Friends of the Somme - Mid Ulster Branch  
ff
Date Name Information
31/08/2016 Pte. Richard Bell The Glasgow Evening Times Roll of Honour does not list Richard Bell.
31/08/2016 Pte. Richard Bell The CWGC do not list any relative when they were organising headstones.
31/08/2016 Pte. Richard Bell The cemetery at Etaples is the largest Commonwealth cemetery in France with 10,773 burials from the First World War. It also contains 658 German burials and 119 burials from World War 2.
31/08/2016 Pte. Richard Bell By 1917 there were an estimated 100,000 troops camped among the sand dunes here. There were 11 General Hospitals, one stationary, 4 Red Cross hospitals and a convalescent depot which could deal with 22,000 wounded or sick.
31/08/2016 Pte. Richard Bell The area was chosen for this purpose as it was considered remote from enemy attack, except from aircraft, and was accessible by railway from both the northern and southern battlefields.
31/08/2016 Pte. Richard Bell The town of Etaples is about 27 kilometres south of Boulogne and during the First World War the area around the town was the scene of immense concentrations of Commonwealth reinforcement camps and hospitals.
31/08/2016 Pte. Richard Bell Private Richard Bell is buried in plot 25- row K- grave 3 at Etaples Cemetery, France.
31/08/2016 Pte. Richard Bell Private Richard Bell died of wounds in Etaples on Sunday 22nd July 1917.
31/08/2016 Pte. Richard Bell In July 1917 Richard was seriously wounded and taken to hospital in Etaples. It had been hoped to get him to hospital in England but by the time of his arrival at Etaples he was considered too ill to travel.
31/08/2016 Pte. Richard Bell He enlisted in Glasgow with the 10th Battalion Cameronians (Scottish Rifles).
31/08/2016 Pte. Richard Bell Richard was living and working in Glasgow at the outbreak of the First World War.
31/08/2016 Pte. Richard Bell Richard Bell was born in Cookstown.
31/08/2016 Pte. Oliver Bates Private Oliver Bates is not listed on Willenhall WW1 War Memorial.
31/08/2016 Pte. Oliver Bates Le Touret Memorial commemorates those men from the United Kingdom who have no known grave and who fell in the Battles of La Bassee, Neuve-Chapelle, Aubers Ridge and Festubert up until 25th September 1915, (the eve of the Battle of Loos). The memorial is located near Bethune in France.
31/08/2016 Pte. Oliver Bates Private Oliver Bates has no known grave and is commemorated on panel 4 at Le Touret Memorial in France.
31/08/2016 Pte. Oliver Bates Private Oliver Bates was serving with the 1st Battalion of the Irish Guards when he was killed in action at the Battle of Festubert on Tuesday 18th May 1915.
31/08/2016 Pte. Oliver Bates The battalion took part in the Battle of Festubert which began on the eve of 15th May 1915. On the morning of the 18th of May, the day dawned with driving rain and mist, so the attack was postponed until 4.30pm in the late afternoon because of the poor conditions. By the following morning the 1st Battalion Irish Guards had lost 22 men killed in action, 284 wounded and 86 missing. Oliver Bates was one of those killed in action.
31/08/2016 Pte. Oliver Bates Private Bates served with 1st Battalion of the Irish Guards, 4th Guards Brigade, which made up part of the 2nd Division on the Western Front.
31/08/2016 Pte. Oliver Bates Oliver Bates enlisted in Cookstown.
31/08/2016 Pte. Oliver Bates The 1911 census does not show any Oliver Bates in Ireland at that time.
31/08/2016 Pte. Oliver Bates Oliver Bates was born in Willenhall, Warwick, England.
31/08/2016 Pte. Patrick Barton Patrick Barton is commemorated on Cookstown Cenotaph.
31/08/2016 Pte. Patrick Barton Private Patrick Barton was initially interred in Essigny-le-Grand German Cemetery at Memorial 10. Grand Seraucourt Cemetery is only a short distance away and his remains were later moved to there.
31/08/2016 Pte. Patrick Barton Private Patrick Barton was serving with the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers when he was killed in action on 21st March 1918.
31/08/2016 Pte. Patrick Barton Private Barton was reported missing, killed in action in fierce hand to hand fighting, when the enemy, under the cover of a thick fog, attacked the British lines. It has been suggested that he was a wounded prisoner of the Germans, dying later of his wounds, but there is absolutely no evidence to support this.
31/08/2016 Pte. Patrick Barton On the morning of 21st March 1918, the Germans launched the Spring Offensive or Kaiserschlact beginning with Operation Michael on a fifty mile front between the Sensee and Oise Rivers, penetrating deep into the lines of the British Fifth Army and the right wing of the British Third Army. At this point in the war, the German army had developed Stormtrooper units. Their tactic was to attack and disrupt enemy headquarters, artillery units and supply depots, pushing through the British lines and leaving the strong points to be mopped up by follow up troops. Although the British were aware of an imminent attack, the weight of the enemy bombardment and ferocity of the advance was a surprise. The attack was made under the cover of fog. Within a matter of days the Germans had advanced over twenty miles into Allied held territory. By 5th April 1918 Operation Michael was called off. The allies had lost an estimated 255,000 men (British, Commonwealth, French and American). They also lost 1,300 artillery pieces and 200 tanks as they withdrew. German losses amounted to an estimated 239,000 men, largely the specialist shocktroops or Stosstruppen.
31/08/2016 Pte. Patrick Barton Patrick Barton enlisted in Coatbridge, Scotland. He was listed as living in Lisburn at the time.
31/08/2016 Pte. Patrick Barton The family had lived in Lisburn and Cookstown.
31/08/2016 Pte. Patrick Barton Patrick Barton was born in Broxburn, Linlithgow.
31/08/2016 Pte. Edward Leo Phair The CWGC record Private Edward Leo Phair as the son of Richard and Margaret Phair, of 4 Brookvale Terrace, Portrush, Co. Antrim
31/08/2016 Pte. Edward Leo Phair Private Edward Phair is commemorated on Coleraine War Memorial and Holy Trinity Church Roll of Honour, Portrush.
31/08/2016 Pte. Edward Leo Phair Private Edward Leo Phair is buried in Dozinghem Cemetery, Belgium.
31/08/2016 Pte. Edward Leo Phair Private Edward Leo Phair was taken to a casualty clearing station where he died of his wounds the next day on 10th October 1917.
31/08/2016 Pte. Edward Leo Phair The Irish Guards were later moved to Belgium and in the fighting near Poperinghe on the 9th October 1917, Private Phair was seriously wounded.
31/08/2016 Pte. Edward Leo Phair In the winter of 1916 he was given leave while suffering from a bad case of trench foot. He went home to recuperate and later rejoined his Battalion which was still based around Gouazeaucourt on the Somme.
31/08/2016 Pte. Edward Leo Phair Edward Phair joined the Battalion in 1915 and took part in the Battles of La Bassee and Leventie, and Loos. The Irish Guards were moved to the Somme region and took part in the capture of the village of Guillemont in September 1916.
31/08/2016 Pte. Edward Leo Phair Edward worked as a gardener at the Northern Counties Hotel in Portrush prior to enlisting with the Irish Guards in Coleraine.
31/08/2016 Pte. Edward Leo Phair The 1911 census lists Edward as age 20, living with the family at house 34 in Glenmanus, Ballylagan, County Londonderry. Both Edward and his father were general labourers.
31/08/2016 Pte. Edward Leo Phair By the time of the 1901 census, Edward was listed as age 9, living with the family at house 109 in Causeway Street, Portrush. His father was a general labourer.
31/08/2016 Pte. Edward Leo Phair Family: Richard Phair, Margaret Phair, Annie Marie Phair (born 30th April 1887, Stewartstown), Margaret Phair (born 3rd November 1888, Pomeroy), Edward Phair (born 22nd April 1890, Pomeroy), May Jane Phair (born 25th May 1892, Loughgall).
31/08/2016 Pte. Edward Leo Phair Edward was born in the Pomeroy area near Cookstown on 22nd April 1890.
31/08/2016 Pte. Edward Leo Phair Margaret was born in England, so this may explain the difficulty in finding a marriage record in GRONI.
31/08/2016 Pte. Edward Leo Phair Edward Leo Phair was the only son of Richard and Margaret Phair.
31/08/2016 Pte. Edward Leo Phair The book ‘Portrush Heroes 1914-18’ lists Edward on page 84.
31/08/2016 Pte. Samuel James MacFarlane The book ‘Portrush Heroes 1914-18’ lists Samuel on pages 19 and 20.
31/08/2016 Sgt. Hugh Benjamin Haslam The book ‘Portrush Heroes 1914-18’ lists Hugh on page 80.
31/08/2016 Pte. William Norman Davidson The book ‘Portrush Heroes 1914-18’ lists William on page 53.
13/08/2016 Pte. Robert Irwin M.M. Private Robert Irwin, of the 1st Inniskillings, who was twice wounded at the Dardanelles, is at present on leave at his home at Hillhead, Castledawson. Private Irwin, who has eight years’ service, was, with Private McAnary, instrumental in saving the life of a wounded officer of the Engineers. The Engineers were out during the night putting up wire, and just at dawn the Turks spotted them and began firing. He saw the officer fall, and ran out to him. McAnary and he arrived at the officer together, McAnary took him by the shoulders and Irwin by the legs, in one of which he had been shot. Just as they got him up, another bullet passed between his arms and severely wounded him in the other leg. It is understood that Irwin and McAnary have been recommended for their heroism.
13/08/2016 Pte. Robert Irwin M.M. 00893
13/08/2016 Pte. Robert Irwin M.M. From the Belfast Newsletter dated 11th September 1915
13/08/2016 2nd Lieut Donald James Grubb At the Methodist Church, Inchicore (Dublin), a memorial service for the late Lieutenant Grubb was held on 5th September, conducted by the Rev. E J Elliott, garrison chaplain. Mr Elliott spoke in feeling terms of the late Lieutenant’s high Christian character and influence in his regiment.
13/08/2016 2nd Lieut Donald James Grubb ‘M.E.F., 20th August 1915. Dear sir, I very much regret to have to inform you that your son, Donald Grubb, was killed in action on Sunday 15th August, and to express to you on behalf of the remaining officers, other ranks, and myself, our deep sympathy with you in your and our sad loss. We were all fond of him, and he was a very popular and good officer. His loss is felt very keenly. It will be a great satisfaction to you to know that your son met his death while bravely attending the wounded, at great personal risk to himself, under a very heavy fire, and his actions and bravery will never be forgotten by those who remain. He suffered no pain, as his death was instantaneous.’
13/08/2016 2nd Lieut Donald James Grubb Rev James Grubb has received from the officer commanding 5th Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers the following communication concerning the death of his son:-
13/08/2016 2nd Lieut Donald James Grubb 00892
13/08/2016 2nd Lieut Donald James Grubb From the Belfast Newsletter dated 11th September 1915: The Late Lieutenant D J Grubb
08/08/2016 Pte. James King Mr John King, Blackhill, Cookstown, has received official notification that his son, Private James King, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, was killed at the Dardanelles. Private King, who enlisted shortly after the war broke out, was only about 20 years of age, and was employed at Greenvale Mills.
08/08/2016 Pte. James King 00891
08/08/2016 Pte. James King From the Belfast Newsletter dated 5th September 1915:
    January     February     March     April     May     June     July     August     September     October     November     December
    January     February     March     April     May     June     July     August     September     October     November     December
    January     February     March     April     May     June     July     August     September     October     November     December
    January     February     March     April     May     June     July     August     September     October     November     December
    January     February     March     April     May     June     July     August     September     October     November     December
    January     February     March     April     May     June     July     August     September     October     November     December
    January     February     March     April     May     June     July     August     September     October     November     December