WW1 Veteran

SecretGarden

Forgive me, I don't like putting identifying info on the public domain that is outside of my control but will gladly share details privately if anybody can help.

If I've posted in the wrong forum, mods please feel free to move

In a recent conversation with 'N', I discovered an ancestor 'William' had fought in WW1. N had accidentally met him in approx 1956 in a hospital in Dublin. He & his wife befriended N and she was a regular visitor to their home thereafter, where she saw photographs, medals etc. According to the conversation with N, William's wife was born in Killiney castle (I'm guessing, possibly the child of a servant) and they continued to live for many years after WW1 in Dalkey.

Fast forward to 2014, I checked this story with William's only surviving nephew who recalls his uncle William was wounded in WW1 - even has a photograph with a note attached, he also recalls how William married an Irish woman (a nurse) whom he met in France while recuperating. The nephew says there was 'very little' contact with William after the war.

Back to 1901, I find William (youngest at 20yrs old) in a family of 2 parents & 6 adult children - 4 men & 2 women on the census in Co Kilkenny.

There is no trace of the family in 1911 census, William appears on the household return of a local farmer just inside the border in Co Tipperary, he is 30 yrs old. A middle brother is head of a household with 2 boarders, close by in Co Kilkenny. All the other family members seem to have disappeared but there is a Death Record on RootsIreland.ie for the father in 1902 naming the youngest daughter as the informant and the address is the same as the one on the household return for the middle brother in 1911 census.

Now my question is - How do I find information on William in WW1, given the sparse background info.

I found 6 William ***s with medal cards on discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk but which is the one I seek, how will I identify the William in question?

Volunteers were attested in the Clonmel depot - I think it may have been the The Royal Irish Regiment, 2nd Battalion William may have enlisted there or would he have done so in Kilkenny? I must assume William would have regarded the house of the middle brother (Co Kilkenny, 1911 Census) to be home & next of kin, yet he is not listed in 'Kilkenny Families in the Great War (1914-18)' by Kavanaghs & Kirwans.

Is there someplace else where I can look for WW1 veterans in Co Kilkenny? Is there a similar list for Co Tipperary? If he was attested elsewhere, where can I begin?

I have no other information on William at the moment.

johnny_doyle

my write up of delving into WW1 soldiers records (based on own family research, searches on the WW1 forum on boards.ie, the Great War Forum and the old Dublin.ie forum) :

http://johnny-doyle.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/irish-soldiers-ww1.html

If there are WW1 campaign medals in the family of William, they will have his number and regiment/corps inscribed. MICs on Ancestry have the front and back (often empty but sometimes has addresses). PM his name and I can take a look at any records on Ancestry.

pedroeibar1

Robert Warren was the owner of Killiney Castle about 1900 - it was he who sold the park to the 'Jubilee' committee about 1900.

SecretGarden

johnny_doyle wrote: »

my write up of delving into WW1 soldiers records (based on own family research, searches on the WW1 forum on boards.ie, the Great War Forum and the old Dublin.ie forum) :

If there are WW1 campaign medals in the family of William, they will have his number and regiment/corps inscribed. MICs on Ancestry have the front and back (often empty but sometimes has addresses). PM his name and I can take a look at any records on Ancestry.

Thank you Johnny, PM sent. The link in your reply is a rich source of information - I wish I'd found it earlier. I will begin to work my way through it tomorrow - thank you
SG

PS I had to remove your link in my reply as I'm a 'new user' Sorry!

SecretGarden

pedroeibar1 wrote: »

Robert Warren was the owner of Killiney Castle about 1900 - it was he who sold the park to the 'Jubilee' committee about 1900.

Thank you Pedro, this may be very useful info

SecretGarden

SecretGarden wrote: »

Forgive me, I don't like putting identifying info on the public domain that is outside of my control but will gladly share details privately if anybody can help.

If I've posted in the wrong forum, mods please feel free to move

In a recent conversation with 'N', I discovered an ancestor 'William' had fought in WW1. N had accidentally met him in approx 1956 in a hospital in Dublin. He & his wife befriended N and she was a regular visitor to their home thereafter, where she saw photographs, medals etc. According to the conversation with N, William's wife was born in Killiney castle (I'm guessing, possibly the child of a servant) and they continued to live for many years after WW1 in Dalkey.

Fast forward to 2014, I checked this story with William's only surviving nephew who recalls his uncle William was wounded in WW1 - even has a photograph with a note attached, he also recalls how William married an Irish woman (a nurse) whom he met in France while recuperating. The nephew says there was 'very little' contact with William after the war.

Back to 1901, I find William (youngest at 20yrs old) in a family of 2 parents & 6 adult children - 4 men & 2 women on the census in Co Kilkenny.

There is no trace of the family in 1911 census, William appears on the household return of a local farmer just inside the border in Co Tipperary, he is 30 yrs old. A middle brother is head of a household with 2 boarders, close by in Co Kilkenny. All the other family members seem to have disappeared but there is a Death Record on RootsIreland.ie for the father in 1902 naming the youngest daughter as the informant and the address is the same as the one on the household return for the middle brother in 1911 census.

Now my question is - How do I find information on William in WW1, given the sparse background info.

I found 6 William ***s with medal cards on discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk but which is the one I seek, how will I identify the William in question?

Volunteers were attested in the Clonmel depot - I think it may have been the The Royal Irish Regiment, 2nd Battalion William may have enlisted there or would he have done so in Kilkenny? I must assume William would have regarded the house of the middle brother (Co Kilkenny, 1911 Census) to be home & next of kin, yet he is not listed in 'Kilkenny Families in the Great War (1914-18)' by Kavanaghs & Kirwans.

Is there someplace else where I can look for WW1 veterans in Co Kilkenny? Is there a similar list for Co Tipperary? If he was attested elsewhere, where can I begin?

I have no other information on William at the moment.

I have just noticed that one of the boarders in William's brother's house (1911 Census) is a 'Reserve in the Irish Guards'

Perhaps William was influenced by him - if he knew him.

Just putting all available info into the thread

pinkypinky

If you do a free 2 week trial with Ancestry (make sure to cancel during that period or your card will be charged), they have WWI records on their site which you can then access for free. You could go through each of the individuals with that name and look at the next of kin information.

ETA: I see Johnny offered to look here for you!

SecretGarden

johnny_doyle wrote: »

my write up of delving into WW1 soldiers records (based on own family research, searches on the WW1 forum on boards.ie, the Great War Forum and the old Dublin.ie forum) : PM his name and I can take a look at any records on Ancestry.

Many thanks to Johnny for his help in narrowing down my search in relation to WW1.

I wonder does anybody have any knowledge of a WW1 Veteran - William (Will) Tr**** and his wife who I believe lived in the Dalkey area from after the war until he died in late 1962.

I'm trying to uncover any info about himself or his wife that would help me identify him as a WW1 veteran - where he might have been buried - he was reared catholic but I've no idea what, if any, religious beliefs he held when he died.

See initial post for more details

I have photos but I'm not sure if I can upload them here - will try

pedroeibar1

SecretGarden wrote: »

.......who I believe lived in the Dalkey area from after the war until he died in late 1962..... where he might have been buried -

If he died in Dalkey circa 1962 there is a probability that he was buried in Deansgrange
There is a good website for Dalkey and a community council that has a monthly newsletter that might publish a query for you - worth a try.

SecretGarden

A worthy plan pedroeibar1 - Thank you!

I searched the 'Forces War Records' last night without any success even though I could find 6 Medal Holders of the same name on discovery.nationalarchives only one of which is likely to be my ancestor but I need some other piece of info to confirm identity.

The search continues