The little woman who ruled with an iron fist: Alice Fitzpatrick Ward, 1861-1952

The only image I have of Alice, from her In Memoriam Card.

To me, Alice Fitzpatrick Ward has always seemed an enigma. My maternal great-grandfather's elder sister was a portrait in contradiction. On the one hand, Alice must have had an incredible generosity of spirit which manifested in her giving up her private life, at the age of 75, in order to take care of the young children of her deceased niece. On the other hand, Alice seemed to have a stroke of cruelty in her, given that she delivered punishments for earlier transgressions at times when the children were enjoying themselves. (See 'Tittering Lily', and childhood tales of Ringsend). Small in stature, but with a spirit larger than life, this little woman ruled with an iron fist, governing over the household of my mother and her siblings.

Under Alice's rule, life in the Ball household was well-ordered and regimented. Each child had his or her assigned daily chores. Every night at seven o'clock, all activity in the house would halt in favour of recitation of the rosary. Whether aged two or twenty-two, these children's lives were regulated as Alice saw fit. To falter from Alice's plan was to face her wrath, wrath which manifested in a beating with the slender oak cane that stood always at the ready, in the corner by the fireplace in her room.

When I was a child it was difficult for me to conceive of a life lived in this manner, and so I wondered...

Aside from societal conventions prescribing the behaviour of women in the time period in which Alice grew into adulthood, what made Alice the kind of woman she was? How did her life experiences shape the woman she became as an adult? Who was this little woman who ruled with an iron fist?

There is a kind of mythology which has grown up around Alice, stories which have been told since her death, a full sixty years ago. All of the stories are based on first hand accounts; however, some seem to run counter to the austere way in which she lived.

Alice came from the Kettle/Fitzpatrick line of the family, and allegedly had significant personal wealth, but what was the source of this wealth? Alice was in receipt of a significant pension. Each week my mother would be sent to a bank at the city centre, to sign for and pick up a sizeable cheque for Alice, but who knows the source of this money? Also, at least two of the Ball children witnessed Alice giving a large gold and jewel encrusted crucifix to an American man by the name of Harry Sutton. The crucifix was to have been sold, and the money put toward the building of a church in the United States. Further, it is said Alice wore a whale bone corset that had special compartments in-between the bones in which she secreted away money, allegedly hundreds if not thousands of Irish punt notes. Upon her death at Roebuck Castle, this corset vanished from her personal effects. All of this piques the interest of my researcher’s mind, and each is the subject of my continuing investigation, but what does the historical record tell us of Alice?

According to the register of the Roman Catholic Chapel of Donabate, County Dublin, Ireland, Alicia ‘Alice’ Fitzpatrick was born 23 April, and christened 26 April, 1861. Alice is the third child, and second daughter, of eight children born to Joseph Fitzpatrick and Mary Kettle.

Grave of Alice's mother Mary Kettle Fitzpatrick
and her grandparents, Thomas Kettle and Alice O'Kavanagh Kettle.

I discovered a surprising symmetry between the life of Alice and the lives of the children of her niece Mary Angela Fitzpatrick Ball. Just like the Ball children, Alice suffered the loss of her own mother when Alice was a young child. Her mother, Mary Kettle Fitzpatrick, died 23 April 1871 at the age of 39. In addition to the fact of this terrible loss, her mother died on the day on which Alice should have been celebrating her 10th birthday. One can surmise childhood ended for Alice on that day.

Perhaps more than anyone else, because of this loss, Alice would have had the capacity to understand what the Ball children felt over the loss of their mother. Also, Alice would understand what it would take to keep a family together, and ensure the children were raised properly.

With the death of their mother in 1871, ten year old Alice would have become responsible for her younger siblings, including her sister Teresa, who was only ten months old when their mother died. At the time of their mother’s death, the eldest child in the family was their brother John, who was only 13 years of age.

Alice’s life was marked by several significant losses. According to civil registration records, on one terrible day, 5 December 1864, when Alice was only three years old, her elder sister Mary, aged five, and Alice’s younger brother Nicholas, aged twenty-one months, both died of Cynanche Trachealis, what we now know as the croup.

In 1876, only five years after their mother's death, Alice and her siblings suffered yet another profound and horrifying loss. On the night of 22 December, just three days before Christmas, their father Joseph Fitzpatrick froze to death on the fields of their family farm. He was only 47 years old. There was a coroner’s inquest because of the manner of his death, an inquest which offered the following conclusion,

“Certified cause of death: Exposure to cold whilst under the influence of liquor some hours.”

Advertisement which appeared in
The Freeman's Journal,
announcing the auction of the
Fitzpatrick property and effects.

As if the loss of their father was not enough of a hardship, the Fitzpatrick children would soon lose everything. Joseph Fitzpatrick died 'intestate', meaning without leaving a will. The consequence of this was, in order to pay off any debtors, the whole of the property which once comprised their home, including everything down to the crops from the field, and every stick of furniture in the house, was sold at auction less than one year after their father’s death.

So, by the time she was 15 years old, Alice had lost both her mother and her father, as well as two of her siblings, and the only home she had ever known. Although I do not know how they managed to do it, Alice and her five siblings continued to live together after the death of their father. At the time of their father's death, her eldest brother John was 18, a rather young, but no doubt steadfast, patriarch.

I believe it is possible that their extended family, most particularly the Kettle branch of the family, aided the children so they could stay together. In Andrew J. Kettle’s memoir Material for Victory, mention is made of his close relationship with his sister Mary, and the importance of helping family members, although Andrew J. Kettle does not specifically mention his sister’s children. Given a close relationship with his sister, it is reasonable to assume he might take an interest in her children after Mary died, especially once they were orphaned after the death of their father. Also, Alice's uncle Patrick Kettle, Mary's brother, handled the disposal of Joseph Fitzpatrick's assets.

For the whole of her life, Alice maintained a very close relationship with her cousin Laurence Kettle, Andrew J. Kettle’s son. The Ball children recall ‘Uncle’ Larry Kettle’s regular visits with Alice in the house on Gordon Street. They remember him as a very important man — he was chief electrical engineer for the city of Dublin — who would arrive at the house in a chauffeur driven car. Occasionally, one of the children would be kept home from school in order to welcome him into their home, and prepare a special afternoon tea which would be enjoyed by only Alice and Laurence. Especially recollected by the children was Larry Kettle’s generous nature toward Alice and them, with gifts of rosary beads, blessed by the Pope and brought from Rome, handkerchiefs trimmed in expensive lace, large boxes of Belgium chocolate, and marzipan from France. He seemed always at the ready to come to Alice's aid anytime she needed him.

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Although Alice’s early life had been marked by profound loss, her adult life began on a positive note with the celebration of her marriage to James Joseph Ward. Both the parish register and civil registration record tell us this took place on 14 August 1886 in the Roman Catholic Chapel of Rolestown, County Dublin. Alice’s eldest brother John and her sister Catherine stood as witnesses to the marriage. James was from a long line of ‘Mariners’. He was already a First Mate when they married, and would eventually become Captain James Joseph Ward.

Unfortunately the marriage produced no children. This may have been a consequence of long periods of separation, since James worked on coastal trading ships stationed in places such as Devonshire, England, the Isle of Wight, and Pembrokeshire, Wales. Alice remained in Ireland, living with members of her extended family.

The couple were married for twenty-eight years when tragedy once again marked Alice’s life. Her sea captain husband James died as the result of a freak accident. During a rough passage from Liverpool to Exeter on 15 January 1914, the main boom of his ship broke, hurling James into the skylight of his quarters. His ribs were broken and penetrated his lungs. Ten days later, James died in Pembrokeshire, Wales, away from Alice, and in a nursing home at Pembroke Dock. At the time of her husband’s death Alice was living in Dublin, with her brother Thomas and his family, including her niece Mary Angela.

Twenty-three years later, a few months after the death of Mary Angela in December of 1936, 75 year old Alice moved into the Ball family home on Gordon Street. Her presence ensured the family would not be broken up, and the young children of her deceased niece would be properly raised.

****************

By the time she left the house on Gordon Street, Alice was crippled with arthritis. Having been bed-ridden for months, she had to be carried from the house. The youngest Ball child was now 17, the eldest, a man of 31 years; all stood in respect as she was brought down from her room. For the youngest daughter, Alice had been the only mother she ever knew, and even the older children had in many respects come to know ‘Aunt Alice’ in that way. All of the children felt a great deal of love for Alice, their grand-aunt who had come to them in the sunset of her life, and kept their family together.

My mother clearly remembered the scene. As she was being carried down the stairs, Alice scanned the room around her and began to cry over what she observed. The house was in perfect order, clean and well kept. For the first time ever, Alice told the children how very proud she was of each one of them.

After leaving Gordon Street, Alice was taken to live at the home of the Barnwell family on Ringsend Road. My mother was sent there as well, to live with Alice and take care of her. As her health declined, Alice paid to be taken into the care of the Sisters of Mercy at the Holy Family Home, Roebuck Castle. Toward the end of her life Alice was suffering from dementia, and was very quiet and childlike. My mother would go to visit Alice several times each week, to ensure the nuns were taking good care of her grand-aunt. Mom would read to Alice, sometimes bathe her and wash her hair, and just talk to Alice and tell her stories. The generations shifted, my mom became like a mother to Alice, and remained as such until her death.

On the day Alice died, Mom had not intended to visit her, but had a strange intuition that she should go. She called her Aunt May Barnwell and said, 'we must go to Alice'. Aunt May discouraged her, but my mother would not be stopped. She went to Roebuck Castle only to discover Alice was dying. Mom knelt by her bedside and whispered prayers into Alice's ear, thanking her for taking care of the Ball children, and wishing her a speedy ascent into Heaven.

The civil registration of the death of Alice Fitzpatrick Ward.

Alice died 27 May 1952 at the Holy Family Home, Roebuck Castle, Dublin. She was 91 years of age. Alice is interred with her youngest sister Teresa, a girl who never married, in St. Colmcille’s Churchyard, Swords, County Dublin, Ireland.

Alicia ‘Alice’ Fitzpatrick Ward faced true hardship in her life, and must have had incredible strength and bearing. Like many women of her generation, Alice did not have the leisure to mourn loss. She simply got on with the business of living and caring for others. Although there is no historical record to testify to it, surely Alice played an integral role in preserving the lives of her siblings, as well as those of the children of her niece, my grandmother, Mary Angela Fitzpatrick Ball. If not for the little woman who ruled with an iron fist, my own mother may not have lived the life she did, and for that I am truly grateful.

The grave of Alice Fitzpatrick Ward (1952) and her sister Teresa Fitzpatrick (1929).

****************

References

Kettle, Laurence J., editor. The Material for Victory, Being the Memoirs of Andrew J. Kettle, C.J. Fallon Ltd., Dublin, 1958.

Civil Registration Records:

Fitzpatrick, Mary: death, 5 December 1864, index: volume 17, page 285, GRO, Irish Life Centre, Dublin, Ireland.
Fitzpatrick, Nicholas: death, 5 December 1864, index: volume 17, page 285, GRO, Irish Life Centre, Dublin, Ireland
Fitzpatrick, Joseph: death, 22 December 1876, index: volume 17, page 278, GRO, Irish Life Centre, Dublin, Ireland
Fitzpatrick, Alice: marriage, 14 August 1886, index: volume 2, page 321, GRO, Irish Life Centre, Dublin, Ireland

Death certificate: James Joseph Ward, issued by GRO UK, 25 January 1914; held privately.

The Freeman's Journal Newspaper, Dublin, 22 November 1877, page 5.

Copyright©irisheyesjg2012. All Rights Reserved.
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Wordless Wednesday: The Spirit of Dublin

The ever present flower ladies

'Living Statues' busking on Grafton Street

There is always plenty of live music on show.

Tourist travel options: the old and the new

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Copyright©irisheyesjg2012.

Anointed with tears: One man's recollection of the long ago loss of a brother

Last November I wrote about my discovery of the records of my mom's brother Thomas, a brother who died almost three years before my mother was born. Mom had a photograph of Thomas, but beyond that knew nothing about him. His life was never spoken of, until my mother asked the question that had long been weighing on her mind, 'we had another brother, didn't we?'. The information gleaned from documents informing the passages of his life and his death do little to tell us of the mark Thomas made on his family, so when I was in Ireland I decided to once again ask about him.

The story I was told made me realize that no matter how long each of us spends on this earth, no matter how small a footprint we make, we matter to someone. People hold their loved ones within their hearts, although decades may pass in which some names are never uttered.

It is a strange thing to hear the recounting of one man’s long ago loss of a sibling, a loss which conveys such fresh sadness that it belies the passage of over eighty years. It is as though the recollection brings us back into precisely that place and that moment in time, and there is an intimacy in the story which makes a listener feel like an interloper.

********

On the day their parents returned home without baby Thomas, there were no questions from the Ball children, although the elder among them longed to ask their mother and their father what had happened that afternoon. Instead, as she always did, Mary Ball began to prepare a simple evening meal for her husband and the little ones she still had. She leaned heavily into the table while her hands quietly completed their task, chopping cabbage, peeling potatoes, and slicing small rashers of bacon.

Little Gerard joined her at the table, standing steadfast next to his mother, pocketing himself into the folds of her long skirt, his tiny hand gripping tight to her apron. He could feel her body trembling, and almost swaying, as though she was rocking a baby to sleep. She would not utter a word. He looked up to see heavy tears silently streaming down her beautiful face. He gently tugged on her skirt and his mother gazed down at him, causing those tears to fall ever so lightly onto his forehead and down over his nose. Letting them dry where they anointed him, he would not wipe away those tears. They were the mark that told Gerard his baby brother Thomas was dead. He did not move away from his mother, but stood there silent and stock-still until she was ready to hang the cooking pot over the fire.

That night, tucked away warm and safe in the room he shared with all of his siblings, Gerard wept quietly, a four year old little boy with no idea about how he could solve his mother's deep sorrow, but desperately wanting to do so. Gone was the tiny wooden cradle which once sat on the floor next to his bed.

*******

Copyright©irisheyesjg2012.

Small Lives: Photographs of Irish Childhood 1860-1970: Book Review

This extraordinary book, edited by Aoife O'Connor features photographs drawn from an exhibition curated by her, and presented in the National Photographic Archive of the National Library of Ireland (NLI). The book takes us on a journey through one hundred and ten years of photographs chosen from collections held by the NLI, and includes many images previously unpublished.

Children from all walks of life are featured, in images showing them at work, at play, or at prayer. O'Connor juxtaposes images of children from the highest ranks of privilege with those fated to the lowest rungs of poverty, giving us insight into the very different kinds of lives lived by these little ones. Particularly moving is an image of children in the workhouse. The filthy conditions and desperate faces stand in marked contrast to the calm repose of wealthy children pictured on the very next page of the book. In their lace trimmed clothing, seated in a garden for a family portrait, they look as though they haven't a care in the world.

Some of the photographs in the book were taken in studios, while others are candid shots. Both methods of presentation offer insight into the way in which children have been perceived and presented in Ireland over the course of these one hundred and ten years. I highly recommend this beautiful book.

Check out a collection of 'Small Lives' images on the National Library of Ireland Flickr page to view a sampling of the sort of photographs featured in the book.

Consider putting together a 'Small Lives' exhibit of those on your own family tree. Here is a collage of a few images of little ones from my family tree, along with an early photograph of yours truly.

Copyright©irisheyesjg2012.
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Lest we forget one man's dream.

This past week has seen a group of commemorative posts on this blog, posts which honour the memory of those members of my family who lost their lives during the first world war. The Great War of 1914-1918 was to have been the war which ended all wars, but of course it did not have that result. It was a war thought so savage and so cruel as to never be repeated. Thomas Michael Kettle put it best when he described Europe at war saying,

"We have lived to see Europe degraded to a foul something which no image can so much as shadow forth...Every landmark has been submerged in an Atlantic of blood...We are gripped in the ancient bloodiness of that paradox which bids us kill life in order to save life."

Men such as Thomas Kettle were undaunted by what they saw before them, and allowed themselves to believe in the best of humanity, and the possibility of a world without war. In one of his last letters to his wife he wrote, 

"I want to live, too, to use all my powers of thinking, writing and working, to drive out of civilisation this foul thing called War, and to put in its place understanding and comradeship."

Let us not forget this one man's dream.

'While the mad guns curse overhead': Thomas Michael Kettle 1880-1916

"If I live I mean to spend the rest of my life working for perpetual peace. I have seen war, and faced modern artillery, and I know what an outrage it is against simple men."

It was with these words that Thomas Michael Kettle signed off on the last letter his family would ever receive from him. It was written to his brother Laurence on 8 September 1916, just one day before Thomas fell on the bloody field of battle that was the Somme.

Thomas 'Tom' Michael Kettle was the son of my maternal great-great-grand-uncle Andrew J. Kettle and great-great-grand-aunt Margaret McCourt Kettle, and nephew of my maternal great-great grandmother, Mary Kettle Fitzpatrick. According to the record of his birth, Tom was born in the Clontarf suburb of Dublin, 9 February 1880.

Thomas Michael Kettle was a barrister, journalist, published poet, Irish Home Rule politician, professor, and soldier. He was the third born son of twelve children and, like his brothers before and after him, was educated at the Christian Brothers School in North Richmond Street, Dublin. His post secondary education was conducted at Clongowes College and University College Dublin (UCD). He was called to the bar in 1905, and elected Nationalist M.P. (member of Parliament at Westminster) for East Tyrone in 1906. In 1909 he was appointed to the professorship of National Economics at UCD. He resigned his parliamentary seat in 1910, driven by the desire to fully dedicate himself to his role as a professor.

Along with his brother, Laurence J. Kettle, Thomas was a member of the Provisional Committee of the Irish Volunteers, a committee of sixteen men responsible for the 1913 formation of the Irish Volunteers. Thomas Kettle was in Belgium to procure arms for the Volunteers at the outbreak of World War I in 1914.

In 1917, Thomas Kettle's The Ways of War was posthumously published. Co-authored with his wife Mary Sheehy Kettle, he intended the book as an elucidation of his reasons for choosing to fight in the war. In the introduction to the book Mary Sheehy Kettle notes that Thomas was horrified by the German attack on Belgium, and saw in Germany's domination over the small nation a parallel to that of England over Ireland. Tom's immediate enlistment for service in an Irish regiment is explained as a desire to fight "not for England, but for small nations". He took a commission with the Royal Dublin Fusiliers.

In his last letter to his brother, penned the night before Tom was killed, there is a note of pre-sentiment in the tone of his words,

"I am calm and happy, but desperately anxious to live. The big guns are coughing and smacking their shells, which sound for all the world like overhead express trains...Somewhere the Choosers of the Slain, as in our Norse story, are touching with invisible wands those who are to die."

Thomas Kettle was killed in action during the advance of his battalion to Guinchy, 9 September 1916. He was a Lieutenant with the 9th Battalion, Royal Dublin Fusiliers. The War Office announced he fell "at the post of honour, leading his men in a victorious charge."

Tom was only 36 years old. His body was never recovered, so he has no known grave. Near the end of September 1916, his wife Mary Sheehy Kettle received a telegram from the War Office in London dated 19 September 1916. It reads:

TO: MRS. KETTLE, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN:

DEEPLY REGRET TO INFORM YOU,
LIEUT. T.M. KETTLE, DUBLIN FUSILIERS,
WAS KILLED IN ACTION SEPTEMBER 9TH.

THE ARMY COUNCIL EXPRESS THEIR SYMPATHY.

SECRETARY WAR OFFICE

In the biographical notes of their father's memoirs, Tom's brother Dr. Laurence Kettle writes, "when I told him Tom was listed as missing, after the battle of Guinchy, he said: If Tom is dead I don't wish to live any longer." Andrew J. Kettle followed his son Tom to the grave shortly thereafter, dying on 22 September 1916, only 13 days after Tom's death.

Commemorations

Thomas Kettle is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing (Pier and Face 16C) in France.

Copyright© The War Graves Photographic Project. Appears with permission.

Copyright© The War Graves Photographic Project. Appears with permission.

In addition to the commemoration at Thiepval, Thomas Kettle is also remembered at Island of Ireland Peace Park (*click for site) in Messines, near Ypres in Flanders, Belgium. Dedicated to the memory of the soldiers of Ireland who were wounded or lost in the Great War of 1914-1918, the park was officially opened in November of 1998 by then President of Ireland Mary McAleese, and Queen Elizabeth II of Britain, and King Albert II of Belgium.

Nine stone tablets are located in the grounds of Ireland Park near the Round Tower. Inscribed with quotations from poems, prose and letters from Irishmen at war, one of these nine tablets bears a quotation written by Thomas Kettle. The quotation on the tablet is lines from a sonnet he penned to his daughter shortly before his death ('To My Daughter Betty') and reads:

“So here, while the mad guns curse overhead, and tired men sigh, with mud for couch and floor, know that we fools, now with the foolish dead, died not for Flag, nor King, nor Emperor, but for a dream born in a herdsman’s shed, and for the secret scripture of the poor.”

Copyright© The War Graves Photographic Project. Appears with permission.

On the grounds of St. Stephen's Green in Dublin this bust stands in honour of Thomas Kettle. Although he had been a member of the Irish Volunteers, and believed in an Ireland free from English rule, there was some controversy surrounding the erection of the bust because Kettle had fought in the Somme as a member of the British forces. His wife Mary Sheehy Kettle, a highly respected educator and activist in her own right, worked hard to raise funds for the memorial, often spoke about the importance of it, and wrote at least one strongly worded letter to the editor of an Irish newspaper in defence of the commemorative bust.

Thomas Michael Kettle is also remembered on The Barristers Memorial bronze plaque in the Four Courts Dublin which commemorates twenty-six Irish barristers who were killed in the Great War.

My maternal great-great grandmother Mary Kettle Fitzpatrick named her first born son Thomas. That son Thomas, my great-grandfather, in turn named his first born son Thomas Andrew. His daughter, my grandmother, named the fourth born of her sons Thomas. Her son, my uncle Antony, named one of his sons Thomas, so the name was carried forward for several generations.

Intersecting Lives

Thomas Michael Kettle is on my maternal family tree; William Dunne, about whom I have previously written, is on my paternal family tree. Both men died in France serving in different battalions of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers. It is probably the case that these men did not have a personal relationship; their particular branches of the family tree were not yet connected, although William may have known Thomas by reputation alone. Also, in 1913 Thomas Kettle spoke at a recruitment meeting of the Irish Volunteers, the meeting at which young Michael Magee (William Dunne's nephew) joined the Volunteer movement for which he would sacrifice his life. Kettle was well known at that time, but the then 16 year old Magee was in all likelihood unknown to Kettle. It is interesting to consider the ways in which the lives of these three men intersected. They would one day belong to the same family tree, but they were not related to one another when their paths crossed in history.

References:

Burke, Tom. "In Memory of Lieutenant Tom Kettle, 'B' Company, 9th Royal Dublin Fusiliers",
Dublin Historical Record, Vol. 57, No. 2 (Autumn, 2004), pp. 164-173.
Gwynn, Denis. "Thomas M. Kettle 1880-1916"
Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review, Vol. 55, No. 220 (Winter, 1966), pp. 384-391.
Kettle, L.J., editor. The Material for Victory, Being the Memoirs of Andrew J. Kettle, C.J. Fallon Ltd., Dublin, 1958.
Kettle, T. M. and Mary S. Kettle. The Ways of War, C. Scribner's & Sons, Dublin, 1917.
The War Graves Photographic Project
Commonwealth War Graves Commission (Thiepval)
Island of Ireland Peace Park
UCD Collections The Papers of Tom Kettle 1880-1916

All materials and photographs, unless otherwise credited, Copyright©irisheyesjg2007-2012.

A young man in a photograph: William Francis Pell: 1891-1915

The Pell surname is a relatively new one on the maternal side of my family tree. The name emerged during a conversation I had with my mother back in July of 2011. Mom recalled her many childhood visits with the family, whose surname she felt sure was Pells. Visits to the home of the Pells, with her father Patrick, were something which my mom and her siblings excitedly anticipated. Mom did not recall the precise nature of the connection between her family and the Pells; however, she did recall some details about where they lived. In particular she remembered a portrait in a beautiful dark wood frame with a small ribbon of black crepe encircling the rim. The portrait hung above a side board in the front room of the Pell household; it was a photograph of a handsome young man in uniform about whom no one ever spoke.

While conducting research in Ireland, I discovered the surname is Pell, not Pells, but the error is understandable, since a visit to the family was probably preceded by the explanation, "We're going to visit the Pells." In a child's mind, one Pell becomes all Pells.

William Francis Pell was born in Dublin Ireland in the Autumn of 1891. He was the second born child, and first born son, of Teresa Early and John Pell.  Teresa Early Pell was the youngest sister of my maternal great-grandmother, Jane Early Ball. At various times in the late 19th and early 20th century, the two sisters and their respective families lived together. William's cousin, my grandfather Patrick Ball, was six years old when William was born. The Pell family in total appears on the 1901 Irish Census; William is notably absent from the 1911 Irish Census.  One might assume he was already serving in the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, but I have not yet found evidence to support such an assumption.

Unfortunately, not much remains of the World War One record of young William, aside from his medals card, an entry in Ireland's Memorial Records, and a photograph of his grave.  I do know that upon enlisting William served in the rank of Private, and his gravestone attests to the fact that he held the rank of Lance Corporal when he was killed, so one may assume that his short military career was a fine one.  Just as William Dunne (paternal tree) did serve, William Pell also served in the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers; his regimental number was 8328. William Pell was killed in action on 7 January 1915. He had only just celebrated his 23rd birthday.

I do not know how well William Pell and William Dunne knew each other, if at all. Their families were not yet connected, and would not be for some forty years to come. However, in an extraordinary coincidence, both of these men are interred in Prowse Point Military Cemetery in Belgium, two among a total of only two hundred and twenty-five interred. Their graves are only a few yards away from one another.

According to his medals card, William Pell was awarded the 1914 Star, the Victory Medal, and the British War Medal.  The card bears the telling phrase 'K. in A.', the benign way of noting that he was killed in action. The medals card also states his qualification date as 9 October 1914.  Since this date is just three months before his death, one can presume the medals may have been sent posthumously to his family. At the time of his death, the Pell family was still living in the home into which William was born, at 23 Liffey Street, Kilmainham, Dublin. Although there is no slip of paper bearing the signature of his mother or his father for receipt of those medals at their door, I wonder what that day was like when those medals arrived, and just when was it that the Pell family added the ribbon of black crepe to the portrait of their young man?

Copyright©The War Graves Photographic Project 2011. Appears with permission.

Prowse Point Military Cemetery, Belgium.  Site of the graves of William Pell and William Dunne.
Copyright©The War Graves Photographic Project 2011. Appears with permission.

William Pell's Medal card.  National Archives UK.

The Book of Ireland's Memorial Records under glass in St. Patrick's Cathedral Dublin.

Pell, William. Reg. No 8328, left column, third from top.

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Unless otherwise credited, All Photographs Copyright©irisheyesjg2007-2012.

Military Monday: Remembrance Day Posts

Prowse Point Military Cemetery, Belgium.

Sunday 11 November 2012 marks the 94th anniversary of Armistice Day. In Canada, each year the eleventh day of the eleventh month is marked as Remembrance Day, the day on which to honour the memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Once again this year, in the days leading up to 11 November, in honour of those members of my family who served and died in military service during World War One, I will be posting Remembrance Posts. Beginning today, the first in this series of posts details the history of William Dunne (click for link), my paternal great granduncle, and the first member of our family to fall on the battlefields of Europe. Tomorrow's post will be a tribute to a relatively recent addition to my extended family tree, William Pell. Although I am still seeking further information about William, my maternal grandfather's cousin, nonetheless I thought it was fitting to include a tribute to a young man who gave his life at the age of 23 in service of the Dublin Fusiliers. Thursday's post is an updated version of the story of Thomas Michael Kettle, the politician, economics professor and poet, who seemed an unlikely candidate for the theatre of war. He was the last and probably best known member of my family to perish on the battlefield, dying on the Somme in September of 1916.

Each of these men was Irish-born and resided in Ireland, yet fought as a member of the British Forces, a service of duty which sometimes stood in stark opposition to the Irish Nationalist sentiments within his respective family. This apparent contradiction existed within many Irish families. Over 210,000 Irishmen volunteered for service with the British forces during WW1, in addition to the 50,000 Irishmen already serving in the regular army and reserve at the outbreak of the war. Many of those Irish who were fortunate enough to return from the battlegrounds of Europe came home disillusioned, and went on to fight against the British as part of the Irish Volunteers. Many did not return at all. According to a report issued by the office of the Taoiseach (the Irish equivalent to Prime Minister), at least 35,000 Irish citizens died fighting for Britain. The National War Memorial in Ireland puts the number at 49,400. From the Dublin recruits alone, some 5,000 of the 25,000 men who enlisted lost their lives on the battlefields of Europe.

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It all began with a bronze plaque: Remembering William Dunne 1880-1914

Uncovering the history of a life can begin quite simply with an object such as this one.  Once tucked away with other family mementos, carefully kept to mark the passage of such lives, this large coin-like object is a 'Next of Kin' plaque.  Along with a scroll commemorating the service of a lost loved one, these plaques were given by the British government to families whose loved ones died on the battlefield during the first World War.  When I first set eyes on this bronze piece in August of 2010, I knew the William Dunne commemorated on it was the brother of my paternal great-grandmother Mary Dunne Magee, but I had not yet uncovered the whole history of his life.  With the existence of the 'Next of Kin' plaque as a starting point, I had to find evidence to fill in the unknown details of William Dunne's history.

The 'Next of Kin Memorial Plaque in recognition of William Dunne's sacrifice in service.

William Dunne was born in Rathmines, Dublin 20 April 1880.  On the 1911 Census of Ireland, he is noted as a boarder in the family home of my great-grandmother Mary Dunne Magee. Between tours of duty William lived with his sister Mary, her husband Patrick, and their four young children. Only five years after the census, one of those children, Michael Magee would fight with the Irish Volunteers in the 1916 Easter Rising, serve as a 2nd Lieutenant with the Dublin Brigade during the Irish War of Independence,  and ultimately lose his life in the fight to free Ireland from British rule.  His uncle William Dunne was a Private in the British forces and fought in the Second Boer War campaign, and in Europe during World War I.  As I noted in the post Military Monday: Remembrance Day Posts, this apparent contradiction with family members on both sides of the battle equation, as it were, existed within many Irish families.

William Dunne, Private, 2nd Battalion, Royal Dublin Fusiliers

My research led me to the discovery that the original documents of almost the entire military service record of William Dunne are still extant (apparently a rarity).  According to British Army World War I Service Records, William Dunne enlisted on 16 July 1900.  The recruiting officer observes him to be "about 18"; he was in fact 20 years of age. Standing only 5 feet 5 inches tall, and weighing barely 118 pounds, he was not a physically imposing young man. The enlisting officer noted his complexion as 'fresh', and recorded his features of grey eyes and black hair.

William Dunne served in the regiment of The Royal Dublin Fusiliers; his regimental number was 7190.  He served in the Home sector until November 1900 and was then sent to South Africa from 22 November 1900 to 11 February 1902, during the second Boer War Campaign. For this service he was awarded Boer War Campaign Medals.  Following his assignment in Africa, William Dunne was sent to the West Indies until 8 November 1903, and then brought back to the Home front.  On 22 August 1914 he was sent to France.  On this date, as a Private in the 2nd Battalion, he landed at Boulogne as part of 10th Brigade, 4th Division. William Dunne was killed in action 20 November 1914, having completed 14 years and 126 days service to the Crown. He was only 34 years old.

The casualty form for William Dunne

With the knowledge that William Dunne had fallen on the battlefields of Belgium, I searched for evidence of his final resting place. A stroke of good luck brought me to a photograph of his grave, and the graves of two of his comrades who fell as he did on 20 November 1914. The photograph appears on the Prowse Point Cemetery information page of the World War I War Graves website. William and his comrades, Private James Gallagher and Private James Maguire, were among the first casualties interred in the Prowse Point Military Cemetery about ten miles south of Ieper, West Flanders, Belgium. The three men are interred right beside one another near the entrance, and close to the large cross and the pond which fronts the cemetery. Through the Commonwealth Graves Commission and The War Graves Photographic Project, for a small donation, I was able to acquire this photograph of William Dunne's grave.

Copyright© The War Graves Photographic Project. Appears with permission.

Prowse Point Military Cemetery, Belgium .
Copyright© The War Graves Photographic Project. Appears with permission.

William Dunne's military record with the British army was not spotless, few are.  The men who were sent to fight across the world were real flesh and bone individuals, not two dimensional cinema heroes.  His file reveals a few entries for army offenses.  While he was stationed at Fermoy, Ireland, and Dover, England, he was cited for drinking alcohol and thus "creating a disturbance in the barracks room", and using "obscene language"; for these he was fined 10 pence and 5 pence.  He was also cited for the more serious offence of "missing roll call at 8:30 am"; it is stated that he arrived at 10 a.m..  For this he was docked 14 days pay.

In addition to his Boer War medals, William Dunne was awarded the 1914 Star, the Victory Medal, and the British War Medal.  On 21 October 1919 my great-grandmother Mary Magee signed a form in receipt of the 1914 Star awarded to her brother; that receipt remains a part of William's file.  Less than two years after she signed for that medal, Mary Magee would lose her son Michael to war. A brother lost fighting for the British in Europe; a son lost fighting against the British in Ireland.

For complete information about the 'Next of Kin Memorial Plaque' visit the The Great War 1914-1918.
Click on Photographs to view a larger version.

Unless otherwise credited, All Photographs Copyright©irisheyesjg2007-2012.