Joseph Kearns was my Grandfather. He was a part of the Connaught Rangers 1st Battalion, Regiment 8526. He enrolled in 1905 and was shipped out to India. He is in the Delhi Dubar roll of honour but is misspelled as Kerans. After he was discharged, he became a reservist. He became a worker for the Great Southern Railway in Kingsbidge in 1914. He was working 2 months there before he was drafted in to the British Expeditionary Force. He was among the first in battles such as at Mons. He was wounded in the 1st Battle of Ypres on the 8th of May 1915, which was reported in the Irish Times on the 26th of May. He was Acting Sergeant at the time. He married in Dublin, Ireland on the 31st of October. He was wounded in May 1916 at the 2nd Battle of Ypres, also reported in the Irish Times. He was discharged on the 4th of January 1919 due to his wounds. He received the Mons star and other medals, which we do not have. He was considered a contestable due to being in the 1st British Expeditionary Force. Our mother remembers Joseph going out in uniform, perhaps on Armistice Day. He was killed in an accident in March 1939 on the railway. He was too tall to work on the trams and too slight to work for Guinness. He had been working on the railway again after 1919. There is no record of the railway accident, a shunting accident which may have occurred because he was then deaf. Joseph married his best friend's fiancé after his friend died. She did of cancer soon after. He had 4 daughters and insisted on looking after them. || Photo from Dagshai 1910 (Joseph is the 7th from the left in the back row) ; Family photo of Joseph, his wife, stepsister and their 3 children (including our mother Mary) ; Death Certificate of Joseph Kearns || || Photo from Dagshai 1910 (Joseph Kearns is 7th from the left, back row) || Dagshai || Photograph || || Photograph || Joseph Kearns || Photo of Joseph Kearns, his wife, stepsister and 3 children, including my mother Mary. || Joseph Kearns and family photo || || Joseph Kearns || Official document || Death Certificate of Joseph Kearns

Certificate of Peter Henry's army discharge in 1924

Discharge papers for Patrick Larkin, Irish member of US army