Friends of the Somme - Mid Ulster Branch  
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Date Name Information
27/06/2018 Pte. Wesley C McClelland In a letter received last week from Trooper Wesley McClelland at the front, by his relatives at Cookstown, he says that some of the parcels sent to him had arrived, but at least one had miscarried. He goes on to say that Sam Brown was with him, but had gone away again to re-join his own squadron. He hears than another squadron of the North Irish Horse is going out from Derry, but he is not sure if that is true. There are six of the Cookstown troops with him, so it is not so bad. The weather is not cold, but it is very wet, as rain has fallen almost continually for the past two weeks. There is not much fighting where they are, but the Russians are still at it. He added:- ‘The Germans are done for, and they know it, and it is quite a common sight to see them throwing down their guns and giving themselves up.’ He winds up by saying he is still keeping fit. In a letter tom his younger brothers he thanks them for presents, and fears they must have put in a bit of saving to buy such a lot of nice stuff, but he will try and make up for it when he returns home. He hopes they are still at school, and adds:- ‘There are hundreds of children in this country who have not the chance, as their schools have been wrecked by the Germans, so you should be thankful you are not living here.’ He concludes this letter by hoping they are working hard at home to make up for his absence.
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27/06/2018 Pte. Wesley C McClelland From the Mid Ulster Mail dated 19th December 1914:
27/06/2018 Pte. John Joseph McCaffrey ‘That we, the members of Greenvale Swifts F.C., express our deepest sympathy with the relatives of Private John Joseph McCaffrey, who died from wounds received at the front on the 16th November 1914. The late John Joseph McCaffrey was a worthy member of the above club – his position in the club was ‘right half’. He was a real sportsman all through and took a real interest in the game. He was also a section leader in the Cookstown Corps of Irish Volunteers. He was also very generous to those in his Company. At an early age, he joined the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. Signed – James Fields, Captain; John Cooney, Secretary.’
27/06/2018 Pte. John Joseph McCaffrey At a meeting of Greenvale Swifts F.C., held on Wednesday, the following resolution was passed:-
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27/06/2018 Pte. John Joseph McCaffrey From the Mid Ulster Mail dated 19th December 1914:
27/06/2018 Pte. John Joseph McCaffrey Private John J McCaffrey of Blackhill, Cookstown, was killed in action on 16th November at Armentieres. He is a son of Mr John McCaffrey, and a native of Moyglass, near Enniskillen. Half a dozen years ago the family came to Cookstown for work in the mill, and the deceased was serving his time as a rougher. He had joined the Special Reserve (formerly known as the militia) of the Inniskilling Fusiliers, and was called up on 8th August for training at Magilligan. On 18th September he was transferred to the 2nd Battalion and went to the front. He sent home two or three post cards every week, and the cessation of these was the first intimation that he had fallen, but his death has been officially notified to his father. Private McCaffrey came from a fighting family. Two brothers of his grandmother fell storming the heights of Alma, in the Crimea, and another granduncle (on his father’s side), was Denis McCaffrey, who fought through the Indian Mutiny, and lived till a few years ago, when he was interred with full military honours in Enniskillen.
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27/06/2018 Pte. John Joseph McCaffrey From the Mid Ulster Mail dated 19th December 1914: Private John J McCaffrey
26/06/2018 Pte. John Patrick Tohill Mr Louis McNally, youngest son of Mr John McNally, J.P., Cookstown, has volunteered as a driver in the Army Service Corps. His brother-in-law, Mr John Tohill, volunteered some weeks ago and is seeing life amongst military motors.
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26/06/2018 Pte. John Patrick Tohill From the Mid Ulster Mail dated 12th December 1914:
26/06/2018 Pte. John Joseph McCaffrey McCAFFERY – 16th November, the result of wounds received at the front, John J McCaffery, Private 4065, 2nd Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, eldest son of John McCaffery, Blackhill, Cookstown, aged 19 years and four months. Interred in temporary cemetery at Armentieres, grave No. 52.
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26/06/2018 Pte. John Joseph McCaffrey From the Mid Ulster Mail dated 12th December 1914:
26/06/2018 Pte. James Sterling Lavery Cookstown True Blues (Temperance) L.O.L. No. 459 met in the Orange Hall on Thursday evening, Bro. John Hogg, R.W.M., presiding, assisted by Bro. John McQueen, D.M., in the vice chair. The dance committee gave a report which showed that a substantial sum was forwarded to the Lord Enniskillen Orphan Memorial Fund. The R.W.M. informed the members that he had a letter from our late D.M. (Bro. Sam Espie) from France informing him that he had now recovered from his injury and was in the fighting line again. This news was gladly received. A vote of sympathy was passed to Bro. W J Lavery on the death of his son (Bro. Jim Lavery) who was killed in action at the front. The late Bro. Lavery was a member of this lodge. It was unanimously agreed not to parade with drums at the 18th December celebrations on account of so many members having joined the colours and especially on account of Bro. Lavery’s death.
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26/06/2018 Pte. James Sterling Lavery From the Mid Ulster Mail dated 12th December 1914:
26/06/2018 Pte. James Sterling Lavery Hearts of Oak L.O.L. No. 511 met in the Orange Hall on Tuesday, Bro. Hamilton Clements W.M., in the chair, assisted by Bro. W G Hamilton in the vice chair. A vote of condolence was passed to the D.M. (Bro. W J Lavery) on the death of his son, who was fallen in action on the Great War.
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26/06/2018 Pte. James Sterling Lavery From the Mid Ulster Mail dated 12th December 1914:
26/06/2018 2nd Lieut John Gunning Moore Dunlop John Gunning Moore Dunlop, Lieutenant, Dublin Fusiliers, Killed in action on 27th August 1914.
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26/06/2018 2nd Lieut John Gunning Moore Dunlop From the Mid Ulster Mail dated 12th December 1914:
25/06/2018 Pte. John Newell Private Albert Bell, writing to his wife from the front, states that Private John Newell, of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, was killed in action, but up to the present, this has not been confirmed by the War Office. Private John Newell is a son of Mrs Newell and the late Mr William Newell, late of North Street, Stewartstown. He was eighteen years of age, and attached to the Special Reserve. His mother received a post card from him dated the 6th November, in which he stated he was quite well. He was then in France. Several of his comrades writing about him at the front describe him as light hearted and of a cheerful disposition. This is the second son of Mrs Newell’s, who is a widowed lady, that has fallen in battle. She has two other sons in the army, and a third in Canada, on his way at present to the front.
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25/06/2018 Pte. John Newell From the Mid Ulster Mail dated 12th December 1914:
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24/06/2018 Pte. Thomas Montgomery Private Thomas Montgomery, of the 2nd Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, whose death at the front we announced last week.
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24/06/2018 Pte. Thomas Montgomery From the Mid Ulster Mail dated 5th December 1914: Private Thomas Montgomery
24/06/2018 Pte. Samuel James MacFarlane In a letter home he described the events of what is now known as the Siege of Toma. The events took place on the Papua New Guinea island of New England. Herbertshoe is located near Rabaul, on the north eastern tip New England.
24/06/2018 Pte. Samuel James MacFarlane ‘I hope all are well at home. I am afraid I haven’t written for quite a long while, but I had absolutely no chance. We had some pretty stiff fighting and some lovely bayonet charges. I came out practically unscathed. A splinter came from the tree I was shooting behind and stuck in my left arm, but it isn’t much. We had a lot of native troops against us. I volunteered for everything that was going, so managed to get into the thick of it. The Governor has just surrendered and all the fighting here is over for the present (worse luck). H company was always put in the advance guard, so we were always first to rouse up the enemy. Sixty of us out of H volunteered after the surrender, to go 32 miles inland to dismantle a German wireless station and bring all the gear in. We thought at first it was only eighteen miles, and took three days provisions. It was a fortnight before we got all the stuff along, and we had to loot for food. We went two days on two pints of water, and started one morning at 5pm at night, covering 24 miles – a record march for New Guinea. When we reached the wireless, six of us were picked to go on to the Governor’s camp, another five miles in. There were six of us, a sergeant, and two officers. The Governor handed over all the German money, half a million marks, or 25,000 pounds. The six of us were sworn in not to reveal the contents of the boxes, and to be true to our trust and say they were boxes of ammunition. There were fifty cases, some four cwt. We rounded up 120 niggers, and the six of us, marching night and day, got it safely landed in Herbertshoe a week before the rest. The rest got thirty bullock wagons and about sixty bullocks, and got the rest of the stuff in about two days ago. The half of H who didn’t volunteer were drafted to Williams’ hones, and I expect we will join them in a week. There is a chance of us being sent to Germany yet. The Germans have used dum-dum bullets against us, fired on the Red Cross, and committed every crime in modern civilisation. They shot down one of our doctors who was attending the wounded. We have been living, since we came ashore, on tinned beef and hard biscuits, and are living now in a little tin hut by the sea shore. There is a coconut grove alongside us, and in the heat of the day we get a large pile of coconuts beside us and drink the milk until we can hold no more. The naval people are trying to take the credit of the Battle of Toma to themselves, because HMS Australia sent a few shells over our heads into the enemy’s trenches. The people of Sydney sent us free tobacco, but by some bad management we never got any yet. There is a steamer leaving for Sydney today. A wireless has just got in that the Germans have got the worst of it on the continent.’
24/06/2018 Pte. Samuel James MacFarlane Mr Samuel MacFarlane, youngest son of Mr James MacFarlane, Urban District Council (U.D.C.), Portrush, who is a volunteer with the Australian Expeditionary Force in New Guinea, writing to his mother on 1st October, says:-
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24/06/2018 Pte. Samuel James MacFarlane From the Mid Ulster Mail dated 5th December 1914: The Fighting in New Guinea
24/06/2018 Pte. James Sterling Lavery ‘One of our brave soldiers has fallen in the field of battle – James Stirling Lavery. We all deeply regret his death. He was known to all of us, being the son of a respected member of this congregation. Some three years ago he joined the army, and when the war broke out, he was called to the front, and was there until his death. He died a true soldier’s death, he died doing his duty, he died as many a brave soldier would have wished to die – he died at the post of duty. His comrades in the regiment testify of him that he was brave and unselfish, and that he never shirked his duty even in the face of danger He had the brave and patriotic spirit which has ever characterised the Protestant of Ulster; and patriotism is one of purest and noblest passions that burn within the human breast. The men who have sacrificed their lives in the service of their country we place high on the role of heroes. James Stirling Lavery has died in the service of his country, and his was a noble death. Our hearts go out in sympathy to the bereaved widow and orphan, father and mother, brothers and sisters in the loss they have sustained; and it is our earnest prayer that the Father of Mercies and God of all comfort may comfort and sustain them in their bereavement.” The lessons and hymns were suitable for the occasion. The congregation stood at the close as the organist played the Death March from Saul.
24/06/2018 Pte. James Sterling Lavery At the close of service in the above church on Sunday, Rev David Maybin, B.A., made the following reference to the death of Private Lavery (son of Mr W J Lavery, Cookstown) of the Inniskillings, who was killed in the trenches at Ypres, as already reported. He said:-
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24/06/2018 Pte. James Sterling Lavery From the Mid Ulster Mail dated 5th December 1914: Second Presbyterian Church, Cookstown
23/06/2018 Pte. James Sterling Lavery Asked as to the German atrocities, Private Hogg says that from his own personal experience he would say that exaggeration is impossible. He has seen things, descriptions of which no newspaper would print, and would seem incredible if told. He attributes the outrages by the German soldiers to drunkenness. When the Germans come to a town or village, they loot the wine shops and get so drunk that they are fit for any inhumanity, and it is no unusual thing to see old men of 70 or 80 years of age lying bayonetted to death, or dying, in wrecked houses, the wine cellars of which have been ransacked. One incident he mentioned as typical of Teutonic brutality. When reconnoitring with a party of other British soldiers in a wood one night, they came across two young French girls tied hand and foot and lying naked on the ground. The British soldiers cut the straps and Hogg and a comrade lent the girls their great coats and escorted them tom a farm house, where clotting was procured, and the girls got shelter. One of the most notable features of the war, Private Hogg states, is the attempt by the Germans to adopt the extended formation of our army. At Mons the Germans came up like midges and must have lost fearfully. Now they come up on the offensive in extended formation, but sometimes appear to forget, and get quite close together. Asked as to the weather, he says that the first three weeks was very warm, but after that there were few days without rain, but it was wonderful the amount of comfort (though he admits comfort is hardly an applicable word) can be had in a well-constructed trench when gets some straw into a dug out. The scarcity of tobacco and cigarettes was fearfully felt at first, and many of the men who smoked pipes used their allowance of dried tea for smoking, in preference to infusing it. Now however, there are plenty of cigarettes and tobacco, thanks to the friends at home who cannot imagine the happiness they are bestowing on the Tommies in the trenches when they send them such parcels. The tot of rum served almost every night is taken he says, as a necessary medicine, and he has never seen or heard of man refusing it, though there are many teetotallers and Temperance men in the ranks. The Indians in action, Private Hogg says, is a sight one can never forget. They are very subtle and silent when preparing for an attack, but to see a Ghurkha’s rush forward with bayonet in hand, a knife between his teeth, drop the bayonet when close to the enemy, and use the knife is awful. Private Hogg says the British Army officers take their full share of the danger and responsibility; in fact, in his opinion, the officers of all ranks have the hardest part to play. Not only have they to take the risk of danger, but to bear the responsibility, and for this reason he has three times declined promotion to lance corporal. It may be mentioned that Private Hogg has two brothers in the North Irish Horse in training at the Camp in Antrim.
23/06/2018 Pte. James Sterling Lavery Private Hogg was stationed in Dover with Private Jim Lavery (whose death in action was reported last week) and the two Cookstown young fellows were chums, and were side by side in the trench when Lavery received his fatal wound from a shell which exploded at the side of the trench. Hogg said it seemed marvellous that Lavery, who was quite close to him and eight others who were a considerable distance from them in the same trench, should lose their lives, and three others got wounded, and that he should be spared, but it was the fortune of war, and only one of many such escapes he has had, and only an example of the thrilling experiences he has been through from the time he entered France. He says that poor young Lavery’s sufferings were short, and that just after being taken to the field hospital, where he and the other wounded were removed, as soon as possible, he passed away. Private Hoff said he felt the loneliest man at the front with Jim Lavery gone, as they had been so great chums, and there was no sorer heart in all France than his as he helped bury his fallen comrade at midday on that fatal day. It was a bad he states, in the trench. They had been driven out of it in the morning by the Germans, but retook it a few hours later, and it was after having recovered their position that the shell exploded which brought death to Lavery and the others. He pays a high tribute to Lavery’s fearlessness and cheerfulness, and of his worth as a friend.
23/06/2018 Pte. James Sterling Lavery Private William Hogg, of the 2nd Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, who was wounded at the Battle of Armentieres, arrived home at Cloghog, Cookstown, on Tuesday week, having got a fortnight’s leave, in addition to having been for a few weeks in hospital in Huddersfield. Private Hogg, who enlisted in the regular army last year, when little over eighteen years, was in Dover when war was declared, and went to France with an early draught of the Expeditionary Force. He came through the Battle of Mons and the successive engagements unscathed up to the latter part of October, when he got a slight stab with a bayonet in the left leg, which did not, however, put him out of action. A few days later though, shrapnel from a German shell inflicted a severs wound above the right eye, and he was removed to a field hospital, and subsequently sent off to England on a Red Cross ship . he says he felt richer than King George, when in Huddersfield hospital he got a hot bath (the first for almost three months) and got his second change of underclothing from he had left Dover in August, and it seemed so strange to sleep in a bed after the trenches.
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23/06/2018 Pte. James Sterling Lavery From the Mid Ulster Mail dated 5th December 1914: From Mons to Armentieres - William Hogg (friend of James Lavery)
19/06/2018 2nd Lieut Cecil Alexander Crowe Mr C A Crowe, who has been in the office of the Ulster Bank, Cookstown, for some years, has been transferred on promotion to the Ballina branch. Mr H S M Archibald of the local branch has been promoted to the position vacated by Mr Crowe, and the junior vacancy is filled by the transfer of Mr J Craig from the head office.
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19/06/2018 2nd Lieut Cecil Alexander Crowe From the Mid Ulster Mail dated 5th December 1914:
17/06/2018 Pte. Joseph Newell A memorial service in connection with the death of Lord Roberts and Private Joseph Newell, son of Mrs R Newell, North Street, Stewartstown, who was killed in action in France, was held at Donaghendry Parish Church on Wednesday evening. There was a large congregation present including Lieutenant Hewitt, representing the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, a detachment of which spent the previous night in Stewartstown with the objective of getting recruits for the 9th Service Battalion (Tyrone Division). Suitable hymns, psalms and prayers were used and the rector, the Rev C E Stewart, M.A., preached an impressive sermon, in which he paid a touching tribute to the memory of the gallant dead, who had ‘Fought the Good Fight’ and had proved themselves to be faithful unto death. The Death March in Saul was played on the organ by Mr F V Pearson, in a feeling manner, the congregation present all standing.
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17/06/2018 Pte. Joseph Newell From the Mid Ulster Mail dated 28th November 1914:
17/06/2018 Pte. Joseph Newell Private Joseph Newell, of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, who was killed in action at the front on 21st October, is as a son Mrs Newell, North Street, Stewartstown, and the late Mr William Newell. He joined the army at the earliest possible age for enlistment, and was scarcely twenty one years of age when he fell on the field of battle. For two years prior to the outbreak of war he was an officer’s servant, and his master (with whom he was very popular), being medically unfit for active service, it could have been arranged that young Newell should remain with him, but he elected to go to the front. Letters from his comrades told of his bravery and cheerfulness. Much sympathy is felt for his widowed mother, who has three other sons in the army – Private Samuel Newell in India, under orders for France; Private James Newell, in the Army Veterinary Corps, on field service, and Private John Newell, in active service in France. Mrs Newell’s brother, Mr William Anderson, is in training at Finner Camp, while two nephews, Joseph Anderson and Tom Anderson, were campaigners in the South African war, and the former has been wounded at the front in France. Another cousin of the deceased young soldier, Gunner Robert Young, is on active service, and among his other relatives in the service are John Crooks at Finner; Sam Crooks of the Highland Light Infantry, on active service; Robert McAllister and Sam McAllister, with the Canadian Volunteer contingent at the front.
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17/06/2018 Pte. Joseph Newell From the Mid Ulster Mail dated 28th November 1914: Private Joseph Newell
17/06/2018 Pte. Joseph Newell NEWELL – 21st October, killed in action, Private Joseph Newell of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, fifth son of Mrs R Newell, North Street, Stewartstown, and the late William Newell.
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17/06/2018 Pte. Joseph Newell From the Mid Ulster Mail dated 28th November 1914:
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16/06/2018 Pte. Thomas Montgomery Private Thomas Montgomery is also listed on the Canadian Virtual War Memorial and is commemorated on Page 565 of the Canadian First World War Book of Remembrance.
16/06/2018 Pte. Thomas Montgomery His period of service as a reservist was due to expire in December 1914, but when he saw the mobilisation notices he made arrangements to return home to re-join his regiment, the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers.
16/06/2018 Pte. Thomas Montgomery Thomas emigrated to Canada sometime between 1911 and 1914.
16/06/2018 Pte. Thomas Montgomery Thomas was an Army Reservist.
16/06/2018 Pte. Thomas Montgomery The 1911 census lists Thomas as age 26, living with his father at house 5 in Carrydarragh, Moneymore, Londonderry. Both Thomas and his father were farm labourers.
16/06/2018 Pte. Thomas Montgomery Nancy Montgomery died on 29th September 1907 in the Moneymore area. She was 57 years old.
16/06/2018 Pte. Thomas Montgomery The 1901 census does not list Thomas as living with the family at house 10 in Carrydarragh, Moneymore, County Londonderry. Samuel Montgomery was a caretaker.
16/06/2018 Pte. Thomas Montgomery Known family: Samuel Montgomery, Nancy Montgomery, Jane Montgomery (born 15th September 1868), Unknown Female Montgomery (born 30th May 1870), Unknown Female Montgomery (born 25th August 1871), Unknown Female Montgomery (born 2nd June 1873), John Montgomery (born 20th May 1875), William I Montgomery (born 20th February 1879),Samuel Montgomery (born 25th April 1881), Mary Montgomery (born 14th November 1883), Thomas Montgomery (born 2nd December 1885)
16/06/2018 Pte. Thomas Montgomery Thomas was born in Moneymore on born 2nd December 1885. He was the youngest of nine children, all born in the Moneymore area.
16/06/2018 Pte. Thomas Montgomery Thomas Montgomery was the youngest son of Samuel and Nancy Montgomery. Samuel Montgomery and Nancy Barkley were married on 25th October 1867 in the district of Cookstown.
16/06/2018 Pte. Thomas Montgomery Mr Samuel Montgomery, Moneymore, has received intimation of the death of his son, Private Thomas Montgomery, of the 2nd Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. Private Montgomery, who was a reservist, had been in Canada for several years, and his period for service expired next month. When he saw the mobilisation notices he made arrangements to return home at once to re-join his regiment, though strong pressure was brought to bear on him by his friends in Canada to remove to the United States. Great sympathy is felt for his aged and infirmed father and other bereaved friends. Private Montgomery’s brother, John, is in training with the Derry Regiment of the Ulster Division in Finner Camp.
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16/06/2018 Pte. Thomas Montgomery From the Mid Ulster Mail dated 28th November 1914: Private Thomas Montgomery
16/06/2018 Pte. Thomas Montgomery MONTGOMERY – 7th November, killed in action, Private Thomas Montgomery, of the 2nd Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, son of Samuel Montgomery, Moneymore.
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16/06/2018 Pte. Thomas Montgomery From the Mid Ulster Mail dated 28th November 1914:
16/06/2018 Pte. David McMenemy ‘That we, the members of the above lodge, learn with deep regret of the sad news announcing the death of Private David McMenemy, of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, on the battlefield of France, and we desire to convey our sincere sympathy to the parents and relatives of our worthy brother. As a member of the lodge, and an Ulster Volunteer,, we deeply mourn his loss.’
16/06/2018 Pte. David McMenemy At a special meeting of Tullyhogue L.O.L. on Monday evening – Bro. R Mullan in the chair, and (in the absence of the D.M., Bro. E Hall) Bro. John Mallon in the vice-chair – the secretary (Mr Jim Davison) was instructed to forward the following resolution to the relatives of the late Bro. D McMenemy:-
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16/06/2018 Pte. David McMenemy From the Mid Ulster Mail dated 28th November 1914: Orange News
16/06/2018 Pte. Thomas Montgomery Private Thomas Montgomery was serving with the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers when he was killed in action on Saturday 7th November 1914.
14/06/2018 Pte. Michael Corrigan The 1911 census does not list Michael as living with the family at house 13 in Dirnan, Lissan Upper.
14/06/2018 Pte. Michael Corrigan The 1901 census lists Michael as age 15, living with the family at house 5 in Dirnan, Lisson Upper, County Londonderry. Michael had left school and was working as a farmer. They were a farming family.
14/06/2018 Pte. Michael Corrigan The 1901 and 1911 census results both list the family name as Cargan. All relative GRONI records have the name GRONI. It seems the family name changed after 1911. The family headstone in Lissan RC graveyard has the name Corrigan.
14/06/2018 Pte. Michael Corrigan Family: Bernard Corrigan (died 29th January 1920), Sarah Corrigan (died 29th September 1928), Michael Corrigan (born 8th June 1885, died 30th March 1918), James Corrigan (born 2nd August 1886), Bernard Corrigan (born 3rd September 1888, died 3rd April 1965), Mary Anne Corrigan (born 31st March 1891), Sarah Corrigan (born 6th May 1893, died 22nd March 1933), Patrick Corrigan (born 20th July 1895), Charles Corrigan (born 23rd January 1901).
14/06/2018 Pte. Michael Corrigan Michael Cargan was born on 8th June 1885 in Lissan. His birth was registered in Moneymore. Michael was the eldest of seven children.
14/06/2018 Pte. Michael Corrigan Michael Cargan was the eldest son of Bernard and Sarah Cargan. Bernard Cargan and Sarah O’Neil were married on 14th April 1885 in the district of Cookstown.
14/06/2018 Pte. Michael Corrigan Have Mercy on the soul of Bernard Corrigan died 29th January 1920. Sarah Corrigan died 29th September 1928. Their son Michael Corrigan died 30th March 1918, their daughter Sarah Higgins died 22nd March 1933 and their son Bernard died 3rd April 1965
14/06/2018 Pte. Michael Corrigan Michael Corrigan is also commemorated on the family headstone in Lissan Roman Catholic Churchyard. The graveyard map records them as being from Dirnan.
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12/06/2018 Pte. James Sterling Lavery The news of the death at the front of Private James Stirling Lavery, at the early age of 24 years was received with deep regret in Cookstown. The deceased was the eldest son of Mr W J Lavery, the respected Clerk of Cookstown Markets. He served his apprenticeship in the office of the Millburn Factory, where he was very popular, and was the recipient of much kindness from Mr W Leeper, J.P, the managing director. He subsequently went to Canada, where he remained two years, and shortly after his return (having from boyhood had a desire to join the army), he enlisted in the Inniskillings. After being trained in Omagh his battalion was sent to Dover, and proceeded to France with one of the earliest draughts. Letters from comrades at the front, and information gleamed from others who returned from the battlefield, told of Jim Lavery’s pluck and cheerfulness, and how amid the din of war, he wore his accustomed smile. His letters to his wife and parents always sounded the optimistic note, and the last letter from him, dated two days prior to his death, was one congratulating his brother, Lieutenant John P Lavery, in Queenstown, on his having obtained a commission in the Royal Garrison Artillery, and expressing the hope that they would meet in Germany. To the bereaved young widow and little orphan boy, the parents, brothers and sisters, we tender respected sympathy.
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12/06/2018 Pte. James Sterling Lavery From the Mid Ulster Mail dated 28th November 1914: Private James S Lavery
12/06/2018 Pte. James Sterling Lavery LAVERY – 30th October, killed in action, James Stirling Lavery, of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, eldest son of Mr W J Lavery, clerk of markets, Cookstown, aged 24 years. ‘This day the noise of battle, the next the victor’s song’
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12/06/2018 Pte. James Sterling Lavery From the Mid Ulster Mail dated 28th November 1914:
12/06/2018 Maj Algernon Hubert Cuthell Captain Algernon H Cuthell, of the Prince of Wales Own (West Yorkshire Regiment), who has just been gazetted as temporary major, has been doing duty as Company Commander with the new army in training in Lincolnshire. Major Cuthell is son-in-law of Mr Hugh Adair, J.P., Glenavon, Cookstown, being married to Miss Rhona Adair, who held the Ladies Golfing Championship in 1900 and 1903. He is the son of Lieutenant Colonel Cuthell, late of the 13th Hussars, and entered the army in 1899, and served in South Africa. He is a well-known and popular figure in athletic circles in Belfast and Yorkshire, especially as a golfer and cricketer.
12/06/2018 Maj Algernon Hubert Cuthell 01473
12/06/2018 Maj Algernon Hubert Cuthell From the Mid Ulster Mail dated 28th November 1914:
12/06/2018 Pte. John Donaldson Among the wounded soldiers home from the front are Private Willie Hogg, of the Inniskillings, who is staying with his sisters at Cloghog; Private P Corr, also of the Inniskillings, whose friends reside at Drumullan; Corporal McCutcheon, son of Mr Albert McCutcheon, of the G.N.R. Station, Stewartstown, and Private Donaldson, of Dungannon, whose wife belongs to Stewartstown.
12/06/2018 Pte. John Donaldson 01472
12/06/2018 Pte. John Donaldson From the Mid Ulster Mail dated 28th November 1914:
12/06/2018 Pte. James P Cassidy Constable Patrick Gallagher arrested in the Magherafelt flax market on Thursday, James Cassidy, a deserter from the Inniskilling Fusiliers, stationed in Ebrington, Derry. The deserter, who hails from the Cookstown district, was detained in the police barracks pending the arrival of a military escort.
12/06/2018 Pte. James P Cassidy 01471
12/06/2018 Pte. James P Cassidy From the Mid Ulster Mail dated 28th November 1914:
04/06/2018 Pte. Abraham Stewart STEWART – 5th November. Killed in action on the battlefield. Private Abraham Stewart, of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, son of Abraham Stewart, Dunamoney, Magherafelt.
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04/06/2018 Pte. Abraham Stewart From the Mid Ulster Mail dated 21st November 1914: Private Abraham Stewart
04/06/2018 Pte. Abraham Stewart STEWART – 5th November. Killed in action on the battlefield. Private Abraham Stewart, of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, son of Abraham Stewart, Dunamoney, Magherafelt.
04/06/2018 Pte. Abraham Stewart 01469
04/06/2018 Pte. Abraham Stewart From the Mid Ulster Mail dated 21st November 1914:
04/06/2018 Pte. Joseph Newell It is reported that Private Joseph Newell (a native of Stewartstown), of the Inniskillings, was killed in action on 21st October.
04/06/2018 Pte. Joseph Newell 01468
04/06/2018 Pte. Joseph Newell From the Mid Ulster Mail dated 21st November 1914:
04/06/2018 Pte. David McMenemy McMENEMY – 21st October. Killed in action at the front. Private Davis McMenemy, of the Royal Inniskillings Fusiliers, third son of Samuel McMenemy, Tullyhogue.
04/06/2018 Pte. David McMenemy 01467
04/06/2018 Pte. David McMenemy From the Mid Ulster Mail dated 21st November 1914:
04/06/2018 Pte. David McMenemy Private David McMenemy, third son of Mr Samuel McMenemy, Tullyhogue, was killed in action on the battlefield 21st October. The young soldier was only 21 years of age, and had joined the Special Reserve of the Royal Inniskillings Fusiliers in January last. He was called up on the outbreak of war, and went to the front with the first draught. Great sympathy is felt for the bereaved parents and friends. The father of the fallen soldier spent twenty years in the British Army, and three other sons are at present with the colours – Private John McMenemy, who is in Ebrington Barracks, Derry and Privates Robert and Samuel McMenemy, both in the Ulster Volunteer party at Finner Camp. The deceased, who was a member of L.O.L. No 111, was very popular in the district, and his death is deeply regretted by all who knew him.
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04/06/2018 Pte. David McMenemy From the Mid Ulster Mail dated 21st November 1914: Private David McMenemy
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