August 19

remembrance ni

VJ - Northern Ireland’s Japanese POWs

HMS Exeter first came to public notice for her role in the Battle of the River Plate. Exeter was sunk in the Java Sea off Indonesia by Japanese forces on March 1,1942 after being intercepted by heavy cruisers.

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The survivors including men and boys from Northern Ireland and Exeter’s captain became prisoners of war. 153 died in captivity and 3 more just after the war.

Today remembrance ni shares work in progress - the compiling of a Roll of Honour of Japanese POWs from N Ireland. Please e-mail additional names and information to address on last page

Castlerock CPO who survived two ships sinking and being a Japanese POW after HMS Exeter Until he joined the merchant navy, George Thompson lived at the Barmouth, Castlerock, where the Rover Bann flows into the Atlantic.

As a youth in the early 1930’s he helped his father to operate the row boat ferry from the

Barmouth side of the Bann to the Portstewart side. Between the runs he helped his father fish round the dangerous waters of the Bann estuary. He said his father knew no fear.

One day when aged 16 George was in Coleraine. A steamship was loading in the harbour. He shouted to a sailor, “would you have a vacancy for a deck hand?” “What’s your experience,” was the answer. “I fish with my father around the mouth of the Bann,” George replied.

George immediately went home for some clothes. His mother was so upset she couldn’t come to the door of their

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cottage on the Bann side and wave to George as he sailed away later that day.

In the merchant navy he visited five countries prior to the war. He had seen a lot of sea before he was paid off in Liverpool to await joining another ship. It was there he joined the Royal Navy.

He recalled that everything in the Royal Navy was so much better. It was all so very disciplined. He arranged from the beginning that a portion of his pay would be directed to his mother weekly for her own use.

When the war started he was right in the middle of the acton from the beginning. After a number of dangerous operations his ship, HMS Curlew, was bombed by the German airforce and sank in a Norwegian fjord. George was one of the survivors who returned to England.

It was not long before he was posted to HMS Exeter. The ship made famous from its role in what became known as the Battle of the River Plate, was sunk by Japanese bombers in the Battle of Java. George was picked up from the shark-infested waters to be interned in a Japanese prisoner of war camp for over three years.

For some months nothing was known about him until a Portrush amateur radio enthusiast heard a Japanese radio propaganda programme saying, “Mrs Thompson of the Barmouth need not worry about George because he is safe in their hands and was being treated as though he was in a hotel.” Nevertheless, disregarding the lie about the hotel, the news conveyed hope to Mrs Thompson. George’s father died of a broken heart because he didn’t know what had happened to his son.

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George in the POW camp may have wondered about his three brothers who were also at sea. It was just as well he did not learn until he came home that Jimmy, William and Johnny had perished in some way.

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Reduced to skin and bone, George survived and served out his time in the navy before saying goodbye to the sea. He found a job in Coleraine and met his wife Elizabeth who was from Kilrea. They lived in Gortree Park in Castlerock and had a family of two boys and two girls.

Just when things were looking good for the future, Elizabeth was injured in a road accident. After quite a period of tender, loving, care, she died, whilst still a young woman. George raised his family as a single parent. Indeed, he felt he had three daughters when he brought into his family a little neice whose mother had died when quite young.

George was an active member of the Limavady Branch of the RNA. Each year he laid the wreath at Christ Church Parish Church Service of Remembrance in Castlerock.

It was in the parish church that the service was held prior to George’s funeral.on Monday 26th December, 2003. The seaman’s hymn, “Eternal Father, strong to save...” was sung. Among the congregation was Seamus McLaughlin, a wartime submariner from Articlave near Castlerock. A grandson, serving in the Royal Navy, read the Naval Prayer and Royal Naval Association Standard Bearers led the cortege from the church to the nearby junction where the promenade rises and the great Atlantic Ocean, well-known to George, was visible. George’s remains rest in Articlave churchyard.

George told a friend that whilst in the navy he had never missed Divine Service at sea if he could manage it and that he noticed “that when we had to bury someone at sea, everyone was reverent.”

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On 30 August 1942, the Japanese ordered the 20,100 prisoners of war in Changi Jail, Singapore, to sign an undertaking not to escape. The POWs refused and they were crowded into Selerang Barracks (which had accommodation for 120) until they signed under duress on 4 September. The photograph shows the crowded Barrack Square during what became known as the ‘Selerang Incident’.

A daughter’s tribute

Writing in Castlerock Parish Magazine, George’s daughter, Melda Campbell, recalled -

“As the time draws near to the 11th of November, I think of my father, George Thompson. What would his thoughts and

memories be on the 11th of November? How he would be polishing his medals with pride for the Church Remembrance Service.

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A photograph found on the body of a dead Japanese soldier showing Australian army Sergeant Leonard G. Siffleet about to be beheaded, in New Guinea on 24th October 1943. The execution was ordered after Sgt Siffleet was captured while on reconnaissance behind Japanese lines. Colonel Jack Baillie from Belfast - see RH below - witnessed such an execution of a friend.

“I am sure he would have many thoughts about the events that shaped his time at sea during the war. How he was taken captive on that fateful day when his ship HMS Exeter, was sunk by the Japanese and he became a prisoner of war. How he had survived from having malaria whilst he was held as a POW for four years. To have previously survived being sunk not once but twice he must have wondered if he would make it. And then to be freed and come home when the war ended.

“My father, like most POW's, didn't speak much of his terrible ordeal at the hands of his captors. He only did so to reflect on his young comrades who were not fortunate enough to survive and come home to their families.

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“Like so many others on 11th November I will remember those brave men and women, who fought courageously and suffered so much, some losing their lives and not returning. We are lucky, my father returned and had a long and happy life. We are blessed to have shared it with him.

“With the greatest respect and love for my father.”

Roll of Honour Japanese Prisoners of War

from Northern Ireland

BAILLIE, Jack

Royal Artillery. Later Hon. Colonel 102 (Ulster & Scottish) Air Defence Regiment, Royal Artillery.+BELL, David Dunwoody

Royal Artillery. Lieutenant. 140727. Died 15/12/1942. 148 (The Bedfordshire Yeo.) Field Regt. Ballymena Academy and TCD. Japanese PoW on Burma-Siam railway. Son of Henry Edward and Mary Bell, of Gracehill, Co. Antrim. Chungkai War Cemetery, Thailand

BELL, StanleyRN. AB. HMS Exeter. After the sinking of Exeter on 01/03/1942. he became a PoW. He was aged 19 and was held in Celebes. From Belfast. Father of Eileen Gray. Died December 1994.

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+CALVERT, Hans RN. Signalman. D/JX 229549. HMS Tamar. Japanese PoW. Died 02/10/1942. Hans was being transported from Hong Kong to Shanghai in the hold of Lisbon Maru. On 27/09/1942 the Lisbon Maru left Hong Kong for Shanghai with 1816 prisoners on board. She was Torpedoed on 01/10/1942 by USS Grouper, 6 miles from Tung Fusham Island, off the China coast, 29°57'N, 122°56'N. Son of Thomas M. and Sarah J. Calvert, Comber. Plymouth Naval Memorial, Panel 67. Comber WM

COATES, WilliamRAF. Dunmurry. Japanese PofW. See Remni December 5. The Parish Church Choir welcomed their member home on 05/12/1945

+COLEMAN, Robin Benjamin Bunch

Royal Artillery. 9 HAA Regt. Lieutenant. 87490. Died 05/03/1943. Aged 33. Ballymena Academy and Campbell College. Son of James and Doris Coleman, of Greystone, Galgorm Rd., Ballymena. Singapore Memorial, Singapore. Derry Cathedral WM, West Presbyterian Church, Ballymena

+DUNCAN, Samuel George RM. Marine, PLY/X3717, Royal Marines. Died 19/07/1943 as a Prisoner of War at Konue Camp. Force Z. In HMS Repulse which together with HMS Prince of Wales had left Singapore shortly after the outbreak of war with Japan on 08/12/1941 in an attempt to intercept a Japanese invasion convoy going towards Malaya. He survived her sinking by Japanese war planes dropping torpedos on 10/12/1941. Although he was rescued, Marine Duncan was

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subsequently taken prisoner and died as a prisoner of war at Konue Camp. Son of Samuel and Lucy Duncan, Soarn Cottage, Stewartstown. Kanchanaburi War Cemetery, Thailand.

GALLAGHER, FJHMS Caroline. RNVR. Chief Ordinance artificer. Drafted to Singapore at outbreak of war, worked at the naval base there, and being promoted to Chief Ordnance Artificer. After the fall of Singapore, joined a small auxiliary vessel and attempted to escape, but was captured and became prisoner-of-war for three years, suffering dysentry, beri beri, and other privations.

+HILLEN, James

Royal Artillery. Gunner. 1427283. Died 31/01/1944. Aged 24.16 Defence Regt. Son of Patrick and Bridget Hillen, of Newry. Yokohama War Cemetery, Japan

+KILGORE, JohnRoyal Artillery. 5 HAA Regiment. 7 Bty. Gunner. Died 12/10/1942. in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp. Age 22. Resident of Bellview Avenue, Londonderry. Son of James E. and Annie Kilgore, of Londonderry.Yokohama War Cemetery.

FORBES, A SRN. Boy First Class. HMS Exeter. Japanese prisoner of war after the Battle of Java. Son of Mr and Mrs A Forbes, Cregagh St., Belfast

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Cemetery at Kanchanaburi (aka Bridge over the R Kwai)

+KYLE, Hubert

Royal Artillery. Gunner. 833155. Died 14/03/1944. Aged 33. 7

Bty., 5 H.A.A. Regt. Son of Robert and Jennie Kyle, of Clogher, Co. Tyrone. Yokohama War Cemetery, Japan

McCALL, James ARN. Telegraphist. Enlisted January 1940. HMS Prince of Wales. Malta. Aboard ship which took Winston Churchill to meet President Rooseveldt off Newfoundland. In Repulse - Scapa Flow to Ceylon and Singapore with four destroyers. In HMS Sultan on lead up to evacuation and fall of Singapore on Friday 13/02/1942. Then in HMS Kuala which

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was sunk by Japanese aircraft. 200 of 300 on board killed including women, children and nurses. Machine gun fire. Eventually became Japanese POW. One of 1,000 taken. Made to work on the notorious Burma ‘Death Railway’, where thousands of allied soldiers were starved and worked to death by the Japanese. The Thailand–Burma Railway was a 415 kilometres (258 mile) railway between Bangkok, Thailand, and Rangoon, Burma (now Yangon, Myanmar), built by the Japanese Empire during World War II, to support its forces in the Burma campaign. Eventually brought to Saigon. From Mossley

+McCRACKEN, William Edward

Royal Australian Artillery. Gunner. VX37108. Died 10/06/1945. Aged 35. 4 Anti Tank Regt. Died of an illness whilst a PoW of the Japanese. Son of Mr. and Mrs. R. McCracken, of Finaghy. Labuan Memorial, Malaysia

McPHILLIPS, Jack RN. Stoker. CGM award in recognition of his feat in attacking a sentry whilst he was a Japanese PoW in Sumatra. He thus enabled the escape of six internees. He was taken prisoner following the sinking of HMS Exeter in the Battle of the Java Sea. When he was posted back to the service he was seriously wounded at Algiers and was discharged. In the course of his service he had been wounded five times and took part in no fewer than seven evacuations - Norway, Dunkirk, Greece, Crete, Singapore, Sumatra and Java. A brother Patrick was serving in the RAF. Married with one child he resided at Forest St., Springfield Ave., Belfast. His mother resided in Scotch St., (Belfast Weekly Telegraph 22/12/1944).

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Statues at Kanchanaburi.

+MITCHELL, Ian Desmond Vance

Leicestershire Regiment. Captain. Died on July 22/27,1942 while a prisoner-of-war in Japanese hands.

Captain Mitchell, who was twice wounded in the Malayan fighting, joined the Army about four years before his death, and was serving on the North West Frontier on the outbreak of WW2. His regiment was then transferred from India to Malaya just after the Japanese entered the War. He was educated at Wrekin College, later going to Sandhurst. He was well known in Londonderry, where he had many friends, particularly in sporting circles. When on leave he organised cricket matches in the city and also took part in football. Son of John and Violet Mitchell, 6, Templemore Park, Londonderry. Member of St Columb’s Cathedral, Londonderry. Kranji War Cemetery, Singapore.

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+SMYTH, John Reginald WalterRoyal Artillery. Gunner. 872147. Died 15/09/1943. Aged 23. 7 Coast Regt. Forced to work on the Thailand - Burma Railway, he died in a Japanese prison camp. Third son of John and Mary Smyth, 38 King Street, Waterside, Londonderry. Gunner Smyth was serving in Malaya when

MURRAY, FrancisRAMC. Used Irish in his letters home to avoid Japanese censorship. (Research and writing in progress).

NICHOLL, HughRN. Boy. Reported missing in Far East. Later confirmed as a Japanese prisoner of war following the sinking of HMS Exeter in the Battle of Java. Son of Mrs Mary Nicholl, Cuan Place, Belfast. (Belfast Weekly Telegraph 20/03/1942, 06/08/1943).

PANTRIDGE, FrankRAMC. On Burma railroad. (Research and writing in progress).

PURDY, Bertie RN. Seaman. HMS Exeter. Confirmed as Japanese prisoner of war. Son of Mrs Purdy, Old Town, Annalong. (Belfast Weekly Telegraph 28/05/1943).

SAULTERS, HarryRoyal Artillery. Sergeant. DCM awarded for his actions in defence of Singapore. Later POW in Changi. Husband to Edna and father to Robin. Rowan Drive, Seymour Hill, Dunmurry. Chairman, Lisburn RBL

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the Singapore garrison capitulated. Another brother, Fred, also served in the Royal Artillery. Interred in Kanchanaburi War Cemetery, Saeng Chuto Road, Kanchanaburi, Thailand. Family memorial Carnmoney Cemetery

+STEWART, Donald CampbellRoyal Navy. Able Seaman. Died in a Japanese prisoner of war camp on 07/05/1944. Age 25. Able Seaman Stewart was captured at the fall of Hong Kong, and died of acute pneumonia in a Japanese prisoner of war camp at Osaka. He had been in the Navy nine years. Second son of John and Elizabeth Stewart, 94, Beechwood Avenue, Londonderry. His younger brother, Sergeant James Dickson Stewart, lost his life in 1943 while on active service with the RAF. His two remaining brothers also served in WW2 – Corporal John Stewart in the RAF and Telegraphist Robert Stewart in the Royal Navy. Yokohama War Cemetery, Japan

THOMPSON, GeorgeCPO Stoker. HMS Exeter sinking. Japanese PoW. Limavady RNA. Castlerock. Articlave Parish Churchyard.

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SS Aquila

Belfast’s Aquila WRNSIn August 1941 Third Officer Alix Bruce from Belfast was amongst the first draft of 22 WRNS who were permitted to serve overseas. They boarded the SS Aquila in Liverpool. At that time members of the WRNS were not permitted to take passage in a Royal Navy ship of war, and were obliged to travel on one of the unarmed merchantmen sailing in the convoy.

Aguila (Master Arthur Firth) was a 3,255 ton steam passenger ship. She sailed on 13/08/1941 with Convoy OG71 as the Commodore ship, with 22 ships bound for Gibraltar. During the approach to Gibraltar on August 19, the SS Aquila was hit amidships by a torpedo from U-201 (Schnee) and sank in under two minutes, taking with her 152 souls, amongst whom were most of the Wrens. There were only 16 survivors, 10 were picked up by HMS

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OnThisDay 1941 Convoy OG41 was attacked by wolfpack.

Memorial to Aguila WRNS in the National Memorial Arboretum

Wallflower and 6, including the surviving Wrens, were picked up by the Empire Oak, a 484 ton steam tug.

Three days later, on 22 August, the Empire Oak itself was torpedoed and sunk by U-564 (Suhren) with the loss of 19 lives, among whom were the Wrens. In all, eight ships from convoy OG71 were sunk and none of the twenty one Wrens survived.

It was this incident that persuaded the Lords of the Admiralty to change Fleet Orders to permit future groups of Wrens on draft to overseas stations, to take passage in British warships.

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Alex Bruce was the daughter of a well known Belfast family. Her name is recorded on the family memorial in Clifton Street cemetery.

The RNLI Aguila Wren

As a tribute to their memory, an Aguila Wrens Memorial Fund was established, with all serving Wrens donating a day’s pay, which raised over £4,000. The fund was administered by the co-trustees Edward Benjamin and Canon Ogle, both of whom had lost daughters on the Aguila. Part of the fund was put towards the construction of HMS Wren a new anti submarine Black Swan class sloop, to be commanded later by Captain John Walker. The cost of the sick bay equipment was subscribed by friends and relatives of the 21 Wrens, and a plaque was placed in the bay commemorating them by name. HMS Wren was launched in 1942 and became known as the Wren’s ship.

The balance of the fund was donated to the RNLI to build a new lifeboat the Aguila Wren (no. 892). At its launching ceremony in Aberystwyth on 28 June 1952, Edward Benjamin, in formally presenting the lifeboat to the RNLI, said "It was most fitting that these women who gave their lives should be commemorated in a boat whose sole purpose is to save life".

Attending the ceremony was Arthur Frith, the Aguila’s former Master, and Dame Vera Laughton Matthews, the former Director of WRNS at the time. The lifeboat was stationed at Aberystwyth until 1964 when, after a refit, she went to Redcar, North Yorkshire. On 22 November 1972 it was sold to the Scunthorpe Sea Cadets as a training vessel, who

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Nicholas Monsarrat remembered loss with Third Officer Julie Hallam in his book, The Cruel Sea

kept it for the next twenty years. There is, in the National Memorial Arboretum, a memorial to the Aguila Wrens and a book titled "Nightmare Convoy: the

Story of the Lost Wrens", by Paul Lund and Harry Ludlam.

+JOY, Alix BruceWRNS. Third Officer. Lost at sea through enemy action by German submarine U - 201 August 1941when 22 members of WRNS were lost when travelling in SS Aguila to HMS Cormorant, the RN base at Gibraltar. Only child of William Bruce Rainey Joy, MC and Josephine Joy. Family memorial Clifton Street graveyard, Belfast

 

The Dieppe raid 1942In August 1942 the Allies tried to open up a new front on the French coast near Dieppe.

It was one of the most expensive Allied operations of the war in terms of casualties. Thousands of men died, many mowed down by German machine-guns stationed on the heavily-fortified cliffs, and even more, were captured or wounded.

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Germany was fighting battles on two fronts. On the same day, it was defending its western front at Dieppe, Hitler’s 6th Army was attacking Stalingrad in the east. See five entries from Northern Ireland in today’s Roll of Honour

On this day - August 19

1914

The British Expeditionary Force arrives in Europe. According to legend, the Kaiser describes the six infantry divisions and five cavalry brigades sent across the Channel as "that contemptible little army."In Belgium, the Germans reach the Dinant-Neufchateau line and occupy Louvain. The Belgians are defeated at Aerschot and fall back towards Antwerp.

1917 It is reported that the British line has slightly advanced on a one mile front in neighbourhood of the Ypres-Poelcapelle road.

1940 One of history's largest dogfights rages above southern England as the Luftwaffe tries to break the RAF. More than 100 planes are shot down in what will be remembered as the "Hardest Day" of the Battle of Britain.

1941 The Aguila WRNS - Convoy OG41 became first convoy attacked by wolfpack. Several units sank including HQ Ship, SS Aguila killing 145 including 21 WRNS and 1 QARNNS. Lt

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Cdr Monsarrat of escort HMS Campanula remembered the loss with Third Officer Julie Hallam in his book, The Cruel Sea. See article on this site today of a Belfast WRNS in Aguila.

1942 Over 4,000 Canadian and British soldiers killed, wounded or captured raiding Dieppe, France

1944 With the Allied army approaching Paris, the French Resistance rises up against Nazi troops occupying the city. More than 3,200 Germans die in four days of fighting. The Allied armies arrive on Aug. 2

Roll of Honour - August 19

Representing their comrades who died on this day

1915

+BLACKER, Henry PatrickRoyal Irish Fusiliers, 5th Btn. Private. 11667. Died 19/08/1915. Age 23. His brother Hugh, also RIF, was wounded at the front and died in Netley Hospital near Southampton on August 28, a few days after Henry’s death. Son of the late Henry Blacker and Annie Murphy, of John Street, Portadown. Helles Memorial, Turkey. Hugh’s remains rest in in Portadown R.C. Cemetery, Garvaghy Road.

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+HOLLOWAY, George Alexander

RMLI - Royal Marine Light Infantry, Chatham Battalion. Private, CH/416(S). Died of wounds at the Dardanelles at 11 Casualty Clearing Station on 19/08/1915. Aged 20. He died of gunshot wounds to his chest. Enlisted Belfast 13/10/1914. Chatham Battalion MEF 06/02/1915 - 29/04/1915. GSW left shoulder, rejoined Chatham Btn (undated) -18/08/1915 wounded. Born on the 30/09/1894 at Howth, Dublin to George and Ada R, later of 35, Jameson Street, Belfast. In 1901 he was living with his parents and siblings at 5, Corballis, Julianstown, Meath. Lancashire Landing Cemetery, Gallipoli, Turkey. St Jude’s C of I Church, Belfast, WM. IMR. ADM 159/143/416

+KNOX, Uchtred Charles Guy.  7 Canadian Infantry, BCR. Private. 77047.Died 19/08/1915. Age 25. Born in Hillsborough, Co. Down on 07/05/1890, he was a single man and clerk by profession.  He enlisted at Victoria in British Columbia on the 07/11/1914 aged 24 years and 7 months.  5’ 9’’ in height, he had a 42’’ chest with 2’’ expansion, a fair complexion, green eyes and light coloured hair.  He was in the Militia, belonging to the 88th Regiment (Victori) Fusiliers, and volunteered to be posted overseas. He was the son of Mrs. Knox of 1817 Bank Street, Victoria, and brother of George W. Knox of 1529 Fort Street, Victoria.

1916 - HMS NOTTINGHAM

Nottingham was launched in 1913 and was involved in the Battles of Heligoland Bight, Dogger Bank, and Jutland. Engaged in a sweep of the North Sea in thick mist, at 0600

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Nottingham was hit by two torpedoes from U-52, a third torpedo hitting her 30 minutes later. She sank at 0710.

+ENNIS, Robert

RN. Stoker 1st Class. K16955. HMS Nottingham. Died 19/08/1916. Age 23. Nottingham was launched in 1913 and was involved in the Battles of Heligoland Bight, Dogger Bank and Jutland. Engaged in a sweep of the North Sea in thick mist, at 0600 Nottingham was hit by two torpedoes from U-52, a third torpedo hitting her 30 minutes later. She sank at 0710. Prior to the war Robert worked as a farm labourer. Born Kircubbin. Son of David and Mary (nee McCann) Ennis, Butterlump, Ballyhalbert. Plymouth Naval Memorial. Ballyhalbert (Glastry) - PCI RH. Family memorial in Kirkubbin Presbyterian Church graveyard.

+GARRY, Arthur Foley RN. Engine Room Artificer 1st Class. 268538. HMS Nottingham. Died 19/08/1916. Age 47. Killed in action with submarine in North Sea. Son of Charles Septimus Garry and Alicia Garry, Birkenhead; husband to Mary E. Vitty (formerly Garry), Park Avenue, Belfast. Sydenham RH.

+McILRATH, James

RN. Petty Officer Stoker. 299009. HMS Nottingham. Died 19/08/1916. Age 32. Killed during action with submarine in North Sea. Enrolled 12/11/1901 for 12 years. War service in Indus, Vivid II and Nottingham (03/04/1914 - 19/08/19160. Born Belfast 14/05/1883. Son of John and Jane McIlrath, Tennent St., Belfast; husband to Margaret McIlrath, Riga St, Belfast. Tynemouth (Preston) Cemetery, Northumberland. Ballysillan - PCI RH. IMR. ADM 188/485/299009

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1916

+BYRNE, P Royal Irish Fusiliers 8th Bn. Private. 23047. Died 19/08/1916. Age 33. Husband to Alice A. O'Hara (nee Byrne), of 4, John St., Lurgan. Bois-Carre Military Cemetery, Haisnes, France

+KENNEDY, FergusonRoyal Irish Rifles, 16th Btn. Rifleman.738. Died 19/08/1916. Age 23. Son of Mary Ann Montgomery, of Slatt, Ballymena. Berks Cemetery Extension, Belgium

+MURRAY, William JohnMachine Gun Corps, 1st Btn. Private. 20388. Died 19/08/1916. From Larne. Caterpillar Valley Cemetery, Longueval, France

+STUART, HW Royal Army Medical Corps, 73rd Field Amb, Corporal. 49655. Died 19/08/1916.Age 28. Age 28 years old. Son of James and Fannie Stuart, of 20, Ravenhill Gardens, Belfast. Bronfay Farm Military Cemetery, Bray-sur-Somme, France

1917

+ALEXANDER, Samuel

Canadian Contingent, Private. Died of wounds at No. 6 Casualty Clearing Station on the 19/08/1917. Son of Hugh and Agnes Alexander, of Crossgar, Co. Down; husband of Eliza Jane Alexander, of Ballydugan, Downpatrick, Co. Down, Ireland.

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+CARSON, HenryRoyal Irish Rifles, 11th or 8/9 Btn. Rifleman. 8/713. Died 19/07/1917. Age 27. It is likely he was wounded during the attack on Langemarck on August 16 which also claimed the lives of fellow-Banbridge men CSM Robert Barr and Rifleman John Brown and then brought to one of the four Casualty Clearing Stations. Chaplain, Rev GM Wheeler in a letter to his aunt Letitia Carson of Hill Street, Banbridge said, “He laid down his life as a brave soldier, and I have laid him to rest in our little cemetery here”. Amalgamations of the battalions indicated above did not take place until August 29, so there may never be certainty as to which Henry belonged at the time of his death. Pre-war Henry worked at Banbridge Hemstitching Company. He was a member of the UVF (West Down Regiment). Involved in military servce in Dubln during the Easter Rising. Medinghem Military Cemetery, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium. Seapatrick Parish Church RH, Banbridge

+CONROY, James Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, 7th Btn. 4226. Died 19/08/1917 of wounds near Ypres. He was born on 13/06/1894 in Ballymacelory, County Tyrone. He was the second of seven children, all born in the area north of Ballygawley. They were a farming family. James Conroy enlisted in Omagh. Eldest son of Patrick and Margaret Conroy of Tulluglush, Ballygawley. Brandhoek New Military Cemetery No 3, Belgium

+FEIGHAN, MichaelMachine Gun Corps. Private. 73523, Machine Gun Corps. Died 19/08/1917. Aged 24. Son of William and Mary Ann Feighan, of Scotland; husband to Rose Feighan, of 48,

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Frederick St., Bessbrook, Mendinghem Military Cemetery, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium

+McKEE, David CraigRoyal Irish Rifles, 16th Btn. Serjeant. 18/121. Died 19 /08/1917. Son of Robert James McKee, of Kilwaughter, Larne. Brandhoek New Military Cemetery No.3, Belgium

1918

+HOLLOWAY, George Alexander RMLI. CH/416/S. Chatham Division. RND. Died 19/08/1915 of wounds in 11th Casualty Clearing Station. Age 20. Enlisted Belfast 13/10/1914. Chatham Battalion MEF 06/02/1915 - 29/04/1915. GSW left shoulder, rejoined Chatham Btn (undated) -18/08/1915 wounded. Born Dublin 30/09/1894. Son of George and Ada R. Holloway, Jameson St., Belfast. Lancashire Landing Cemetery, Gallipoli, Turkey. IMR. ADM 159/143/416

+PARKER, Robert JohnRoyal Irish Rifles, 15th Btn, previously 10th Btn Royal Irish Rifles (South Belfast Volunteers). Rifleman.10/15758. Died 19/08/1918. Aged 24. Twice wounded. Born 10/09/1893. Robert was a painter by trade, and on 28/09/1912 along with his brother James signed the Ulster Solemn League and Covenant while his mum and sister signed the Women's Declaration. (Northern Whig 18/10/1918). Son of Margaret Parker nee Graham and the late John Parker, of 11 City Street, Belfast. Bertenacre Military Cemetery, Fletre, France. St. Andrew's C of I Parish RH which is currently held in St. Aidan's C of I Parish Church, Sandy Row, Belfast.

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1919

+RODGERS, William John

RN. AB. 186873 (CH). HMS Holderness. Died 19/08/1919. Age 39. Accidental drowning. Born 14/02/1880. Tartaraghan, Armagh. Son of William James and Mary Rodgers, Cloncarrish, Tartaraghan, Co. Armagh. Husband to Mary Elizabeth Abraham. Hornsea Cemetery, East Yorks. Tartaraghan - PCI RH

1942 COMBINED OPERATIONS DIEPPE

+BOYD, Austin Stanley RAFVR. Sergeant. 1112889. Died19/08/1942. Aged 32.13 Sqdn. Son of Robert John and Sarah Jane Boyd, Belfast. Dieppe Canadian War Cemetery, Hautot-Sur-Mer, France

+CONNOLLY, Harry

RAFVR. Flight Lieutenant (Pilot).100563. Service Number 100563. Died 19/08/1942. Aged 25. 32 Sqdn. Son of William James Connolly and Jane Connolly, of Lisburn. Dieppe Canadian War Cemetery, Hautot-sur-Mer, Seine-Maratime, France

+HASLETT, Colin William Horner

HMS Caroline. RNVR. Sub - Lieutenant. Died 19/08/1942. Age 21. HMS Quebec. Killed in action by a sniper during Operation Jubilee, the raid on Dieppe. Probationer Midshipman 30/08/1939. Midshipman 1940, seniority 30/08/1939. A/S. Lt 08/05/1941. 04/1940, HMS King Alfred (RNVR officers' training establishment, Hove, Sussex). 10/05/1940 - 02/1941, in 1941 in HMS Lunar Bow and HMS Quebec. HMS Proserpine (RN base, Scapa Flow).

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17/12/1941 - 19/08/1942, HMS Quebec (Combined Operations training centre, Inverary). Sedbergh School, Sedbergh, Cumbria (1936-1939). Brother of James who also served in RNVR in HMS Caroline and was awarded the DSC, “for great courage and resolution in action with enemy submarines”..Son of the late James Ross Haslett and Ethel Margaret Haslett, Greenisland, Co. Antrim. (Belfast Weekly Telegraph 17/12/1943). Portsmouth Naval Memorial, Panel 71.

+RODGERS, Edward

RNVR. AB. Died 19/08/1942. Age 23. HMS Victory III. Combined operations at Dieppe. Reservist in HMS Caroline, called up at outbreak of war. Two brothers serving in RAF. Son of James and Rhoda Rodgers, Azamor St., Shankill Rd., Belfast. Portsmouth Naval Memorial, Panel 71. (Belfast Weekly Telegraph 18/09/1942).

1942

+BOYD, Austin Stanley RAFVR. Sergeant. 1112889. Died19/08/1942.Aged 32.13 Sqdn. Son of Robert John and Sarah Jane Boyd, Belfast. Dieppe Canadian War Cemetery, Hautot-sur-Mer, France

+HASLETT, Colin William HornerHMS Caroline. RNVR. Sub - Lieutenant. HMS Quebec. Died 19/08/1942. Age 21. Killed in action by a sniper during Operation Jubilee, the raid on Dieppe. Probationer. Midshipman 30/08/1939. Midshipman 1940, seniority 30/08/1939. A/S. Lt 08/05/1941. 04/1940, HMS King Alfred (RNVR officers' training establishment, Hove, Sussex). 10/05/1940 - 02/1941, in 1941 in HMS Lunar Bow and HMS

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Quebec. HMS Proserpine (RN base, Scapa Flow). 17/12/1941 - 19/08/1942, HMS Quebec (Combined Operations training centre, Inverary). Sedbergh School, Sedbergh, Cumbria (1936-1939). Son of James Ross Haslett and Ethel Margaret Haslett, of Greenisland, Co. Antrim. James Ross Haslett was a merchant and he and Ethel Margaret Rea were married on 17/02/1909 in Whitehouse Presbyterian Church, Newtownabbey. Colin was a grandson of Sir James Horner Haslett, an Irish Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 until 1886. Sir James Horner Haslett was Mayor of Belfast in 1887 (the year he was knighted) and again in 1888; his statue stands outside Belfast City Hall. Colin and his brother, James Desmond Rea Haslett (born 04/10/1914) both attended Rockport School. Colin also attended Sedbergh School in Cumbria from 1936 until 1939 and then joined the RNVR. Portsmouth Naval Memorial, Panel 71. Rockport School RH

+LEECH, John Graham RAFVR. Sergeant. Died 19/08/1942. Aged 24. 610 Sqdn. Son of Nelson and Gertrude E. Leech, Belfast. Runnymede Memorial, Panel 86

+McMULLAN, William JohnRoyal Canadian Artillery. Gunner. K/14065. Died 19/08/1942. Aged 38. 3 Lt. A.A. Regt. Son of Archibald and Mary McMullan, of Benburb, Co. Tyrone. Brookwood 1939-1945 Memorial, Surrey

+McNEARY, JamesRAFVR. Sergeant. 1329586. Died 19/08/1942. Aged 35. 61

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Sqd. Son of Mark And Martha Mcneary, of Londonderry. Runnymede Memorial, Panel 89.

+RODGERS, EdwardRNVR. AB. Died 19/08/1942. Age 23. HMS Victory III. Combined operations at Dieppe. Reservist in HMS Caroline, called up at outbreak of war. Two brothers serving in RAF. Son of James and Rhoda Rodgers, Azamor St., Shankill Rd., Belfast. (Belfast Weekly Telegraph 18/09/1942, 13/10/1944). Portsmouth Naval Memorial, Panel 71.

1943

+BELL, David Cameronians (Scottish Rifles). Lance Corporal. 6983663. Died 19/07/1943. Age 22. Son of George Thomas and Maria Bell. Brother of Albert Bell. Catania War Cemetery. Sicily, Italy. Bessbrook RH

+McKEE, JohnLondon Irish Rifles. CSM. 7011969. Died 20/08/1943. Age 28. Son of John James Hill McKee and of Sarah McKee (nee McFarland); husband to Jane Winifred McKee, of Armagh. Catania War Cemetery, Sicily, Italy

1944

+DUGGAN, Francis AAC. The Parachute Regiment, A.A.C. 13th (2/4th Btn. The South Lancashire Regt.) Btn. Private. 6985293. Died 19/07/1944. Age 22. Son of Frank and Margaret Duggan, of Aghadowey, Co. Derry. Putot-en-Auge Churchyard, France

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+PITT, Henry William Royal Corps of Signals, 6th Airborne Div. Sigs.Corporal. 5111378. Died 19/07/1944. Age 24. Son of Henry and Agnes May Pitt; husband to Margaret Therese Pitt, of Londonderry. Ranville War Cemetery, Normandy France

1946

+WOODS, MorrisonRoyal Engineers. Sapper.153284. Died 19/08/1946, Aged 30. Husband to Phyllis Marguerite Woods of Bangor. Bangor Cemetery, Co. Down

VETERANS

 

JOHNSTON, Henry

RN. Stoker I. 298268. Enrolled 19/08/1901 for 12 years. War service in Rathay, Burghead, President IV and Edinburgh (Ullapool). Served to 21/03/1923. Born Portaferry 14/08/1882. ADM 188/483/298268

SCOTT, Arthur (Archie)

Canadian Expeditionary Force, 44th Battalion. Private. 622364. Enrolled at Winnipeg on 14/05/1915. Born on 19/08/1892 at Drummanaway, Drummaul, Randalstown. Son of labourer Thomas Scott and Ellen Baxter, who had married in Ballymena Register Office on 02/06/1887. They later lived at Aghaboy, Drumanaway, Randalstown. Archie was wounded by shrapnel while serving with the 27th Battalion and discharged as medically unfit on 31/01/1918.

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