In France & Belgium

GRAHAM

William John

[States 12th Battalion on memorial] 2nd Lieutenant, 18th atatched 12th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles. Killed in action 22nd November 1917. Aged 26. Son of William and Mary Graham, of 67, Coolderry St., Donegall Rd., Belfast. No known grave. Commemorated on CAMBRAI MEMORIAL, LOUVERVAL, Nord, France. Panel 10.

HAWTHORN

Albert A

[States 11th Battalion on memorial, spelt HAWTHORNE on CWGC] Rifleman 2534, 12th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles. Killed in action 2nd September 1918. Aged 24. Born and resident Magheragall, enlisted Lisburn. Buried in MESSINES RIDGE BRITISH CEMETERY, Mesen, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium. Plot I. Row C. Grave 24.

HAWTHORN

Thomas

[Spelt HAWTHORNE on CWGC] Rifleman 3028, "B" Company, 11th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles. Killed in action 1st July 1916. Born Magheragall, enlisted Lisburn, resident Moira, Co. Down. Son of the late William Hawthorne of Magheragall, Lisburn, Co. Antrim; husband of Mary Hawthorne of Derrynisk, Moira, Co. Down. No known grave. Commemorated on THIEPVAL MEMORIAL, Somme, France. Pier and Face 15 A and 15 B.

LAVERY

Edward

Private 10739, 2nd Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. Killed in action 16th May 1915. Aged 18. Born and enlisted Lisburn, resident Cookstown. Son of John Lavery, of 10, Old Hillsborough Rd., Lisburn, Co. Antrim. No known grave. Commemorated on LE TOURET MEMORIAL, Pas de Calais, France. Panel 16 and 17.

MOFFETT

William

[Spelt MOFFATT on SDGW and CWGC] Private 41144, 13th Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers (Lothian Regiment). Died of wounds 10th April 1917. Aged 20. Born Magheragall, enlisted Glasgow, resident Kilsyth, Strilingshire. Son of William Moffat, of Magheragall, Lisburn, Co. Antrim. Formerly 10128, Royal Scots Fusiliers. Buried in ETAPLES MILITARY CEMETERY, Pas de Calais, France. Plot XXII. Row F. Grave 23.

STITT

Thomas

2nd Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers - there is only one Thomas Stitt listed in the CWGC and SDGW - Thomas Stitt, Rifleman 13561, 1st Battallion, Royal Irish Rifles. Killed in action 9th May 1915. Born Portadown, Co. Armagh, enlisted Belfast. No known grave. Commemorated on PLOEGSTEERT MEMORIAL, Comines-Warneton, Hainaut, Belgium. Panel 9.

TOLERTON

Robert

Rifleman 6641, 11th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles. Killed in action 1st July 1916. Aged 20. Born and resident Magheragall, enlisted Lisburn. Son of John and Margaret Tolerton, of Beech Hill, Matheragall, Lisburn, Co. Antrim. No known grave. Commemorated on THIEPVAL MEMORIAL, Somme, France. Pier and Face 15 A and 15 B.

TOLLERTON

George

Rifleman 6050, 14th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles. Killed in action 6th May 1916. Born Magheragall, enlisted Belfast, resident Portadown. Buried in AUTHUILE MILITARY CEMETERY, Somme, France. Plot/Row/Section D. Grave 48.

TOLLERTON

James

Rifleman 6462, 9th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles. Killed in action 1st July 1916. Aged 29. Born and enlisted Magheragall. Son of Thomas and Jane Tollerton, of Knocknarea, Magheragall, Lisburn, Co. Antrim. No known grave. Commemorated on THIEPVAL MEMORIAL, Somme, France. Pier and Face 15 A and 15 B.

WALKER

Claud Arthur Leonard

Lieutenant, 2nd Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. Killed in action 10th July 1918. Aged 21. Son of the Rev. R. Walker, LL.D., and Mrs. L. J. T. Walker, of Shankill Rectory, Belfast. Joined Public Schools Corps, Aug., 1914. Nominated to R.M.C. Sandhurst, Dec., 1914. Commissioned, May, 1915. Buried in BOUZINCOURT COMMUNAL CEMETERY EXTENSION, Somme, France. Plot I. Row B. Grave 2.

At Gallipoli

GILL

Henry Albert George

Private 598, 15th Battalion, Australian Imperial Force. Killed in action in the Dardenelles 8th August 1915. Aged 29. Born 102, Newtownards Road, Belfast. Enlisted Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Son of Mrs. Mary Agnes Gill of 102, Newtownards Road, Belfast. Farmer by trade. Emigrated aged 24 years. Educated at the Intermediate School, Queen's Collge, Royal University of Ireland. Cousin of Gill of Tamworth, Sidney & of Gill of Emu Creek, Melbourne. No known grave. Commemorated on LONE PINE MEMORIAL, Gallipoli, Turkey. Panel 46.

His mother wrote "He was one of the best & one of the few - my liberal minded large-hearted son - Without a minutes delay he went at the call of duty his letters from the Dardanelles were always cheerful. The last letter we received from him was dated 30th July 1915 then he was reported missing from 8th August and in November we received a letter from a Pioneer Sergt of the London Regiment who wrote that he had found my son and buried him and that he seemed to have had an <...cannot decipher..> death. He was lying on his side and in his outstretched hand he held a copy of the New testament. The book was officially forwarded to me it was the book we had sent him with his name & home address written therein the mark of his thumb is on the mouldering cover of the book. this is all that has come to me from <..... cannot decipher...> death."

Another letter reads:

102 Newtownard Road
Belfast City
3rd March 1920

Dear Sir,

      Herewith I return you the <..cannot decipher..>for Roll of Honour and for the Histories in Australia with the particulars filled in by my mother as requested about our Beloved Albert - This is all we know as yet, and if later we learn of any other details that might be of interest to you we will send you. We still are anxious <?> for news of him. This <..cannot decipher..>stood a big warm loving <..cannot decipher..> for us all. His like <...cannot decipher..> and in Australia was a daily self-sacrifice for us the light and joy of our old <...cannot decipher..> went with our Albert - our <...cannot decipher..> to send you this photograph and hope it may be posisble for it to be inserted, and if you will please let us know that you receive them safely. My Mother is out at our home in the country at present with my youngest <...cannot decipher..> who is an invalid now.

Thanking you for your kind remembrance,

Yours sincerely,

G.E.M. Gill (Eva)

MARTIN

Alexander

Private 12/800, Auckland Regiment. New Zealand Expeditionary Force. Killed in action 25th April 1915. Aged 20. Son of John and Isabella Martin, of Moor Farm, Donaghadee, Co. Down, Ireland. No known grave. Commemorated on LONE PINE MEMORIAL, Gallipoli, Turkey. Panel 72.

In Mesopotamia

HOLDCROFT

Robert

[Memorial states Quarter Master Sergeant] Sergeant 8853, 7th Battalion, Prince of Wales's (North Staffordshire Regiment). Died of wounds 9th April 1916 in Mesopotamia. Born Burslem, Staffordshire, enlisted Lichfield, Staffordsshire, resident Belfast. Buried in BASRA WAR CEMETERY, Iraq. Plot Vi. Row Q. Grave 1.

The Holdcroft Family

Tranquil they lie, their knightly valour proved
their memory hallowed in the land they loved.

Also those you gave their lives
in the World War
1939-1945

MURPHY

John William

Sergeant 1083884, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Died 3rd July 1945. Aged 22. Son of Mr. and Mrs. John Murphy, of Moneybroom, Magheragall, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland; husband of Georgina Murphy, of Toronto. Buried in TORONTO (ST. JOHN'S NORWAY) CEMETERY, Ontario, Canada. Section 11. Range 25. Grave 34. For full history see Magheragall Parish Church web site

PHILLIPS

Ivan

Fusilier 6979364, 1st Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. Died as a prisoner of war of the Japanese 10th January 1943. Aged 20. Son of John and Martha Phillips, of Lisburn, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland. Buried in TAUKKYAN WAR CEMETERY, Myanmar. Plot 11. Row J. Grave 3.

ROBERTS

William

Gunner 14594156, Royal Artillery. Died 27th June 1943. Aged 39. Husband of Maud Roberts, of Magheragall. Buried in LISBURN CEMETERY, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland. Section D. Grave 162.

SMYLIE

John Finlay

Marine PO/X 4563, H.M.S. Barham, Royal Marines. Died 25th November 1941. Aged 19. Son of James and Sarah A. Smylie, of Lisburn, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland. No known grave. Commemorated on PORTSMOUTH NAVAL MEMORIAL, Hampshire. Panel 59, Column 2.

Note: HMS Barham was a Queen Elizabeth-class battleship of the Royal Navy named after Admiral Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham, built at the John Brown shipyards in Clydebank, Scotland, and launched in 1914.

In World War I, she collided with her sister-ship Warspite in 1915. In 1916, she was Admiral Hugh Evan-Thomas's flagship of the 5th Battle Squadron temporarily attached to Admiral David Beatty's Battlecruiser Fleet at the battle of Jutland, where she received five hits and fired 337 shells.

During the 1926 general strike she and HMS Ramillies was sent to the River Mersey to land food supplies.

She was less extensively modified between the wars than her sisters. Among her captains was Percy Noble.

In World War II she operated in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. She was damaged by a German submarine torpedo in December 1939, while at sea north of the British Isles.

In September 1940, she took part in Operation Menace, a British naval attack on Dakar, Senegal prior to a landing by the Free French. Barham engaged the French battleship Richelieu. On September 25th, the Richelieu hit Barham with a 15-inch (381 mm) shell. The French submarine Bévéziers hit the battleship Resolution with a torpedo the same day. Operation Menace was abandoned.

Barham then joined Force H at Gibraltar, taking part in several Malta Convoys.

On 25 November 1941, while steaming to cover an attack on Italian convoys, Barham was hit by three torpedoes from the German submarine U-331, commanded by Lieutenant Hans-Dietrich von Tiesenhausen. As she rolled over to port, her magazines exploded and the ship quickly sank with the loss of over two-thirds of her crew.

The British Admiralty was immediately notified of the sinking on November 25, 1941. However, within a few hours they also learned that the German High Command did not know the Barham had been sunk.

Realizing an opportunity to mislead the Germans, and to protect British morale, the Admiralty censored all news of Barham’s sinking and the loss of 861 British seamen.

After a delay of several weeks, the War Office decided to notify the next of kin of Barham’s dead, but they added a special request for secrecy. The notification letters included a warning not to discuss the loss of the ship with anyone but close relatives, stating it was "most essential that information of the event which led to the loss of your husband's life should not find its way to the enemy until such time as it is announced officially..."

By late January 1942, the German High Command had realized Barham had been lost. The British Admiralty informed the press on January 27, 1942 and explained the rationale for withholding the news.

THOMPSON

Joseph Beckett

Sergeant (Pilot) 566058, 25 Squadron, Royal Air Force. Died 31st July 1940. Aged 24. Son of Thomas and Sarah Thompson, of Magheragall. Buried in MAGHERAGALL CHURCH OF IRELAND CHURCHYARD, Magheragall. Grave 194.