Loughshore Men who died during the World Wars

[ExcellentDriver]

(*Taken from 'Ardboe Gallery' on Facebook*)

Private John O'Neill 1897-1916
by Ardboe Gallery on Thursday, November 11, 2010 at 12:28pm
John O'Neill, Aghacolumb, Ardboe, Co Tyrone (1897-1916)

20502 - Private John O'Neill
7th Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers

Killed in action 27 April 1916
Aged 19 years
Buried Philosophe British Military Cemetery, Mazingarbe, France
Grave 1-D-18

John O'Neill was born on 16 February 1897 at Aghacolumb, Ardboe, the
second son of John (Jack) O'Neill of Tamnavally, Ardboe, and Rose
Campbell of Motherwell, Scotland. Jack and Rose had fourteen children.

Prior to enlisting in the army, John O'Neill worked as a farm labourer
for Robert Orr, Ballysudden, Cookstown.

In later years John's sister, Rose Carty, Lissan, Cookstown, told of her
brother's disappearance one weekend early in 1915 –

John left Robert Orr's farm one Saturday evening on his bicycle, as he
did every Saturday night, to cycle home to Ardboe to stay for the
weekend. But he didn't show up at home that evening and this caused a
bit of concern. My mother asked my father to go to Robert Orr's to find
out if John was okay, but my father said he would leave it until Monday.
On Monday my father spoke to Robert Orr, who told him that John had left
on Saturday as usual, and was expected back to return to work on Monday
as he would normally do.

The two men made inquiries in Cookstown and later learnt that some boys
had gone off with the army, who had been recruiting in Cookstown that
weekend. When my mother found out, she was beside herself with grief.
John was tracked down in Randalstown in County Antrim. My mother made
inquiries as to whether John could come home, explaining that he was
just a boy and he was needed at home. John was adamant that he wanted to
stay with his friends and that he was enjoying army life. He told his
superiors that he wasn't needed at home as his father, his older
brother, and his younger sister were in employment. My mother still
wasn't happy about all this. John even pawned his good bicycle and brand
new suit. We never did find out where he pawned them.

John O'Neill remained in the army and finished his training at
Randalstown, Co Antrim, and later at Finner Camp, Ballyshannon, Co
Donegal. He enlisted with the 7th Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers.
His sister Rose Carty recounted –

John came home a couple of times when he was still in training. I used
to polish the buttons of his tunic and polish his boots. He used to
laugh that they weren't done right, but he was just joking with me. His
last time home on leave before he went to France really upset my mother,
because he was going away, but he assured her that he would be back
before long. On the journey from our house in Aghacolumb to Stewartstown
train station, he told my brother Pat and my sister Kathleen that he had
a feeling he would never see Stroud's Corner again. Stroud's Corner was
where he hung out with his friends at the weekends. He never did see it
again. It wasn't long after that we got the word that he had been
killed.

7th Inniskillings formed part of 49 Brigade of the 16th Irish Division
and on 2 December 1915 the Division was inspected by Her Majesty Queen
Mary.
In February 1916, 49 Brigade, which included the 7th and 8th
Inniskillings, was the last Brigade of the division to arrive in France.
Their first posting was the Loos Salient sector of the Western Front.

On 26 April 1916 the 7th Inniskillings were holding the line near
Hulluch when word was given of a possible gas attack by the Germans.
According to reports, a German deserter had come across to the British
lines and informed them of the impending attack. Everything was done to
strengthen the lines of defence. Dug-outs were provided with blanket
curtains as protection against the gas.

In the early hours of the morning of 27 April 1916 enemy action began
with bursts of rifle and machine gun fire, followed by a heavy artillery
bombardment. About 04.45 hours gas was released, the wind carrying it in
the direction of the Inniskilling front lines. The Germans left their
trenches, suffering some casualties as they crossed the open ground, but
they succeeded in penetrating the trench lines of B and C companies.
Hand to hand fighting ensued, and the Germans retreated with a few
prisoners. At 08.00 hours the Germans released more gas and advanced
again, but their attack broke down under very heavy fire when Lieutenant
HBO Mitchell with his Lewis-gun team stopped their advance. Bt 11.00
hours the crisis had passed and the Inniskillings set about re-building
their defences and counting their casualties.

Of the 24 officers and 603 other ranks who came into the line, 10
officers and 253 other ranks were listed as casualties. 8 men were
missing, 52 wounded, 137 gassed, and 66 dead, including Private John
O'Neill. Private William Wilson of Cookstown died of his wounds on 28
April. Subsequent actions over the next few days brought the total to 71
dead of the 7th Inniskillings and 57 dead of the 8th Inniskillings.

John O'Neill is buried in plot 1, row D, grave 18 at Philosophe British
Military Cemetery, Mazingarbe, France.
He is commemorated on Stewartstown Cenotaph

http://url.ie/dfy5


Private Paul McGuckin 1893-1917
by Ardboe Gallery on Thursday, November 11, 2010 at 12:20pm
Paul McGuckin, Lower Mullan, Ballinderry Bridge, Co Tyrone (1893-1917)

6678 Private Paul McGuckin
Machine Gun Corps – 141st Company
formerly 24755 Royal Irish Fusiliers

Killed in action Sunday 20 May 1917
Aged 23 years
Buried Bedford House Cemetery, Belgium
Enclosure 4 – Special Memorial 35

Paul McGuckin was born in Kinturk, Ardboe, on 27 June 1893, the fourth
child of Paul McGuckin and Eliza McVey. There were three girls and four
boys in the McGuckin family. When he left school Paul became a Lough
Neagh fisherman like his father and older brother Francis.

Paul McGuckin enlisted with the Royal Irish Fusiliers in Armagh but
later transferred into the 141st Company Machine Gun Corps. On Sunday 20
May 1917 he was killed in Flanders along with nine of his comrades.

When the Commonwealth War Graves Commission came to build the cemeteries
after the war, they misplaced the location of Paul McGuckin's burial
plot.

Paul McGuckin is commemorated on Special Memorial 35 at Bedford House
Cemetery, Belgium
Part of a machine gun unit in Belgium
Paul McGuckin's headstone in Bedford House Cemetery, Belgium

http://url.ie/dfy7

Private Thomas George Doris 1893-1918
by Ardboe Gallery on Thursday, November 11, 2010 at 12:08pm
Thomas George Doris, Farsnagh, Ardboe, Co Tyrone and Connecticut USA
(1893-1918)

Private Thomas George Doris
United States Army

Killed in action 7 October 1918
Aged 25 years
Buried Old Cross graveyard, Ardboe, Co Tyrone

Thomas George Doris was born on 28 April 1893 in Farsnagh, Ardboe,
County Tyrone. He was the second son, and third child, of Michael Doris
and Mary Anne Corr. There were nine children in the family: three girls
and six boys.

The Doris family owned a small farm on the shores of Lough Neagh, and
part of their income was derived from fishing on the lough. Tammy, as he
was known, was a Lough Neagh fisherman until he decided to emigrate to
the United States. He sailed from Liverpool in 1915 and settled in
Milford, Connecticut, on America's East Coast.

In the United States on 18 May 1917, the Selective Service Act was
passed, authorising the President to temporarily increase the military
establishment of the US. The Selective Service System, under the office
of the Provost Marshall General, was responsible for selecting men for
military service, from initial registration to the delivery of the men
to military training camps.

Thomas George Doris was one of the 24 million men in USA who were
eligible for the draft when the United States entered the First World
War on 6 April 1917. No United States Military draft details can be
found for him, as not all men eligible for military service actually
registered for the draft in 1917.

However it is known that Private Thomas Doris served with the American
Expeditionary Force in France. He was killed in action during the
Meuse-Argonne Offensive on Monday 7 October 1918.

Following the Armistice on 11 November 1918, an Irish-American priest
was responsible for the remains of several soldiers, Ulstermen who had
emigrated to America, being returned from France to the province of
their birth. One of these was Tammy Doris, and his remains were returned
home to the Old Cross of Ardboe. In February 1919 the whole parish
turned out to pay their respects as the funeral cortege made its way
from Lavery's Corner to the Old Cross, the coffin bedecked with the
Stars and Stripes, and flanked by a colour party of United States
soldiers.

Thomas George Doris was laid to rest in the family burial ground in the
Old Cross graveyard, in the shade of the old wishing-tree.

He is commemorated in United States of America, Soldiers of the Great
War – Volume 1 – Connecticut.
He is also commemorated on the family headstone in the Old Cross
graveyard, Ardboe
Private Tammy Doris

http://url.ie/dfy8


Corporal John Charles McKeown 1894-1918
by Ardboe Gallery on Thursday, November 11, 2010 at 11:51am
John Charles McKeown, Killygonland, Ardboe, Co Tyrone and Rhode Island
USA (1894-1918)

Corporal John Charles McKeown
327th Infantry Regiment, 82nd Division
American Expeditionary Force
United States Army

Killed in action 10 October 1918
Aged 24 years
Buried Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, Romagne, France
Grave G-16-2

Corporal John Charles McKeown was born at The Beeches, Killygonland,
Ardboe, Co Tyrone on 21 June 1894. He was the eldest of four sons and
four daughters of John McKeown and Mary Devlin, both of whom were
National School teachers. John Charles emigrated to USA in 1914,
embarking at Derry port.

In the United States on 18 May 1917, the Selective Service Act was
passed, authorising the President to temporarily increase the military
establishment of the US. The Selective Service System, under the office
of the Provost Marshall General, was responsible for selecting men for
military service, from initial registration to the delivery of the men
to military training camps.

John Charles McKeown was one of the 24 million men in USA who were
eligible for the draft when the United States entered the First World
War on 6 April 1917. He was drafted in the first registration of 5 June
1917, which conscripted all men between the ages of 21 and 31. His draft
was signed by William Davie of the draft board on 6 June 1917.

His draft card states that he was born on 21 June 1894 in County Tyrone,
Ireland. He worked as a clerk in Providence, Rhode Island. He had no
dependants, he was unmarried, Caucasian, and had no previous military
experience. He was described as tall, medium build, blue eyes, and black
hair. When he enlisted he was a resident of the Lonsdale district,
Providence, Rhode Island (Providence was a home from home for Ardboe
emigrants).

John Charles McKeown was listed as killed in action on Thursday 10
October 1918 during the US Army's biggest engagement in World War 1, the
Meuse-Argonne Offensive. This engagement began on 26 September 1918 and
ended with the Armistice of 11 November 1918. In those weeks the US Army
lost 27,000 men.

Corporal John Charles McKeown is buried in plot G, row 16, grave 2, in
Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, Romagne-sous-Montfaucon, France.
He is commemorated in United States of America, Soldiers of the Great
War – Volume 3 – Rhode Island.
He is also commemorated on the family headstone in Mullinahoe graveyard,
Ardboe
Part of the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, France
John Charles McKeown as a schoolboy in 1905

http://url.ie/dfy9

Fusilier Joe Conlon 1910-40
by Ardboe Gallery on Thursday, November 11, 2010 at 11:25am
Joseph Conlon, Aneetermore, Ardboe, Co Tyrone (1910-40)

6976397 Fusilier Joseph Conlon
2nd Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers

Killed in action 18 May 1940
Aged 29 years
Buried Gavrelle Communal Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France

Joseph Conlon was born on 5 September 1910, the sixth child of Frank
Conlon of Aneetermore and Biddy Doyle of Derrychrin, Ballinderry Bridge.
There were four girls and seven boys in the family. Joe's father was a
Lough Neagh fisherman, but Joe became a labourer when he left school. On
4 August 1939 the marriage of Joe and Sarah Ryan of Annaghmore took
place in Ardboe parish.

The Second World War began on 3 September 1939, and the German army
invaded Belgium, Holland, and France on 10 May 1940. The British and
French armies were taken by surprise and their positions were overrun by
the invasion. The confusion led to an evacuation to the coast. The 2nd
Battalion Inniskillings fought a rearguard action as part of the
withdrawal to Dunkirk.

Fusilier Joseph Conlon was killed on 18 May 1940.

He is buried in Gavrelle Communal Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France
He is also commemorated on the family headstone in Moortown graveyard
Fusilier Joe Conlon 1910-40
Retreat to Dunkirk May-June 1940

http://url.ie/dfyb

Able Seaman John McGuckin 1914-42
by Ardboe Gallery on Thursday, November 11, 2010 at 11:13am
John McGuckin, Derrychrin, Ballinderry Bridge, Co Tyrone (1914-42)

D/SSX 17378 Able Seaman John McGuckin
Royal Navy
HMS Jupiter

Lost at sea 27 February 1942
Plymouth Naval Memorial – Panel 65 – Column 3

John McGuckin was born in Derrychrin, Ballinderry Bridge, on 22 February
1914. He was the third of seven children of Michael McGuckin and Brigid
Rocks. Prior to joining the Navy he was serving his apprentice as a
tailor.

Able Seaman John McGuckin's last posting was aboard the J class
destroyer HMS Jupiter, which had a crew of 183 men. This destroyer took
part in the hunt for the German battle cruiser Bismarck before being
ordered to the Dutch East Indies. On 17 January 1942 Jupiter sank a
Japanese submarine.

HMS Jupiter (Lt.Cdr. Norman Vivian Joseph Thompson Thew, RN) was sailing
near the northern coast of Java in the evening of 27 February 1942, just
before the final stage of the Battle of the Java Sea, when she was
struck by a violent explosion in position 06º45'S, 112º06'E. Jupiter
sank shortly afterwards. At the time it was thought that she had been
torpedoed by Japanese forces. Later it was found that she had struck a
mine in a Dutch minefield. There were no Japanese forces in striking
distance at the time of the explosion.

John McGuckin was one of more than 2,300 Allied sailors lost in the
Battle of the Java Sea, which was a disastrous engagement in that it
slowed the Japanese offensive down by only one day.

The following are extracts from two letters from John McGuckin to his
mother –

6 December
Dear Mother,
Just another chance of wishing you all the best for Christmas. This is
supposed to arrive before then if nothing untoward happens it on the
way. I have the privilege to get to let you know some of the places we
have visited since leaving, they are Azores, St Helena, Freetown,
Capetown, Durban, from there to the Mediterranean and as far as Colombo.
No further information can be given.

Could you in some way let Mrs Curry know that her letter has been
delivered though I have not met him yet, but I will in a few days from
now. The weather is very warm here though it is the cool season, in fact
the sweat is dropping from my nose at present. Never the less, I feel
good and am as brown as a berry all over, the fair skin has to go first.
I would like to send Maureen a cable for Christmas but I couldn't be
sure whether she is at the same address or not. I hope to be free to get
to Mass, and receive Holy Communion. If I am so unlucky as to not, I
hope you will all remember me that morning.
All the best for now and don't worry, I couldn't be better.
Your loving son, Johnny


28 December
Dear Mother,
This is supposed to be the best chance for sea mail we have had in the
last 5 or 6 weeks so I am hoping it gets to you in a shorter time than
the others.

I have just been wondering how you all spent Christmas.
Personally I have had a very good one, perhaps I had something you
hadn't, that was sunshine. Sorry to say I didn't hear Mass that day
through no fault of my own.


Able Seaman John McGuckin is commemorated on Plymouth Naval Memorial,
Panel 65, Column 3.
He is commemorated on Cookstown Cenotaph.
He is also commemorated on the family headstone in Ballinderry graveyard
Able Seaman John McGuckin 1914-42
Destroyer HMS Jupiter

http://url.ie/dfyd

[Norf Tyrone]

My two great uncles served in WW1. I have the war medals, and telegram from the king re one of their deaths (Sunk with the RMS Leinster).

The other I have no info on. The family believed he survived WW1, never came home, married and had two children.

However after a bit of digging, he died just after WW1 at home (We think from gas poisoning) and is/ was buried in an unmarked grave in Strabane. He married and had two kids, but I think they may have been English.

It's a big mystery to me is where are the two children, where was his wife from, where and what did they two boys do in the war, where did they serve?

It's a pity that young Irish Catholics who fought and died in WW1 appear to be a dirty secret for Nationalists.

[Tonto]

My two great uncles served in WW1. I have the war medals, and telegram from the king re one of their deaths (Sunk with the RMS Leinster).

The other I have no info on. The family believed he survived WW1, never came home, married and had two children.

However after a bit of digging, he died just after WW1 at home (We think from gas poisoning) and is/ was buried in an unmarked grave in Strabane. He married and had two kids, but I think they may have been English.

It's a big mystery to me is where are the two children, where was his wife from, where and what did they two boys do in the war, where did they serve?

It's a pity that young Irish Catholics who fought and died in WW1 appear to be a dirty secret for Nationalists.

Really interesting story and one that I'm sure is repeated in many households across NI.  As you say it's a pity that for many in the nationalist community that this is a chapter in their history that some have attempted to airbrush.  Of course many did go off and fight in the hope that Home Rule would be granted after the war but nonetheless Remembrance Day is as much for them as it is for anyone.  Protestants and Catholics fought and died in the same trenches, in the same uniform against the same enemy.  Irishmen united.

[mylestheslasher]

It is indeed sad that some would not remember these young men. It's not unusual for certain communities to bury their past, indeed the protestant community doesn't speak of 1798 much either.

[Windmill abu]

It's a pity that young Irish Catholics who fought and died in WW1 appear to be a dirty secret for Nationalists.

There is no dirty secret for Nationalists, These young men felt that they were British enough to go and fight in Britain's name and ultimately give their lives for their cause. It is their families right to remember them on Remembrance Sunday in the same way that Irish nationalists remember their fallen soldiers on Easter Sunday.

If these families decline to take part in these remembrance services because they didn't agree with their relatives decisions or because they don't want to be associated with the British Crown Forces, then that is their right and should be respected.

The dirty secret is the way the British Army (Who these men died for) behaved in places like Derry on Bloody Sunday.

[Norf Tyrone]

It's a pity that young Irish Catholics who fought and died in WW1 appear to be a dirty secret for Nationalists.

There is no dirty secret for Nationalists, These young men felt that they were British enough to go and fight in Britain's name and ultimately give their lives for their cause. It is their families right to remember them on Remembrance Sunday in the same way that Irish nationalists remember their fallen soldiers on Easter Sunday.

If these families decline to take part in these remembrance services because they didn't agree with their relatives decisions or because they don't want to be associated with the British Crown Forces, then that is their right and should be respected.

The dirty secret is the way the British Army (Who these men died for) behaved in places like Derry on Bloody Sunday.

I agree with most of that but unfortunately Nationalists don't wear the poppy due to it's link to the modern British conflicts rightly or wrongly. I said that it appears to be a secret rather than is a dirty secret.
I'd say the number of Nationalists that went to war remembrance ceremonies over the last week is very small.

[Windmill abu]

I said that it appears to be a secret rather than is a dirty secret.

What you said was

It's a pity that young Irish Catholics who fought and died in WW1 appear to be a dirty secret for Nationalists.

These men who gave their lives for a cause they believed in have been honoured by those who wish to do so.

The problem for Irish Nationalists (Particularly those living north of the border) is that Remembrance Sunday and the Poppy Appeal honours all those who have served in the British Armed Forces up to & including the wars in Iraq & Afghanistan.

I'd say the number of Nationalists that went to war remembrance ceremonies over the last week is very small.

To ask Northern Nationalists to honour "The Paras" in Derry or "The UDR anywhere in the North" leaves them little chance of attending any remembrance ceremonies.

[Norf Tyrone]

I said that it appears to be a secret rather than is a dirty secret.

What you said was

It's a pity that young Irish Catholics who fought and died in WW1 appear to be a dirty secret for Nationalists.

These men who gave their lives for a cause they believed in have been honoured by those who wish to do so.

The problem for Irish Nationalists (Particularly those living north of the border) is that Remembrance Sunday and the Poppy Appeal honours all those who have served in the British Armed Forces up to & including the wars in Iraq & Afghanistan.

I'd say the number of Nationalists that went to war remembrance ceremonies over the last week is very small.

To ask Northern Nationalists to honour "The Paras" in Derry or "The UDR anywhere in the North" leaves them little chance of attending any remembrance ceremonies.

I am not arguing they should, and it's unfortunate that the poppy has become a symbol of these modern wars. However it means that there is no outlet for nationalists to remember their WW1 dead. That's what I mean by saying that it makes it appear to be a dirty secret for Nationalists as opposed to it is.

[lawnseed]

My two great uncles served in WW1. I have the war medals, and telegram from the king re one of their deaths (Sunk with the RMS Leinster).

The other I have no info on. The family believed he survived WW1, never came home, married and had two children.

However after a bit of digging, he died just after WW1 at home (We think from gas poisoning) and is/ was buried in an unmarked grave in Strabane. He married and had two kids, but I think they may have been English.

It's a big mystery to me is where are the two children, where was his wife from, where and what did they two boys do in the war, where did they serve?

It's a pity that young Irish Catholics who fought and died in WW1 appear to be a dirty secret for Nationalists.

how entriging norf tyrone there must be some way of finding out more about this part of your family. if you go through the parish records of the graveyard/chaple where the grave is you'll find that someone had to buy the ground etc may take a bit of time but you never know it may be worth it. my father had two uncles who simply vanished before he was born they went to america or canada at the time. one of them named his 1st son after my grandfather and i found him through facebook accidentally when i googled my own name, hes multi millionaire (i just know mayogodhelpus is thinking chi ching) and hes coming to ireland to visit the old homestead next summer or so he says. (and if he doesnt i'll be camped outside his spralling ranch)

[Norf Tyrone]

My two great uncles served in WW1. I have the war medals, and telegram from the king re one of their deaths (Sunk with the RMS Leinster).

The other I have no info on. The family believed he survived WW1, never came home, married and had two children.

However after a bit of digging, he died just after WW1 at home (We think from gas poisoning) and is/ was buried in an unmarked grave in Strabane. He married and had two kids, but I think they may have been English.

It's a big mystery to me is where are the two children, where was his wife from, where and what did they two boys do in the war, where did they serve?

It's a pity that young Irish Catholics who fought and died in WW1 appear to be a dirty secret for Nationalists.

how entriging norf tyrone there must be some way of finding out more about this part of your family. if you go through the parish records of the graveyard/chaple where the grave is you'll find that someone had to buy the ground etc may take a bit of time but you never know it may be worth it. my father had two uncles who simply vanished before he was born they went to america or canada at the time. one of them named his 1st son after my grandfather and i found him through facebook accidentally when i googled my own name, hes multi millionaire (i just know mayogodhelpus is thinking chi ching) and hes coming to ireland to visit the old homestead next summer or so he says. (and if he doesnt i'll be camped outside his spralling ranch)

Lawnseed- My dad keeps saying that I am to update him if I find that his children became oil barons! So I can see you got the luck in that regard. 

It was when I went to the council offices to search for my great grandparents grave that I found Hugh's grave. So I know the name of the person who paid for the plot, or at least I know the name. I've an extensive family tree completed but the person who bought the plot doesn't feature, which adds to the mystery. However the plot was bought well before Hugh's death so I know it's not his wife.

I spent a lot of time digging last year, while doing the family tree. I need to get back to it at some point to fill the gaps.

I also found out that Damien McGinty's (The Derry lad from Glee) granny and my dad are cousins! I'll wait for him to make his fortune I suppose!