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 March 4th

Breen, Thomas

Date of Birth
Address
Born Ferns
Service No.
27570
Rank
Private
Regiment
Royal Dublin Fusiliers
1st Battalion
Date of Death
Circumstances of Death
France and Flanders, Died of wounds
Other Biographical Details

Son of Myles and Eliza Breen née Thackaberry. No available information on why Breen might have been killed, but is buried/commemorated in the Somme area.

Doyle, Nicholas

Date of Birth
Address
Kilcorral, Castlebridge.
Service No.
32018
Rank
Private
Regiment
Royal Irish Regiment
3rd Battalion
Date of Death
Circumstances of Death
Died from meningitis at Fever Hospital, Wexford
Other Biographical Details

Buried in Screen Catholic Churchyard, Co. Wexford. Died from meningitis at Fever Hospital, Wexford, age 18. Son of Thomas and Alice Doyle née Breen. Residing at Kilcorral, Castlebridge.

Doyle, Thomas

Date of Birth
Address
Glasgow, Lanarkshire
Service No.
7922
Rank
Sergeant
Regiment
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
10th Battalion
Date of Death
Circumstances of Death
Killed in action in France
Other Biographical Details

Son of Martin and Margaret Doyle of 26 South Shamrock Street, Glasgow.

Born on March 4th

John Smith

Date of Birth
Address
William Street, Wexford.
Rank
Captain
Regiment
Mercantile Marine
Cork Steamship Company
S.S. Imber
Date of Death
Circumstances of Death
Accidently drowned falling overboard.
Other Biographical Details

Son of Captain James and Margaret Smith (née Lambert), William Street, Wexford.  Husband of Bridget Ennis. No known grave.

Sample Records

Buttle, Albert Edward

Date of Birth
Address
Templeshannon, Enniscorthy
Rank
Second Lieutenant
Regiment
Royal Irish Rifles
17th Battalion
Date of Death
Circumstances of Death
Died of wounds at No. 3 Australian Casualty Clearing Station.
Other Biographical Details

Son of John & Annie Buttle of Templeshannon, Enniscorthy. His father, John was Director of Messrs. Buttle Bros & Co. Ltd, Bacon Curers and Merchants. Albert was educated in Newtown School, Waterford and Model School, Enniscorthy. Enlisted with Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers 1st April 1915. Gazetted 2nd Lieut. Royal Irish Rifles 2nd Bn. Took part in the Battles of the Somme in July 1916 and was invalided home in January 1917. Promoted to First Lieutenant, July 1917. Was offered a medical discharge being medically unfit, but volunteered again and rejoined his regiment in France on 29th May 1918. A casualty of the Fifth Battle of Ypres (28 Sept – 2 Oct 1918). Buried in Haringhe Military Cemetery.

Beatty, Charles Harold Longfield

Date of Birth
Address
Borodale, Enniscorthy
Rank
Major
Regiment
Special Lists
Staff
Medals
Date of Death
Circumstances of Death
Died Undergoing Surgery, Atherstone, England on 17th May 1917, aged 47.
Other Biographical Details

Eldest son of the late Captain David Longfield and Catherina Edith Beatty [nee Chaine], of Oakfield, Atherstone.  Husband of Lucy Alice Beatty, born c1869 at Western Port, Australia. ADC to General Sir Edwin Alderson, Commander of Canadian Expeditionary Force and attached to the Royal Warwickshire Regiment. Older brother of  Admiral of the Fleet David Earl Beatty, P.C., G.C.B. and brother of Captain Richard George Beatty.  https://www.nnwfhs.org.uk/catch-all/first-world-war-centenary-2/men-of-ww1-members-detailed-pages/1355-maj-chl-beatty

 

Sherwood, Richard Atwell

Date of Birth
Address
7 Parnell Street, Wexford.
Service No.
9220 (7220 Pension Record)
Rank
Sergeant
Regiment
Royal Irish Regiment
2nd Battalion
Date of Death
Circumstances of Death
Killed in Action France and Flanders
Other Biographical Details

Son of John and Esther Victoria Sarah Sherwood née Atwell, ex-R.I.C. Sergeant, 7 Parnell Street, Wexford. Brother of John above. Buried Bailleul Communal Cemetery (Nord) in France.

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