Welcome to Wexford Great War Dead

During the Great War, 1914 – 1918, a large number of men from Co. Wexford fought and died in the conflict which has been described as  'the war to end all wars'. This conflict resulted in a catastrophic loss of life and had dire and lasting consequences for generations across Europe.

In Wexford, the local newspapers of the period are full of the obituaries of those men and women, military and civilian, who died as a result of the war.

Until recently, it was believed that just over 500 men from Co. Wexford, who had enlisted in the British military, died fighting in the land war on the Western Front, Middle East and at Gallipoli. Research now shows this number drastically understates the loss of life for County Wexford.

Due to advances in digital archiving and on-line research tools, we now have access to Naval Service, Royal Flying Corp and Mercantile Marine records, as well as digitised birth, marriage and death records for the period. These advances in technology and research methods allow us to develop a fuller picture of the devastation caused to families and communities in County Wexford by The Great War.

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Where have all the young men gone?


When we scan the Census forms
In twenty twenty one and wonder,
Where have all the young men gone?
Then we remember.  Ypres, Mons,
And the Somme.

They went to war a hundred years ago
Brothers, Fathers, and Uncles, we never grew to know.
Where have all the young men gone?
They lay at rest in Ypres, Mons,
And the Somme

The Volunteers answered Redmond's call,
When Britain's back, was against the  wall.
Never returned to where they came from
Now at peace in Ypres, Mons,
And the Somme.

Today crowds who stand and silently wait, for the
Last post and reveille, at the Mennin Gate.
Read men’s names and the regiments they came from
Who lie in graves, unmarked, at Ypres, Mons
And the Somme.

That mournful sound as buglers play.
The Last Post in Mennin at the end of day.
Their memory in towns and villages will live on.
As they rest quietly now, In Gallipolli, Ypres, Mons,
And the Somme.

To commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the end of The Great War  1914--1918. In Memory of. Pte Thomas Byrne. 1900. 6th Bn. Royal Irish Regt. Killed in Action at Passchendale, Ypres. 5th August 1917.
Tom O'Byrne, (Nephew) August 2018.

Died on October 20th

Anderson, James

Date of Birth
Address
3 Trinity Place, Wexford.
Service No.
5624
Rank
Private
Regiment
Leinster Regiment
2nd Battalion
Date of Death
Age
36
Circumstances of Death
Died of wounds Battle of the Rivers, at Aisne, October 1914, France
Other Biographical Details

Son of William and Ellen Anderson of 3 Trinity Place, Wexford. Fifteen years service, fought in the second South African campaign. Buried in the Canadian Cemetery No.2 Neuville-St. Vaast, france

Byrne, Patrick (alias)

Date of Birth
Alias
Carton, Patrick (real name)
Address
Service No.
6731
Rank
Private
Regiment
Leinster Regiment
2nd Battalion
Date of Death
Age
39
Circumstances of Death
Killed in Action while fighting in the The Battle of Armentières October 1914, France.
Other Biographical Details

Son of Hugh and Mary Carton. His will states his mother was Mrs Mary Rourke, Moyeady, Ballycarney, Co. Wexford. Patrick enlisted under the alias Byrne but his christened name was Carton. Listed on Panel 10 on the Ploegsteert Memorial in Belgium. 

Carton, Patrick

Service No.
6731
Rank
Private
Regiment
Leinster Regiment
2nd Battalion
Date of Death
Age
Unknown
Circumstances of Death
Killed in Action
Other Biographical Details
Listen on Panel 10 on the Ploegsteert Memorial, Belgium

Dwyer, Denis

Date of Birth
Service No.
10864
Rank
Private
Regiment
Royal Irish Regiment
2nd Battalion
Date of Death
Age
23
Circumstances of Death
Killed in Action France and Flanders
Other Biographical Details
Son of James and Mary Anne Dwyer née Fitzpatrick

Groves, Charles Henry

Date of Birth
Address
Wexford
Service No.
L/6848
Rank
Sergeant
Regiment
Middlesex Regiment
4th Battalion
Date of Death
Age
35
Circumstances of Death
Killed in action in France
Other Biographical Details

Son of Harriett Groves, Chipping Norton. Husband of Hannah Mary Groves nee Breen, Upper Dargle Road, Bray. His file is on Ancestry up to 1913 when he left the army. He was mobilised at the beginning of the war, so may well have been residing in Wexford.

Shallow, James

Date of Birth
Rank
Seaman
Regiment
Mercantile Marine
SS Ionian
Date of Death
Age
28
Circumstances of Death
Sunk by a mine off Milford Haven laid by German Submarine UC-51.
Other Biographical Details
Son of James and Kate Shallow nee Nolan of Fisherstown Campile, Co.Wexford.

Born on October 20th

Hayden, James

Date of Birth
Address
Ferns
Service No.
6637
Rank
Private
Regiment
Royal Irish Regiment
2nd Battalion
Date of Death
Age
35
Circumstances of Death
Killed in Action France and Flanders
Other Biographical Details

Son of Thomas and Ann Hayden née Callaghan. 

Sample Records

Liebermann, Frederick Victor

Date of Birth
Service No.
8197
Rank
Gunner
Regiment
Australian Field Artillery
Date of Death
Age
36
Circumstances of Death
Died of Mutilation Wounds
Other Biographical Details

Son of Adolf and Anna Eliza Liebermann née Farrell of 33 Russell Street, Camberwell, Melbourne. His father was a professor of languages Brother of Gertrude Ellen Lieberman of Broadway, Camberwell, Victoria.

Breen, James

Date of Birth
Alias
Brien
Address
Ross Road, Enniscorthy.
Service No.
5387
Rank
Private
Regiment
Irish Guards
1st Battalion
Date of Death
Age
27
Circumstances of Death
Killed in Action in France during The Battle of Festubert (15–25 May 1915)
Other Biographical Details

The son of the late James, and Margaret Breen née Habernathy, of 66 Ross Road, Enniscorthy. Brother of Thomas Breen (4370). Prior to enlisting on the 18th September 1914, James was employed as a shop assistant at Mr. W.K. Stamp's, Market Square, Enniscorthy. 2nd Division, in which Breen's battalion was serving, lost over 5,000 men.

Redmond, William Hoey Kearney

Date of Birth
Alias
Willie Redmond.
Address
Glenbrook, Delgany, Co.Wicklow and Palace Manshions, Kensington, London.
Rank
Major
Regiment
Royal Irish Regiment
6th Battalion
Medals
Date of Death
Age
56
Circumstances of Death
Died of Wound received in an attack at Wytschaete Wood in Belgium after being injured by a shell.
Other Biographical Details

Husband of Eleanor Redmond. Nationalist Member of Parliament for Wexford since 1884. Awarded the Legion of Honour (France). One of the rare people to be buried abroad during WW1 in a coffin. Son of William Archer and Mary Redmond née Hoey. Younger brother of John E. Redmond MP and Leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party.

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