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.

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.

CROZIER, Walter Henry

Walter and William Crozier*

Sergeant, 5th Royal Irish Rifles.

Interred in Bangor Cemetery.

Walter Henry Crozier was born on the 15 October 1881 in Carrickblacker, Co Armagh.

He was the son of William James Crozier, a coachman, and his wife Henrietta Crozier (nee Neill) and the third of their six children.

The family moved to Bangor in the late 1890s after the birth of the youngest child Elizabeth (known as May) who was born 1895 and where living in 72 Castle Street at the time of the 1901 census. Walter at this time is recorded as being a coach carpenter.

In 1902 Walter, now living in Bellevue Street, Belfast, married Annie Nelson in St Anne's Parish Church, Belfast.

They moved back to the Bangor area and it was here they had six children – William James (1903, Bangor); Hugh Nelson (1905, Groomsport); Walter Henry (1907, Groomsport); Archibald (1909, Bangor); Frederick (1912, Bangor. Walter now working as a Van Man); and Samuel, (1914, Bangor.)

Their second child, Hugh, died at only 8 months old.

When war broke out Walter and his brother William enlisted. Walter quickly progressed and was recorded as Pioneer Sergeant with the 5th Royal Irish Rifles stationed at Victoria Barracks, Belfast when their son Samuel was born.

Sadly Walter's wife Annie died on 11 December 1914 in Newtownards Workhouse. The cause of death was recorded as "general debility following childbirth – 1 month – pleurisy and cardiac failure 1 day certified." It has been stated that Samuel was later adopted.

While family lore said Walter stayed on Home Service training troops at Clandeboye, the Medal Roll for the Victory Medal shows that while Walter did spend most of his service with the 5th Reserve Battalion he may have enlisted with the 7th Reserve in Belfast before transferring to the 5th and also did brief stints with other battalions overseas.

Entry for Walter on the Roll for the Victory Medal.

Walter later married Mary Finlay on 11 February 1919 in St. Anne's Parish Church, Belfast.

William, Walter's younger brother, enlisted in the Royal Irish Rifles, and served with the 13th Battalion. He was killed in May 1917 at Kemmel Hill.

Walter's later life was beset with problems as some of his sons became involved in a life which brought them in constant contact with the courts.

In 1933 Walter's son Archibald married Alice Rice.

With the onset of the Second World War Walter's four sons – William, Walter, Archibald and Frederick – enlisted in the Army: William is reported as having been drowned in the Nile while on R&R; Walter in the RASC with the 8th Army; and Archibald is reported as being at Dunkirk and suffering later as a result.

Archibald died at the family home in Hazelbrooke Avenue in 1941.

Walter passed away there 10 years later on the 9th May 1951.

CROZIER – May 9, 1951, at his residence, 11 Hazelbrooke Avenue, Bangor, Walter, dearly-loved husband of Mary Crozier. House and funeral private. – Deeply regretted by the Family Circle.

Belfast Telegraph, 9 May 1951.

* This image is belived to be of Walter and William Crozier  although it is not confirmed or known who is who.

BEATTY, James Harold

Trooper, Fort Garry Horse, Canadian Mounted Rifles
Service No: 115976
Died: 01/04/1918
Age: 21

Interred in Hangard Communal Cemetery Extension
Remembered on family memorial in Bangor Cemetery

Known as 'Hal', James Harold Beatty was born on 16 January 1896 in Killarty, a townland near Brookeborough in Co Fermanagh. He was the son of James Joseph Beatty, a farmer, and his wife Annie Beatty nee Bamford.

Shortly after the family moved to Neonery in the townland of Crossdoney, Co Cavan and it was there that James grew up with his older brother George.

In April 1914, now a Clerk, James emigrated to Canada on the Empress of Ireland. Going to to Halifax, Nova Scotia, James was taking up a position as Bank Clerk with the Canadian Bank of Commerce.

Hal is recorded in the Canadian First World War
Book of Remembrance

James was living in Nokomis, Saskatchewan, when, on 16 February 1916, he went to Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, to enlist and was posted to the 10th Overseas Canadian Mounted Rifle Regiment.

Within a month of enlisting James health had suffered coming down with a mild case of influenza and a severe case of measles.

When he had recovered he embarked on the 29 April 1916 onboard the SS Olympic going to Shorncliffe, a camp near Cheriton in Kent, which was a staging post for troops destined for the Western Front. It was here in May, that James was promoted acting Lance Corporal.

James health also took another setback here when, in June, he contracted a mild case of German measles.

Reverting to the ranks at own request on 10 December 1916 shortly before leaving Shorncliffe on 17 December 1916 James left to join the Fort Garry Horse in France where it was part of the Canadian Cavalry Brigade, arriving on the 19 December 1916.

James joined his unit on 5 January 1917 and served with them for just over a year when he was killed in action on 1 April 1918.

ORR, John Francis

Rifleman, 11th Batt., Royal Irish Rifles
Service No: 18/358
Died: 01/07/1916

Remembered on the Thiepval Memorial
Remembered on family memorial in Bangor Cemetery

John Francis Orr was born on 28th September 1889 in Main Street, Bangor. He was the son of John Orr, a labourer and brick moulder, and his wife Agnes Orr (nee Fowler), and was the 8th of their 11 children.

The family moved to Castle Street in Bangor where they are recorded in the 1901 census and later in 1911. However, John, now working as a labourer, was staying with his sister Sarah in Ballyree in the census of 1911.

John enlisted with the 18th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles, which was formed in Holywood in April 1915 as a Reserve Battalion and which later moved to Clandeboye in July 1915.

It was while here he married Minnie McCamley on 8th October 1915 in Ballygilbert Presbyterian Church.

He was transferred to the 11th Battalion and entered France on the 8th December 1915.

John was reported missing after the first day the Battle of the Somme. His parents appealed for information in the local papers. It is reported that a soldier in a French hospital wrote and told them that he had seen John with shrapnel wounds to his legs but it was later confirmed that John must be presumed killed in action on the 1st July.

McEWAN, David

Rifleman David McEwan

Rifleman, 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles
Service No: 8596
Died: 10/03/1915
Age: 26

Remembered on Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial
Remembered on family memorial in Bangor Cemetery

David McEwan was born on the 18th December 1888 in Cushendun, Co Antrim. He was the son of St.George Glencairn McEwan (known as George), a coastguard, and his wife Ann nee McNeill and was the eldest of their six children. The birth, which was registered by his grandfather David McNeill, recorded the surname as McKeown but this was not picked (probably because his grandfather was illiterate) but a corrected entry was made in December 1899.

The family moved several times as George was posted to various stations. After David's sister Margaret was born in 1890 the family moved to Slieveban in Co Donegal. It was here his brothers George, William and Isaac where born. The family then moved to Helen's Bay where brother Charles was born in 1899. When his father George retired from the Coastguard the family moved to Hardcastle Street in Belfast and it was here George died in 1914.

About 1907 David enlisted in the 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles. The 2nd Battalion had been stationed in Ireland but in 1906 had moved to Aldershot before moving to Dover in 1909. It was in the Citadel Barracks there that David is recorded in the 1911 census as having attained the rank of corporal.

When war broke out the 2nd Battalion, now stationed at Tidworth, were mobilised leaving there on the 13th August and disembarking at Rouen the following day. They moved forward and were involved in the battle of Mons on 23rd August.

David may have missed this engagement, however, as his Medal Index Card records the date on entering the theatre of war as the 26th August, but would have been involved in the first Battle of Ypres and La Bassée after which the battalion had been reduced to 40 men.

In March 1915, the 1st Battalion took part in the Battle of Neuve Chapelle, an attempt to seize Aubers Ridge, attacking over the same ground where the 2nd Battalion had been virtually wiped out at the Battle of La Bassée the previous October. In their ranks were veterans of Mons, redrafted from the 2nd Battalion on recovery from wounds, etc. One of those men was David McEwan.

The Northern Whig of 2nd April 1915, reported: "Details of the losses sustained by the 1st Battalion Royal Irish Rifles at Neuve Chapelle, on the 10th ult., and subsequent days, continue to be received in Belfast... Rifleman David M'Ewan, killed in action, was a son of Mrs A. M'Ewan, 34, Hardcastle Street, Belfast. He was 26 years of age, and was serving at the front since November last."

Portrait image courtesy of Nigel Henderson, Great War Ulster Newspaper Clippings