Photograph of my paternal uncle, Ino LK Nuttall Service medal of my paternal uncle, Ino LK Nuttall
My paternal uncle, Ino LK Nutall, joined up on the first day of the war, according to what my father told me. He was in the Alberta Dragoons, having been about 3 years in Canada. Ino had emigrated as there were no opportunities at home, as a second son from a modest farm in Sligo. My grandfather, his father, had married a widow with a farm and a family of her own, and they went on to have a family together. Ino served in Belgium and France; he was behind the lines when he was killed in a shooting accident. He is buried in the cemetery at Chateau Kemell. As far as I understand, the soldier who accidentally shot him was not court-martialled. I am the eldest son in my family, and I inherited the farm from my father - and his desk. The medal and the photograph were in the desk. Although I don't have any items with me which belonged to my mother's father, his story was quite dramatic. He was a doctor in Dublin whose name was Dr Frank Purser. In WWI he joined the medical corps, where he treated soldiers with shell-shock. He wanted to build a hospital for recovering soldiers in Monto in Dublin, rather than Castlecove in Kerry where he felt they would be isolated, but nothing came of that plan. He was also an ex-rugby international and in 1910 was President of the RFU ( he played on the wing and he was very quick) , and this probably saved his life. On Easter Saturday he was injured playing in an Old Ulster/Old Leinster match and was in hospital rather than walking around Dublin in uniform when the fighting broke out.

Ino Nuttall
Photograph
Ireland
Photograph of my uncle, Ino Nuttall