Photograph showing Henry Lucas in uniform ; Replica Medals British Service Medal, and the Victory Medal ; Photograph of us at our Grandfathers Grave at the military cemetry at Esquelbecq.
Our Grandfather Henry Harry Lucas was born in Nenagh in Co. Tipperary. We know he moved to Dublin where he lived for a while in Merrion Avenue where he was employed as a coachman. We are not sure the reasons our Grandfather enlisted but he did and was to serve with The Royal Garrison Artillery. We do know thanks to war records that the 39th siege Battery had served in the Somme area up until 1915, it is unknown to us whether our Grandfather had served there although we do know that he had served in Flanders between 1915 and 1918. It was in 1918 when our Grandfathers service had ended after sustaining wounds after what we believe to be during the second German offensive of 1918 where all the lines seemed to have been overrun. Henry we also know had been moved to an Australian casualty clearing station in Esquelbecq where he died of septisemia two weeks later. Our Grandfather is buried at the cemeterary in Esquelbecq that had been opened in 1918. We unfortunately have no original medals although his medal certificate we obtained from the national archives allowed us to purchase replicas (picture above). Our Grandfather's uncle was also a soldier who was one of the first recipients of the Victoria Cross. John Lucas V.C had been awarded this medal for his outstandig galantry during the New Zealand Wars. In recognition of our Grandfather's sacrife he and other parishoners are remembered on a plaque in the Holy Trinity Church in Rathmines.