William and Elizabeth's wedding photograph, 1918; William's British War Medal (obverse); William's British War Medal (reverse); William's Victory medal (obverse); William's Victory medal (reverse); John J.'s grave, Bailleul Communal Cemetery in France. || William Gill was my maternal grandfather and he and his two brothers, John J. and Martin served in France during WW1. They were born in Ballyclemock, Newbawn, Co. Wexford in Ireland. John J. served first in the Royal Dublin Fusiliers and then with the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. He died from wounds received in battle on 21 October 1916 and is buried in Bailleul Communal Cemetery in France. Martin was the youngest. He had gone to Wales to work in the coal mines. He joined the Welsh Regiment in March 1914, before the war. He was severely wounded on several occasions but survived the war although he had a metal plate in his head from his injuries. After the war he married and lived in Co. Wexford. My grandfather, William served with the Irish Guards and was at the Somme. He often told my father stories about the war of an evening by the fire. Once they were in the trenches and they had a letter they wanted to bring to the command centre to ask for help. It was night time. My grandfather volunteered to go and, as he told it, he used the light from the shells exploding around him to light his way. He had to stop and lie low when it was dark and run for it when the area was lit up. Brigadier Plunkett from Newbawn, Co. Wexford told my father that my grandfather was offered a promotion to a desk job at one point during the war but refused it saying that he wanted 'another crack' at the enemy. He also told this story himself. His attitude was that you had to stay and fight it out. He also recounted how they would raise their helmets up over the trenches perched on their rifles and draw sniper fire so they would know where the snipers were. William married Elizabeth Kelly in 1918 and settled down in Co. Wexford. || || Photograph || Wedding photograph, William and Elizabeth (Kelly) Gill || Remembrance || Wedding photograph of my grandparents, William Gill ad Elizabeth Kelly, 1918 || || Medal || William's British War Medal (obverse) || British War Medal - William Gill || || William's British War Medal (reverse) || William Gill's British War Medal || Medal || || William's Victory Medal (obverse) || Medal || Remembrance || William Gill's Victory Medal (obverse) || || William Gill's Victory Medal || William's Victory Medal (reverse) || Medal || || Photograph || 50.736482,2.735590000000002 || John J. Gill's gravestone, Bailleul Communal Cemetery || Remembrance

John Carty memory card; John Carty service record; Peter Carty enrolment papers; Peter Carty service record; Matthew Carty identity papers. || John, Peter and Matthew Carty were three sons of Philip Carty, a shipwright in Wexford town, Ireland. John was the eldest of the three, born in 1890, Peter was born in 1892, and Matthew in 1898. They lived in the Tuskar View/ Seaview Avenue/Trinity Street area of Wexford town. John’s service record describes him as being 5 feet 3½ inches tall with blue eyes and a fair complexion. He worked as a fireman (boiler man) at the Mill Road Ironworks (Pierce’s foundry) before enrolling with the Royal Naval Reserve (service number 1656S) as a stoker in April 1910. After a training period he returned to Wexford and worked again in the foundry for a year or two. His service was renewed in April 1912 and he made a few trips with the Mercantile Marine. Shortly after the outbreak of the war he was deployed as stoker on the SS Monmouth, an armed cruiser. A family story had it that John was coming into dock having finished a tour of duty when he was sent unexpectedly to the Monmouth. On 1 November 1914 the Monmouth was sunk during the Battle of Coronel off the coast of Chile. There were no survivors. Peter Carty was described on his service record as being 5 feet 4 inches tall, with fair complexion and blue eyes. Like his brother John, Peter worked in the Mill Road Ironworks. He enrolled in the Royal Naval Reserve October 1911 and joined the Royal Navy in March 1912 as a stoker, 2nd class. Matthew, the youngest of the seafaring brothers, was described as being 5 feet 7 inches tall, with dark hair, and blue eyes. He served as an AB Seaman towards the end of the war period. Anastasia Carty Coles, the three boys’ sister, had photos of the ships they served on on her wall but the boys were rarely spoken of. Each year she would light a candle on 1 November in memory of John, a tradition that continued into subsequent generations. After the war, Peter and Matthew lost touch with their family in Wexford. || || Photograph || Seaman John Carty - memory card || Seaman John Carty || || John Carty's service record, page 1 || Official document || John Carty || || Official document || John Carty's service record, page 2 || John Carty || || Peter carty || Official document || Peter Carty's enrolment papers, page 1 || || Official document || Peter Carty || Peter Carty's enrolment papers, page 2 || || Peter Carty's service record || Peter Carty || Official document || || Matthew Carty || Matthew Carty's identity document || Matthew Carty's identification papers, with photograph. || Other

Photographs: John Barry; Michael Barry; William and Tommy Barry; John Barry memorial scroll; Michael Barry memorial scroll; Princess Mary gift box, Christmas 1914 (William’s); Discharge papers, William Barry; || John, Michael and William Barry were my great-uncles, my grandmother Mary Barry Whelan’s brothers. Their parents were John and Bridget Barry of Neamstown, Kilmore Quay, Wexford, Ireland. My great uncle, John Barry was born on 30 November 1888 and joined the Royal Dublin Fusiliers in January 1915. His service number was 17986. He was killed in action in the Balkans on 7 December 1915, aged 26. His name is inscribed on the Doiran memorial in Greece. My grandmother, Mary Barry Whelan kept a diary of all the events related to her brothers and kept their scrolls and photos on the wall of her hallway. They were the first things you saw when you went through the door. Michael Barry was born in June 1890 and joined the Welsh Regiment on 20 July 1916. He was killed in Cambrin in France on 23 July 1918 at 10:25 pm. Michael had arrived in France on Christmas Day 1916. He and some other Wexford men are remembered on a plaque in Maesteg church about five miles from Bridgend in Wales. William was born on 22 May 1896. He walked from Kilmore to Wexford town on 17 May 1917 to join the Royal Irish Regiment, service number 157749. He served in the Machine Gun Corps and was seriously wounded on 23 March 1918 in France. He was discharged in 1919 as no longer physically fit for war service. He was permanently disabled and bedridden and my grandmother looked after him and spent much of her time going up and down to him. He died in Nemestown about nine years late and is buried in Grange cemetery there. Unfortunately for the family the remaining brother Tommy died young also in 1926, so that was all the Barry sons deceased in the space of ten years. From 1911 to 1927, Bridget Barry, my great-grandmother lost her four sons, her husband and one daughter. Three girls remained and they married and lived to old age. My grandmother, Mary Barry always kept their memory alive. She married Myles Whelan who enlisted in the Royal Munster Fusiliers in 1916 and was discharged in 1918. || || Balkans || Remembrance || John Barry || John Barry, Royal Dublin Fusiliers || Photograph || || Photograph || Michael Barry || Remembrance || Michael Barry, Welsh Regiment || Western Front || || Remembrance || William and Tommy Barry || Western Front || Photograph || || John Barry || Remembrance || Official document || John Barry memorial scroll || || Michael Barry memorial scroll || Remembrance || Michael Barry || Official document || || Princess Mary brass gift box, Christmas 1914 || William Barry's Princess Mary brass gift box, Christmas 1914 || Other || Remembrance