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

Dowse, William Arthur Clarence

Date of Birth
Rank
Lieutenant
Regiment
Cheshire Regiment
11th Battalion
Date of Death
Circumstances of Death
Killed in action, Somme, France
Other Biographical Details

Son of Dr. Thomas James and Katherine Elizabeth Dowse nee Trouton of 14 Lower George Street, Wexford. 

Farrell, Robert

Date of Birth
Alias
Robert Murphy
Address
Duke Street, Wexford
Service No.
3739
Rank
Private
Regiment
Royal Irish Regiment
1st Battalion
Date of Death
Circumstances of Death
Killed in action in Flanders
Other Biographical Details

Husband of Mrs Teresa Murphy nee Dwyer, Duke Street, Wexford. When they married in 1910, Robert was aged 24 and did not provide the name of his father. His widow married Patrick Frazer in 1919.

Forde, Frank

Date of Birth
Address
Wexford
Service No.
26437
Rank
Private
Regiment
Royal Dublin Fusiliers
10th Battalion
Date of Death
Circumstances of Death
Grievously wounded during the Battle of the Somme and died while being brought back to the trenches for medical attention.
Other Biographical Details

Born John Francis, son of John and Margaret Forde nee Rourke.  His father, born in Co. Galway, was a constable in the RIC and later an insurance agent. His mother was born in Co. Wexford. Later resided at Patrick Square, Wexford.
A clerical worker in the Pierce Ironworks Foundry in Wexford, Frank joined up aged 16. In early August 1916, he arrived in France and fought at the Battle of the Somme. However, just a few weeks before his 17th birthday, Frank was grievously wounded during the Battle of the Somme and died while being brought back from the trenches for medical attention. His platoon commander, Lieutenant A.W. Henchy wrote to Frank's parents and called him 'a fine courageous fellow and a gallant soldier of whom his family should be proud'. Frank was buried in Trachee de Mecknes Cemetary in the Pas de Calais in France. In his military will, he left everything he possessed to his mother.

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