over Germany or Italy to destroy pestilence and to endeavour to hit only military objectives. I am going to be careful where I drop my bombs and I hope the German airmen will respect our hospitals even as we have pledged ourselves to respect theirs.

“Tell my friends that we are going to win, because we are (I can easily see this from a Service viewpoint). So tell them this and together we can help to smash some filthy lie or foul propaganda that is the secret weapon of Hitler. I am sending you in this letter one of my props (I won’t need it, I hope). Keep this in your hand-bag. Every time you hear someone, or feel inclined perhaps yourself, talking morbidly or downheartedly, show it to. them (do not be afraid) and say “Here is a token of an airman who may be at this time flying over. Germany; he is my son and he is not downhearted; his friends and he rely upon you not to let them down by even thinking of defeat.”

“The Sweetness of Life.”

Here is another poignant extract:—

“You have heard often that proverb: ‘One good moment is enough for any man.’ My moment will come I know and I am sure I shall be ready and do the right thing before it passes. The sweetness of life is not in merely living, the greatest thing I can think of to do will be nothing in the sight of those who have gone before me. Even although I am going to more or less “live by the second,” I am sure the Great Lord will consider us in our struggle for Christianity, Freedom and the ultimate emancipation of all nations. No man is fit to live who has not put something into life, and we Britons have the chance to make the greatest history that has ever been written. Hastings will be mild compared to our glorious stand at this present critical hour. To me, life and death are so near and are such partners of mine, that I feel if I die I shall only see a transition. Mother, I want you to remember England in her struggle every day and with your prayers and thoughts combined with the thousands of others on the Home Front, victory is already won.

“My pilot is here with me and we are going to see if we can fox the Huns as much as possible. I am working out all sorts of marvellous dodges to fool them (I hope they work). I have even started playing with toy aeroplanes trying to evolve some intricate manoeuvre that will beat ’em. There is no doubt that they are windy—  windy as anything. I would hate to fly with a Hun pilot. At any rate, I am not underestimating them — some of them are the “goods.”

“The Sustaining Power.”

“Please don’t worry about me,” Sergt Observer Holland writes elsewhere, . . . “I want you to thank personally those people who have been thinking and praying for me. . . . I have felt the sustaining power lately that comes only from God. This is another reason why I am not afraid any more. I have been near it once or twice then I have felt the protection of a Power that is higher and more powerful than we can imagine. I don’t profess to have changed much, mother. I am not a person who could. I still smoke, go to pictures and enjoy worldly pleasures, but I hope I am not irreverent when I say at the same time I enjoy thinking of God, of life after this, and I am trying to develop the qualities that Daddy had. I want to be as strong minded, as respected as he was but I am afraid I am too easily won by things that are not so good.”

The dead airman’s mother lives at 8 Hazeldene Park, Bangor. His last letter (July 20) was written three days before she received a telegram reporting him as “missing.” A week later she received a second telegram informing her that his body had been washed up on the English coast and had been buried with full military honours. He was formerly a pupil at Bangor Grammar School.

County Down Spectator, 10th August 1940

MEEK, William Johnston

Master, S.S. Hatasu (Liverpool), Merchant Navy
Date of Death: 02/10/1941
Age: 48

Remembered of Tower Hill Memorial
Remembered on family memorial Bangor Cemtery

William Johnston Meek was born on 14th January 1893, in Ballymagee Street, Bangor. He was the son of David Meek, a draper, and his wife Anna (nee Johnston) and was the second of their nine children.

His father David, was a native of Portadown and had married Anna in Belfast in 1890 where was woking as a pawnbroker. After the marriage they moved to Ballymagee Street (now High Street) in Bangor, where he took up trade as a draper. They later moved to Ardbracken Terrace before moving to Clifton Road, the home of Anna's father William, a retired Master Mariner.

After school young William took after his grandfather (who had an interesting life story) and went to sea and by 1915 was 4th Officer on board the ss Colonial sailing to South Africa.

He served in the merchant navy throughout the Great War earning his Mercantile Marine medal and by 1928 had gained the rank of 2nd officer on the ss Armarna sailing round the Mediterranean.

He married a girl called Elizabeth but I have been unable to confirm any details at this point. Elizabeth was living in Southport, Lancashire, when granted administration of his estate in 1943.

ss Hatasu

In 1941, William was serving as master of the ss Hatasu, sailing from Manchester to New York in ballast, when she was torpedoed and sunk by U431 approx 600 miles east of Cape Race. Thirty four crew and six gunners were lost. Seven survivors were picked up by the USS Charles F. Hughes after seven days in boat and landed at Reykjavik.

William is recorded on the Second World War Memorial window
in First Bangor Presbyterian Church

Ulster Names in Casualty Lists
Among a list of deaths of members of the Merchant Navy and fishing fleets is the name of William Johnston Meek, master, 71, Clifton Road, Bangor.
Northern Whig, Thursday, 7th May 1942

Master Mariners Death. -- A list of members of the Merchant Navy and fishing fleets who have been killed by enemy action includes the name of William Johnston Meek, master, of 71, Clifton Road, Bangor.
Belfast Newsletter, Thursday, 7th May 1942

IRWIN, William Duncan

Sergeant, 2nd Batt., Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
Service No: 4459560
Died: 16/03/1944

Interred in Alexandria (Hadra) War Memorial Cemetery
Remembered on family memorial in Bangor Cemetery

William Duncan Irwin was born in Belfast on 25 June 1893 at the home of his maternal grandmother 145 M'Donnell Street. He was the son of William Henry Irwin, a tailor, and his wife Annie (nee Mathers). The fifth of their eventual nine surviving children, the family had been living there since his parents marriage in 1883 but had by this time moved to Larne and where now living in Adelaide Terrace.

Between 1897 and 1900 the family returned to Belfast and where living in Upper Frank Street at the time of the 1901 census before moving again to Ulsterdale Street where their last child was born in 1905. By 1911 the family had moved to Victoria Avenue in Bangor

In November 1912, William enlisted with the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers Reserves (SN: 2867) where he gave his occupation as Assistant Steward. He gave the family home at this time as Somerset Avenue, Bangor. Curiously his age is recorded as 17 years and 9 months.

He was mobilised on 6 August 1914 and posted to the 4th Battalion. Appointed Lance Corporal on 1 December 1914 he was further promoted Corporal in March 1915, Lance Sergeant in November 1915 and Sergeant in May 1916.

William was then posted to the 7th Battalion in June 1916.

He was admitted to hospital Dublin with suspected TB but was diagnosed with bronchitis before being discharged on 25 February 1918.

He was then transfered to 3rd Battalion in May 1918.

In January 1919 he was transferred to No 11 Officer Cadet Battalion at Pirbright and gazetted as Temporary Second Lieutenant on 8 March 1919. However he didn't serve as an officer for long as he was then demobilised to Class Z reserve on 10 March 1919.

In September 1919 sailed for America where he became a salesman for American Mills of New York.

He worked there for a number of years. Records show him returning home in August 1923 before returning to Newark, NJ, from Liverpool on 8 September 1923.

He later returned to sea in 1932 working as a waiter until at August 1939 sailing on various vessels such as the Llanstephan Castle, Oronsay, and Grantully Castle.

He re-enlisted in the Second Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, and served in the Middle East. He took ill and died in No. 64 General Hospital, Alexandria on 16 March 1944 and was buried in Alexandria (Hadra) War Memorial Cemetery.

RUTHERFORD, Robert Henry

Flying Officer (Navigator), Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Service No: 133718
Died: 22/07/1943
Age: 20

Interred in Bangor Cemetery

Robert Henry Rutherford was born in 1923.

His father was from Co Cork and had been a member of the Dublin Metropolitan Police before becoming a detective sergeant in the Royal Irish Constabulary. He married his wife Pauline, a native of Co Longford, in Dublin in 1910.

On the disbandment of the RIC in 1922 Samuel, Pauline and their children moved to Bangor where Robert was born.

The following transcription taken from the Co Down Spectator of 31 July 1943 gives a biography of his life.

BANGOR AIRMAN’S DEATH

FLYING-OFFICER ROBERT H. RUTHERFORD

ANOTHER NAME has been inscribed on the roll of gallant young Bangor men who have made the supreme sacrifice in the present war — that of Flying-Officer Robert H. Rutherford, the intimation of whose death on Active Service was received with profound regret by his many friends.

Only a few weeks ago we mentioned in our columns that Flying-Officer Rutherford had paid us a visit at our Bangor office while on leave from his unit. Extremely modest when speaking of his own work as navigator of a big bomber, he was enthusiastic in his praise of the skill, daring and good comradeship of his crew. Younger son of the late Mr. Samuel Rutherford, and of Mrs. Rutherford, the young airman was educated at Main Street P.E. School, Bangor Grammar School, and Ardmore College, Belfast. As a schoolboy he had an outstanding athletic record, particularly in flat events, and had the distinction of winning both the 100 and 220 yards Northern Ireland boys’ championships. He played in one of the Grammar School rugby sides, and was the winner of many prizes at the annual athletic sports.

After leaving school he entered the costing office of Messrs. Short & Harland, Belfast; but the Air Force called him, and, enlisting some two years ago, he trained in Canada under the Empire Training Scheme, qualifying for his commission as Pilot-Officer last December. He continued his training in England, and was promoted Flying-Officer only last month. In the Air Force, as at school, his manly qualities and modest bearing made him extremely popular.

A gifted amateur actor, he was a member of Bangor Drama Club, in whose productions he figured in principal parts with great success. He was a fine vocalist, and was a member of First Bangor Presbyterian Church choir. The deep sympathy of the community goes out to his bereaved mother; his sister, Mrs. H. Ballagh, Holywood, and his brother, Mr. Samuel W. Rutherford, in their irreparable loss.

THE FUNERAL

The great regard in which the deceased airman was held expressed itself in a very large attendance at the funeral, which was to Bangor New Cemetery on Tuesday afternoon.

On its way from Belfast to Bangor the funeral stopped at Holywood for a few minutes where the Rev. W. G. Wimperis, an old friend of the family, conducted a short family service.

The interment was preceded by a short service in First Bangor Presbyterian Church, conducted by Rev. Dr. Currie. Mr. Frank A. Parsons, F.R.C.O.. was at the organ, and the choir led the large congregation in the singing of “Rock of Ages” and “The Lord’s My Shepherd.”

Rev. Dr. Currie's Tribute

Robert is commemorated on the Memorial Window
for those who died in the Second World War
in First Bangor Presbyterian Church
(Image courtesy Nigel Henderson)

The mystery of the unfinished life, said Dr. Currie — or what seems to us an unfinished life — is as old as grief itself. The war has intensified it, but it did not create the problem. We on this side of the Great Divide cannot expect to solve the problem, but something may be said about it which may help in some degree to reconcile us to it. We are reminded of the fact that the death On Calvary was that of a young man. What more natural than that Mary His mother — Joseph, her husband, being dead — should have expected to have Jesus with her to the end. But instead, she was a pathetic and helpless witness of His crucifixion. And so, the sorrow which so many hearts are enduring at the present time, was Mary’s sorrow in Jerusalem nineteen hundred years ago. “We trusted that it had been He which should have redeemed Israel,” said His friends. They had loved Him deeply, and moreover, they had hoped great things of Him, but death, like a killing frost, had touched the tender bloom, and it was gone.

We do not suggest that the death of Jesus is the solution of our problem. Rather, it is the aggravation, the supreme example of it. But death was not the end of Him. He did redeem Israel. He is doing it still. And furthermore, He is doing it by that very cross by which men thought they had disposed of Him for ever. If God could do that by the Son of Mary Who died at the age of thirty-three, we can believe that He will also do much by the broken, unfinished lives — as they seem to us — which we mourn to-day. Yea, we believe that the life of the future is one in which the whole nature springs into a new vividness of activity; that the training received in this life is not wasted, but is part of the preparation for the fuller life and nobler service of eternity. “His servants shall serve Him,” — there as well as here. What sweeter description of death could there be than that which is given it in the New Testament — falling asleep. “He fell asleep by the will of God.” Sleep is i a gentle thing. It is associated with peace and serenity. Moreover, it implies a waking again. We fall asleep to wake again, and to wake, the better for sleeps — refreshed by its quiet and strengthened by its rest for the new duties of the new day.

“Finest and Most Gallant”

Flying-Officer R. H. Rutherford, whose sudden death we all greatly deplore was one of our finest and most gallant young men. From every standpoint he was worthy of great praise. Physically, mentally and morally, he was all one could wish a young man to be. A most devoted and thoughtful son, a loyal and kindly brother and friend, deeply interested in his church — which he faithfully served as a member of the choir — and beloved by all who were privileged to know him, he will be sadly missed and lamented.

       “His life was gentle; and the elements
        So mixed in him, that Nature might stand up.
        And say to all the world, this was a man!”

He has passed away at the age of twenty. At the summons of his Great Commander-in-Chief, his Spirit has flown to the Heavenly Base, where he has been commissioned for service of a higher kind than belongs to mortals here below.

Our sympathy goes out in full measure to the bereaved mother and all the members of the family. We pray that God may abundantly fulfil unto them His gracious promise: “As one whom his mother comforteth so will I comfort you.”

The chief mourners were Messrs. S. W. Rutherford (brother); Henry Ballagh (brother-in-law); Alex. Robb, G. Humphries, and J. Bryant (uncles), and T. G. H. Bennett.

The beautiful wreaths were from His sorrowing Mother; Sam and Eleanor, Lorna and Wendy; Henry and Pauline; Uncle Alec and Aunt Daisy, Phyllis and Charlie; Uncle George and Aunt Emily; Uncle Jim and Aunt Vic; The Ballagh Family; Mr. and Mrs. Lynas, Holywood; Dr. and Mrs. Currie; Mr. and Mrs. Parsons; Mrs. Glass and family; His friends in High Street; First Bangor Choir; Bangor Drama Club; Jack Leadbetter (Dublin); Officer-Commanding and Fellow Officers at a R.A.F. Station; Senior N.C.O.’s, R.A.F. Station; Corporals, R.A.F. Station; Mr. and Mrs. Hare, High Street; First Bangor Youth Fellowship; Staff Junior Boys’ School, Bangor; Miss M’Millan; Dorothy, John and Sally; Mrs. Patterson, Iris and Cora; George Patrick — his old friend; First Bangor Presbyterian Church; Wm. and Nan Sinclair, Joyce and David.

-- -- -- -- -- -- --

The funeral arrangements were carried out by Mr. Jacob O’Neill, undertaken, Dufferin Avenue, Bangor.

TRIBUTE BY MR. M. WILKINS, M.A.

It was with deep regret and a sense of grievous loss that we heard of the sudden death on active service of Flying-Officer Robert Henry Rutherford, the twenty-third Old Boy of Bangor Grammar School to make the supreme sacrifice in this war. He was with us for just three years, coming with an Entrance Scholarship in 1935 and passing the Junior Certificate in 1938 with two distinctions and two credits. From the first one picked him out among the crowd of boys, conspicuous with his tall form and athletic build, his lithe carriage and graceful head with grey expressive eyes under the waving dark hair. It was impossible not to note and remember him, so full of restless eager interest in life, born for leadership in word and action. One felt that with his gifts of mind and understanding he should have achieved greater things in examinations perhaps he was too full of imagination and the love of action and adventure for close study. He shone in drama: there he found scope for his gift of words, his craving for action, his wide sympathy, his love of fun, his intense interest in human existence. In our little school dramatic society he was a foremost member, full of energy, talent, enthusiasm: he filled many parts with ability and distinction.

On the running track he was supreme. His giant form moved with a speed that was irresistible and a wonder to watch. He easily carried off our Junior Victor Ludorum (Wilson) Cup. At the Ulster Schools Sports in 1937 he was the central star of our team that won the Junior Championship: he won the Junior 100, 220 and 330 yards, setting up records for the 100 (11 1/5 secs.) and 220 yards (24 2/5 secs.) which are still unbeaten. In that year, too, he had played as a three-quarter on our Rugby Medallion team. He appears in the photographs taken of these two groups which hang in the School.

I remember my intense disappointment when this lad of high promise left us after passing Junior Certificate. I felt it to be a loss to the School that he should not go forward to the final year of his course and gain a place among our leading boys. Perhaps it was characteristic of him to break loose and go out into the wider world before his time, to follow paths of glory and peril that have led him to death in the service of a great ideal. It is our best, our loveliest and bravest that fall. We should all of us feel a deep humility, a sense of the unworthiness of our common lives, that these young men, so guiltless of the sins that have led to this war, should sacrifice the promise of noble lives for the redemption of humanity. Their heroism and goodness strengthens our belief in a God Who is better than anything we can conceive and in Whose Eternal Hands they are safe. And may He in His Infinite Mercy bring comfort and hope to the bereaved.

Northern Whig, Saturday, 24 July 1943

Killed on Active Service

RUTHERFORD -- July, 1943, Robert Henry Rutherford, Flying-Officer, R.A.F.V.R., killed on active service, younger son of the late Samuel Rutherford and Mrs. Pauline Rutherford, Bangor, Co. Down. Funeral arrangements later. Deeply mourned by his sorrowing Mother.

RUTHERFORD -- July 1943, Robert Henry Rutherford, Flying-Officer, R.A.F.V.R., killed on active service, younger son of the late Samuel Rutherford and Mrs. Pauline Rutherford, Bangor, Co. Down. Deeply mourned by his sorrowing Brother, Sam, Sister-in-law, Eleanor, and little Nieces, Lorna and Wendy. 4. Sandringham Gardens, Bangor, Co. Down.

RUTHERFORD -- July, 1943, Robert, Henry Rutherford, Flying Officer, R.A.F.V.R., killed on active service, younger son of the late Samuel Rutherford and Mrs. Pauline Rutherford, Bangor, Co. Down. Deeply mourned by his sorrowing Sister, Pauline, and Brother-in-law, Henry. “Cul-na-Greine,” Belfast Road, Holywood, Co. Down.

MAHAFFY, Henry Irwin

Second Lieutenant, Royal Flying Corps
Date of Death: 22/10/1917
Age: 23

 Interred in Bangor Cemetery

Henry Irwin Mahaffy was born in Ward Villa West, Bangor, on 7 September 1894. He was the son of William Irwin Mahaffy, a solicitor, and his wife Jane (nee Machett) a native of Australia where they married in 1893. He was the eldest of their six children.

He attended Bangor Grammar School and September 1911 became apprenticed to his father who had offices in Calendar Street, Belfast, and had been appointed as Town Solicitor of Bangor in 1901.

Henry, who also played rugby for Bangor, enlisted on the formation of the Ulster Division and served in France with the 13th Battlion, Royal Irish Rifles.

In February 1917, he returned home and qualified for a commission in the Royal Flying Corps and was gazetted as 2nd Lieutenant in May and was stationed at Salisbury Plain.

However, just five months later, in October 1917, Henry was to tragically lose his life in a training flight.

His father travelled to England and returned Henry's body to Bangor for interment.

His younger brother William, was later killed in the Second World War while serving with the Royal Air Force.

ILIFF, Eric

Corporal, 10th Batt., Durham Light Infantry
Service No: 42730
Died: 16/09/1916
Age: 18

Interred in AIF Burial Ground, Flers.
Remembered on family memorial in Bangor cemetery.
   
Eric Ilff was born in Cleadon, Co Durham in the later part of 1897. He was the son of Harold Iliff, a Land Agent, and his wife Edith Mary (nee Dodd). He was the second of their four children, his siblings being Muriel (c1896), Phyllis (c1900), and Constance (c1909).

He attended Bede Collegiate Boys' School in Sunderland, were he was a Durham County Council Junior Scholar, before being transferred to Ryhope Secondary School in 1911, when the County Council opened that school. The 1911 census recording that his father, Harold, had become a teacher of music by this time.

After school be became an apprentice engineer at the Scotia Engine Works in Sunderland.

Eric enlisted with 7th Reserve Battalion of the Durham Light Infantry (SN 3310) on 26th November 1914, and was appointed Lance Corporal on 15th July 1915.

He reverted to Private when posted to the Expeditionary Force on 16th July 1916 but was appointed Acting Corporal on 4th August 1916 when serving with the 10th Entrenching Battalion.

Eric was then posted to the 10th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry on 3rd September 1916 and allotted regimental number 42730 and reverted to private once again.

He was reported missing, later killed in action, on the 16th September 1916 when the 10th Battalion where involved in a major action east of Gueudecourt.

How and why his family moved to Bangor is unknown but his parents where still living in Cleadon in the late 20s.

AIF Burial Ground, Flers, France

MURRAY, Francis Patrick

Lance Corporal, Royal Dublin Fusiliers
transferred to (228110) Labour Corps
Service No: 26545
Died: 27/12/1917
Age: 28
   
Interred in Bangor Cemetery

Francis Patrick Murray was born in Bramley, Leeds, in 1889 (possibly 1st January). He was the son of Richard Murray, an Excise officer and Elizabeth Murray nee Trevor, and the second of their four sons.

His father's position saw the family, including his older brother Richard, move to Ireland where his brother William was born in Dublin in 1894 and then Monasterevin, Co Kildare, where brother Eugene was born in 1897.

In the census of 1901, Francis, now aged 12, and his three brothers were living with their aunt Maria Carroll, in Richmond Terrace, Bray

In 1911, Francis was working as a Chemists Assistant and living in a Hotel in Harcourt Street.

Francis was working as a Chief Dispensing Chemist and was a licentiate of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland when he enlisted in the 10th (Commercial) Battalion, Royal Dublin Fusiliers in Dublin on 24 March 1916.

His father Richard, now a retired Surveyor of Customs and Taxes, died in Dublin in October 1916.

Little is known of exact service but in March 1917 Francis was admitted to Huddersfield War Hospital with Valvular Disease of the Heart, the record stating that it was present at enlistment.

He was posted to the 11th Battalion on 9th April 1917 before being transferred to the Labour Corps in July 1917.

Francis was stationed in Clandeboye South Camp when he was admitted to the Camp Hospital on 13th December suffering from tonsillitis and was discharged to "Light Duty" on the 18th December having recovered.
A surviving medical note records that on the morning of 27th December 1917: "He was found dead near a latrine close to his Barrack Room, the Police were notified and an inquest was not considered necessary... I am informed the night previously joined in Xmas festivities with some of his comrades at Bangor. This man's condition was in my opinion aggravated by his military service."

BLOCKLEY, John Alfred

Petty Officer 1st Class, HMS Viknor, Royal Navy
Service No: 132052
Died: 13/01/1915
Age: 45

Interred in Bangor Cemetery

On Wednesday, 27 January 1915, the Northern Whig reported the following

Found in Belfast Lough
In Bangor yesterday afternoon Dr. Samuel Wallace conducted an inquiry into the circumstances under which J. E. Blockley, said to be a first-class petty officer on board H.M.S. Vicknor, whose body was discovered on Monday, had met his death. When taken from the water the body was encircled by a lifebelt, and round the neck of the deceased was an inflated rubber collar. Where the deceased came from is as yet unknown, but his official number is given as 132052.
     Sergeant J. Johnston gave evidence of identification. The deceased was J. E. Blockley, said to be a first-class petty officer on H.M.S. Viknor, and appeared to be about forty-six years of age. Whether he was married or where he came from was not yet known. The body had been picked up off Black Head on Monday, and identified by a disc attached to it.
     Dr. J. F. Mitchell expressed the opinion that he body had been in the water for about a week, and death in his opinion was due to asphyxia caused by drowning.
     A verdict of "Found drowned in Belfast Lough" was returned.

John Alfred Blockley was born on 14th February 1870 in Hinckley, Leicestershire. He was the son of Zinor Blockley, a carpenter, and his wife Agnes, and the second of their six children.

John was working as an errand boy when on 14th February 1888, his 18th birthday, he enlisted in the Royal Navy.

He served on numerous vessels and shore establishments and in 1904 was serving on Excellent when he married Mary Margaret Foster in Portsmouth. They had two children: John Alfred born 1905 and George Edmund born 1910.

John completed his 12 years service in February 1910 and the following year was working as a "beer retailer" in the Lord Palmerston in Arundel Street, Portsmouth although he transferred his licence to another in July 1913.

In August 1914, John was recalled for service joining the crew of the Dolphin as Petty Officer. He then served at Victory 1 and on the Excellent before joining the Vicknor in December 1914.

The following on the loss of the Viknor is extracted from the Dawlish Chronicles

     ... One such loss with all hands was of the armed merchant cruiser HMS Viknor.  She had been built as long before as 1888 as a passenger liner, the Atrato, for use on routes between Britain and the West Indies. Capable of carrying 279 passengers, and 421 ft long and 5,347 tons, she was distinctly yacht-like in appearance due to her clipper bow and smartly raked masts and funnels. Sadly underpowered at 1000 hp, her single screw driving her at no more than 14 knots, she must nevertheless have looked a splendid sight on the blue waters of the Caribbean. In 1912 she was renamed as the Viking by new owners and was used for cruising, an activity for which speed was not an essential.
     Thoroughly obsolete in 1914, not to mention slow, it is therefore surprising that she should have been requisitioned by the British Admiralty service on the outbreak of war in 1914. Now named HMS Viknor, she was armed as a “merchant cruiser” and allocated to the Royal Navy’s 10th Cruiser Squadron which was tasked with patrolling between Iceland and Northern Scotland. Minimally armed, these merchant cruisers were not expected to meet enemy warships and their main purpose was to intercept neutral shipping for inspection to detect war contraband destined for Germany. Considering that during the winter months the ships on this station were likely to encounter some of the worst sea conditions in the world, it is surprising that an old underpowered vessel like the Viknor was ever chosen for such duty.
     During the first weeks of 1915 the Viknor was on patrol off the North West coast of Ireland. She appears to have been in radio contact but she was to disappear in heavy weather on January 13th, close to Tory Island, off the coast of Donegal, without sending a distress signal. She took with her the entire 291-man crew, as well as a German national who had been taken off a ship the neutral Norwegian vessel Bergensfjord, under suspicion of being a secret agent, as well as six other men who have been cryptically referred to as “stowaways”. Some wreckage and many corpses were subsequently washed up on the Irish and Scottish coasts.
     Though the exact cause of the Viknor’s loss cannot be established with certainty, it is possible that she struck a German mine. This could possibly have been one of the 200 laid in the same general area by the German auxiliary cruiser Berlin, one of which had sunk the British super-dreadnought HMS Audacious on October 27th 1914...
     The Viknor’s wreck was found by the Irish survey vessel Celtic Explorer in 2006 but the reason for her loss could still not be identified with absolute certainty.

The liner Atrato, later the Viking and lastly HMS Viknor

Killed in Action

BLOCKLEY – In loving memory of John Alfred Blockley, Warwick House, Kimbolton-road, Copnor, of H.M.S. Viknor, drowned off the Irish coast, January, 1915. – From his sorrowing wife and boys. R.I.P. Portsmouth Evening News, 29th January 1915.

SCOTT, William

William is recorded on the memorial in
First Presbyterian Church, Bangor

Able Seaman, HMS Majestic, Royal Navy
Service No: 216800
Died: 27/05/1915
Age: 31

Remembered on the Plymouth Naval Memorial
Remembered on family memorial in Bangor cemetery

William was born in Fisher's Hill, Bangor, on 18th November 1883. He was the son of William Scott, a boatman, and his wife Agnes Scott (nee Gray) and their second child the other being their daughter Jane Gray who had been born in Fisher's Hill on 12th March 1882.

Sadly, in 1884, when just eight months old, William lost his father to typhoid fever at the young age of 27.

In February 1891, William's mother remarried. His new step-father, William Smiley, was a blacksmith who was a widower with one daughter, Jane, who was born in August 1875.

The family continued to live in Bangor. Firstly in Ava Terrace where, on 6th December 1891, a sister Ruth was born and then in Ruthville, where three other siblings where born – Agnes May born 25th October 1893, Mary Elizabeth born 11th April 1896, and John Henry born 23rd April 1899.

The family then moved to Albert Street, Bangor, where, in the 1901 census, William is recorded as a clerk.

On 18th April 1902, William enlisted in Royal Navy (giving his date of birth as 18th April 1884) where he served on several ships such as Calliope, Royal Oak, and Magnificent.

HMS Majestic

Although he signed on for usual 12-year term in 1902, just over seven years later, on 9 May 1908, William's service document records 'Shore purchase' which usually means he purchased his release from service. It also records he joined the RFR (Royal Fleet Reserve) on 10 May 1908.

On 3rd March 1909, William, now working for the Milfort Weaving Company, married Annie Allen Johnston in St Annes Parish Church, Belfast.

Annie was living at 6 Castleton Avenue, Belfast, and it was here on 6th March 1909, there first child, Agnes May, was born.

William and his family moved subsequently to Parkmount Street, Belfast where they had three other children – Annie Eveline born 8th August 1910, Hilda Jean born 23rd February 1912, and Ruth Gray born 14 August 1913.

On the outbreak of war,  William was recalled for service and joined the  Majestic on 2nd August 1914.

It was on Majestic that William was lost when it was torpedoed on 27th May 1915.

The following is extracted from the Wikipedia page on Majestic:

Sinking of the Majestic

"When World War I broke out Majestic, together with the rest of the squadron, was attached to the Channel Fleet during the early stages of the war before being detached for escort duties with Canadian troop convoys. She then had spells as a guard ship at the Nore and the Humber. In early 1915, she was dispatched to the Mediterranean for service in the Dardanelles Campaign. She participated in bombardments of Turkish forts and supported the Allied landings at Gallipoli.

"On 27 May 1915, while stationed off W Beach at Cape Helles, Majestic became the third battleship to be torpedoed off the Gallipoli peninsula in two weeks. Around 0645 hours, Commander Otto Hersing of the German submarine U-21 fired a single torpedo through the defensive screen of destroyers and anti-torpedo nets, striking Majestic and causing a huge explosion. The ship began to list to port and in nine minutes had capsized in 54 feet (16 m) of water, killing 49 men. Her masts hit the mud of the sea bottom, and her upturned hull remained visible for many months until it was finally submerged when her foremast collapsed during a storm."

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

SCOTT – Lost, with sinking of H.M.S. Majestic, on 27th May 1915, William Scott, aged 31 years (late of Milfort Weaving Company, Ltd). Inserted in fond remembrance by his mother, Mrs. Wm. Smiley, Ruthville, Bangor, and his wife, Kylene Terrace, Croft Street, Bangor.

North Down Herald and County Down Independent, 25 June 1915.

HILL, Ernest Ludgate

Private, 26th Battalion,  Australian Infantry
Service No: 5048
Died: 14/11/1916
Age: 18

Remembered on Villers-Bretonneux Memorial
Remembered on family memorial in Bangor Cemetery

Ernest is recorded on the
Greyabbey and District War Memorial
at Greyabbey (St Saviour’s) Parish Church

Ernest Ludgate Hill was born in Greyabbey, Co. Down, on 25th December 1897. He was the son of Marshall Hill, a teacher, and his wife Sarah Louisa Hill (nee Ludgate) and the second of their six children.

Ernest grew up in Greyabbey but emigrated to Australia around 1914-15 where he worked on a farm.

He enlisted on 2nd February 1916 in Lismore, New South Wales, lying about his age when doing so by adding three years.

Initially placed in the 11th Depot Battalion he was then posted to the 14th Depot Batt. on 26th March 1916. He then joined 13th Reinforcement, 26th Battalion, on 1st April 1916.

Ernest embarked on the "Franconia" for England on 2 August 1916 before landing in France on 24th September 1916. He left Etaples on 2 October 1916 to join his unit at the front the following day.

He was initially reported missing on 14th November 1916, but on 19th April 1917, a report received through the Red Cross recorded him as a prisoner of war in Limberg, Germany.

This later proved incorrect and on 15th October 1919 was officially reported as killed in action on 14th November.

Barry Niblock, on his website North Doan and Ards War Dead, records the following: "Sometime later his family received a few of Ernest’s personal effects from a German soldier who forwarded them after Ernest died. The German soldier whose forename was Ernst had come upon Ernest’s body on the battlefield and had recovered the items from the pockets of Ernest’s uniform."

WELSH, Hugh

Rifleman, 12th Batt., Royal Irish Rifles
Service No: 18/1613
Died: 21/03/1918
Age: 19

Remembered on Pozieres Memorial
Remembered on family memorial in Bangor Cemetery

Hugh Welsh was born in Conlig on 20th November 1898. His father was William James Welsh, caretaker of the waterworks, and his wife Catherine Welsh (nee Sloan). He was the youngest of their five children.

His parents were married in Ballyblack Presbyterian Church in July 1988 (William living in Whitespots and Catherine living in Conlig.)

Sometime after this, his parents emigrated to the United States where their first three children were born – Sarah Jane in 1892, William Anthony in 1894, and Margaret Elizabeth in 1895. All are listed as being born in Battle Creek but there are a number of towns with this name in the US.

Shortly after Margaret was born the family returned home and were living in Whitespots when their fourth child Catherine was born in September 1897. They then moved to Conlig where Hugh was born.

By 1901 the family were living in Bangor Bog – a townland to the West of Bangor close to where Clandeboye Cemetery is located – but were back in Conlig by the time of the 1911 census.

A strange occurrence happened in 1914 when Hugh went missing on 16th March. His father advertised in the local papers for information. The Belfast Telegraph carried the following article

A CONLIG MYSTERY.
There whereabouts of Hugh Welsh, a fifteen-year-old lad, residing at Conlig, near Bangor, who disappeared on Monday last, still remains a mystery. On Monday the boy left Conlig for school at Bangor, when he was wearing brown corduroy trousers, blue coat and vest, and a blue skull cap. He did not reach his destination, but was last seen in the neighbourhood of Craigavad, to which he was traced via the Belfast Road. After that no further trace of him was found, and it is supposed he must have gone on in the direction of Belfast. The boy's father has visited every farmer in the locality, and also of his friends and relatives, who live in Belfast, but without result, for so far. Welsh is short of stature for his age, has very full face, brown hair and blue eyes, and a bright, attractive manner. Information has been conveyed to the police, and an active search is being made.

Belfast Telegraph, Monday 23rd March 1914, p8.

I have currently been unable to find any further information on this but some avenues of research still remain to be done.

Conlig Presbyterian Church War Memorial

Hugh next turns up in the records having enlisted in A company, 18th (Reserve) Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles in Newtownards when he gave his name as Walsh.

His will, which was witnessed in Clandeboye Camp, is stamped with the date 29th November 1917 suggesting he enlisted a number of months previously with the will being made following training and before being deployed.

Hugh Welsh was killed on 21 March 1918 during the German Spring offensive and is remembered on the Pozieres memorial.

TODD, James

Lance Corporal, Depot, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
Service No: 17745
Died: 10/06/1919
Age: 29

Interred in Bangor Cemetery

I have not been able to ascertain the date and place of James' birth which was not helped by the various ages recorded for him giving a possible date of birth of between 1886 and 1890. A possible entry for him in the 1911 census is that of James Todd working as a farm servant for Samuel and Anna Shaw in Ballykillaire (wrongly recorded as Ballykillaine in the census). The age recorded in the census is 21 which corresponds to the age on his death certificate of 29 – which I prefer to go with as the more accurate – with the CWGC giving an age of 33.

The first definite record for James is in 1912 when he married Elizabeth Jackson in Ballygilbert Presbyterian Church on the 4th November 1912. Here he gives his fathers name as James Todd, a labourer.

At this time James was living in Ballywooley (near Crawfordsburn).

Their first child, Agnes, was born on the 15th April 1913 in Ballybundon which is a townland near Killinchy.

James had been working for Mr. William M'Bride, a general merchant in Central Avenue, Bangor, when he enlisted on the 18th August 1914.

He joined the 6th Service Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, and was stationed in Portobello Barracks in Dublin when his second child, Elizabeth, was born just two months later on the 4th October 1914. The family were living in Railway View Street, Bangor, at this time.

The battalion moved to England in April 1915 before embarking for the Dardanelles landing in Gallipoli on the 7th August 1915.

An obituary for James in the Herald and Co Down Independent records that he "... was wounded at Achi Baba on 9th August, 1915. After recovery at home he joined the 29th Division in France, where he was wounded in January, 1918. He was discharged as unfit for further service through wounds in September, 1918, and on returning home was employed by Mr. R. J. Woods, Princetown Lodge, Bangor."

James never recovered from his injuries and took seriously ill in June 1919 being admitted to Bangor Hospital where he died on the 10 June 1919, the cause of death recorded as "Chronic Nephritis 2 years and Uraemic convulsions 2 days".

His obituary further records that James was "... laid to rest on Thursday afternoon, with military honours, in the New Cemetery. The firing party was composed of men of the Somerset Regiment, and behind the coffin, which was draped with a Union Jack and floral tributes, there marched the brethren of L.O.L. 1091, Crawfordsburn and members of the Bangor Branch, Comrades of the Great War. Despite the fact that a thunderstorm, accompanied by heavy rain, prevailed, there was a large muster of the general public."

McCONNELL, Robert

Rifleman Robert McConnell

Rifleman, Depot Batt., Royal Irish Rifles
Service No: 2313
Died: 05/03/1918
Age: 20

Interred in Bangor Cemetery

Robert McConnell was born on the 26th February 1898 in Herdstown, Donaghadee. Known as Bertie, he was the son of David McConnell, a labourer, and his wife Mary Ellen (nee Strain) and was the fifth of their 11 children.
 
The family lived in Herdstown before moving to Portavo (c1907) and thence to Bangor where they were living in Corporation by the time of the 1911 census and where Robert attended Bangor Grammar School.

When the war broke out Robert, his father David, and older brother David junior enlisted in the 13th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles. While there is no record to indicate when David junior enlisted, part of his father's Service Record survived which gives a date of 14th September 1914 and the entry for Robert's Silver War Badge gives his date as 20th November 1914. David seniors record also indicated that he had previously served seven years in the Royal Garrison Artillery.


Tragedy hit the family shortly afterwards however when, in October, his mother Mary died of ovarian cancer. The Newtownards Chronicle of 23rd October 1914 reported:

"... Deceased was the wife of David M'Connell, one of the Bangor U.V.F. at present in camp at Clandeboye. The case is a peculiarly sad one, as deceased leaves a family of ten children, six of whom are totally unfit to provide for themselves. Mrs. M'Connell has been ailing for several weeks, and it is much to be feared that a woman in humble circumstances could not, with the delay in the Government remittances, have received nourishment requisite to her delicate condition. Mr. M'Connell is well-known in Bangor having, before he enlisted, been in the employment of Mr. Hugh Morrow as driver of a dust cart for the Urban Council."

His father was discharged in November to look after the young family.

On the 1st July 1916, Robert's brother David was reported as killed at the Somme.

In December 1916 Robert's brother George, now living in Donaghadee, married Bridie Coughlin. They later moved into the family home in Church Street.

Robert and his brother David are remembered on the
memorial in St Comgall's parish church

In September 1917 his father David re-enlisted in Belfast with the Royal Garrison Artillery. He was later transferred to the Labour Corps before being compulsorily transferred to the Durham Light Infantry (28th Batt.) in June 1918. He was demobilised in February 1919 and was finally discharged in March 1920.

Robert became ill and developed pulmonary tuberculosis and in April 1917 was discharged from the Army going to live in the family home in Church Street.

On the 5th March 1918, Robert McConnell died in Forster Green Hospital of Pulmonary Haemorrhage aged 20.

McCLURE, James

Corporal, 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays)
Service No: D/21116
Died: 30/03/1918
Age: 28

Interred in Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery
Remembered on family memorial in Bangor Cemetery

James was born on 17 April 1889 in Castle Street, Bangor. He was the son of John McClure, a sailor, and Elizabeth (Bessie) McClure (nee McAlorum. While her maiden name on the family headstone is 'McAloran' the various documents available record the name as 'McAlorum' or 'McIlorum'). His parents married in St Annes Church, Belfast, on 1 August 1887.

The family moved to Bangor for a short while where James (Castle St.) and his brother John (West St.) were born.

They returned to Belfast shortly after and John died here in December 1892, at Canmore Street, Belfast. Three of James' sisters were born in Belfast – Maggie (1893); Martha (1897); and Kathleen (1899).

After Kathleen's birth the family moved to live in Castle Street, Bangor, where the remainder of James' siblings where born – Jane (1904); Alice (1905); Thomas (1908); and  Hugh (1909). It was also here that his grandmother died in 1916.

When the war broke out James enlisted and joined the 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen’s Bays) entering France with them in August 1914.

Troops of the 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays) on the march approaching
Hardecourt Wood, 18 September 1916. IWM Q4239.

The regiment, which had been was stationed at Aldershot at the start of the war, landed in France as part of the 1st Cavalry Brigade in the 1st Cavalry Division, part of the Expeditionary Force, in August 1914 for service on the Western Front. The regiment took part in the Great Retreat in August 1914, the Battle of Le Cateau in August 1914, the First Battle of the Marne in September 1914, the Battle of Messines in October 1914, the First Battle of Ypres in October 1914, the Battle of the Somme in Autumn 1916, the Battle of Cambrai in November 1917, the Battle of the Scarpe in August 1918 and in the final advance of Autumn 1918. [Wikipedia]

James McClure is recorded on the Bangor Parish
War Memorial in St. Comgall's Church

On the 27th March, the regiment crossed the Somme in support of the 2nd Cavalry Brigade and took up position filling in gaps in the line. At 10.30 on the morning of the 30th, the Germans commenced a bombardment of the front and at 12.30pm began an infantry assault.

James was killed in action in this assault, the War Diary recording that the regiment suffered 25 wounded, 2 missing and 7 killed on that day.

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.