Buttle A E Lt 2nd Royal Irish Rifles

BUTTLE, ALBERT EDWARD, Lieut., 2nd Battn. The Royal Irish Rifles, yst. s. of John Buttle, of Templeshannon, Enniscorthy, Director of Messrs. Buttle, Brothers & Co., Ltd., Bacon Curers and Merchants: b. 6 Jan. 1895; educ. Newtown School, Waterford, and Model School, Enniscorthy: volunteered for active service, and enlisted in the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers 1 April, 1915; received a commission, and was gazetted 2nd Lieut. 2nd Royal Irish Rifles 23 Aug. following; promoted Lieut. 1 July, 1917; served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders from 16 June, 1916, taking part in the Battles of the Somme in July; was invalided home 9 Jan. 1917: was subsequently offered his discharge as being medically unfit, but again volunteered for foreign service, and rejoined his regiment in France 29 May, 1918, and died at No. 3 Australian Casualty Clearing Station 2 Oct. following, of wounds received in action the previous day. Buried in Haringhe (Bandaghem) Military Cemetery; unm.

Source : De Ruvigny’s Roll Of Honour Vol 5

BERRY, FREDERICK ERNEST, Rifleman, No. 42469, 1st Battn. (87th Foot) Princess Victoria’s (Royal Irish Rifles), s. of Charles Morris Berry, of 14, Chambers Street, Belfast, by his wife, Martha, dau. of Alexander Weir; b. Belfast, co. Down, 31 Aug. 1899; educ. Mount Pottinger Boys’ School, and Municipal Technical Institute there; volunteered for active service, and enlisted in the Royal Irish Rifles 24 July, 1916; served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders from 20 May, 1917, and was killed in action near Courtrai 14 Oct. 1918. Buried at Dadizeele, near Menin. He was keenly interested in the Boy Scout movement, and before joining the Army was Patrol Leader and Flag Bearer of the 17th Belfast Troop.

Source : De Ruvigny’s Roll Of Honour Vol 5

Bayly L M Captain MC 1st Royal Irish Rifles

BAYLY, LANCELOT MYLES, M.C., Capt., 1st Battn. (87th Foot) Princess Victoria’s Royal Irish Rifles, 2nd s. of the late Edward Crosbie Bayly, of Thillough Castle, Thurles, Co. Tipperary, J.P.. by his wife, Isabel G., dau. of the late Charles Ed. Davison; b. Clonmel, co. Tipperary, 7 Aug. 1884; edue. Dublin High School; went to India in Sept. 1909; returned to England soon after the outbreak of war, and, applying for a commission, was gazetted 2nd Lieut. 3rd Royal Irish Rifles 3 July, 1915; promoted Lieut. 1 July, 1917, and Capt. 6 Feb. 1918: served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders from Sept. 1916: was wounded at Bouchavesne, on the Somme, in March, 1917, and invalided home: rejoined his battalion in France the following Sept., and was killed in action near Knock 22 Oct. 1918. Buried in Duhallon British Military Cemetery, north of Ypres.

His Commanding Officer wrote: “His loss to the battalion is a very great one as he was held in high esteem by all ranks, and particularly among his brother officers and the N.C.O.’s and men of his company. Throughout the past 13 months served with the battalion, he has always distinguished himself both in and out of the line, and at all times was held as a gallant and courteous officer, full of sympathy for his men under his command.” He was awarded the Military Cross [London Gazette, 16 Sept. 1918]: “For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He commanded a company through a week’s heavy fighting, taking part in rearguard actions, and counter-attacks, in which he set a fine example. On one occasion he carried a Lewis gun the whole of a long march.” Unm.

Source : De Ruvigny’s Roll Of Honour Vol 5

Barr J H Lt 11th Royal Irish Rifles Attd 8th Royal Irish Fusiliers

Source : The War Illustrated 26th October 1918

BARR, JAMES H., Lieut., 12th (Service) Battn. The Royal Irish Rifles, William Barr, of 9, Aubrey Street, Derry, Printer, by his wife, Henrietta, dau. of James Hamilton; b. Londonderry, 5 Feb. 1897; educ. Foyle College, and Queen’s University, Belfast; joined the 18th Cadets, Royal Irish Rifles, in Oct. 1915; gazetted 2nd Lieut. in Aug. 1916; promoted Lieut. in Feb. 1918; served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders from Sept. 1916, and was killed in action at Neuve Eglise 1 Sept. 1918. Buried there. Lieut. Barr had a distinguished scholastic career; he gained medals in Intermediate, Latin and Greek in 1913, and exhibitions in junior, middle and senior grades; also was awarded the Irish Society’s Leaving Scholarship and an entrance Scholarship in Queen’s University, Belfast. The Head Master of Foyle College wrote: “A truer or more generous, straightforward lad never passed through Foyle College.” Unm.

Source : De Ruvigny’s Roll Of Honour Vol 5

BALL, THOMAS, Rifleman, No. 41592, 15th (Service) Battn. The Royal Irish Rifles, s. of the late John Ball, of Ringstead; b. Ringstead, co. Northampton, 29 Dec. 1878; educ. Wesleyan Day Schools, Raunds; volunteered for active service, and enlisted in the Royal Irish Rifles 23 Oct. 1916; served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders, and was killed in action by the explosion of a shell, at Gullinghem, near Courtrai, 15 Oct. 1918. Buried there. The Chaplain (whose servant he had been) wrote: “I was very fond of your husband, and he was very good to me. He was a most upright man, and a man of good principles. We were good friends, and he went with me everywhere I went. One day we got into a very tight corner, where there was a lot of heavy shelling; we got out safely in the end, but during it all Tom never lost his nerve, and was as brave and steady as he could be. That incident showed me his worth.”

He m. at the Parish Church, Keystone, 1 Jan. 1901, Charlotte (London Road, Wollaston), dau. of Thomas Cade, and had three sons: Harold, Leonard and Rowland.

Source : De Ruvigny’s Roll Of Honour Vol 5

ATWELL, ROBERT ERSKINE, Lieut., 4/6th (Service) Battn. The Connaught Rangers, attd. 12th (Service) Battn. Princess Victoria’s (Royal Irish Rifles), eldest surv. s. of the late Richard Atwell, of Glenart, Blackrock, co. Dublin, by his wife, Sarah Margretta (10, Braid Hills Road, Edinburgh), only dau. of the late Robert Wright, of Stirling; b. Sandymount, co. Dublin, 26 Oct. 1882; educ. Craigmount and Edinburgh Institutions; was employed in the Standard Life Insurance Company; volunteered for active service, and joined the Lothian and Border Horse in Dec. 1914; received a commission, and was gazetted 2nd Lieut. 6th Connaught Rangers 25 Jan. 1917, being promoted Lieut. in Aug. 1918; served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders from March, 1917, where he took part in many engagements; was invalided home, suffering from shell-shock, in Aug. of the same year; returned to France 22 April, 1918; was subsequently attached to the 12th Royal Irish Rifles, and was killed in action at Neuve Eglise 2 Sept. following, while leading his men under very heavy fire. Buried about one and a half miles from Neuve Eglise, beside the main road to Bailleul; unm.

Source : De Ruvigny’s Roll Of Honour Vol 5

Stevens R W M Captain Royal Irish Rifles

STEVENS, REGINALD WALTER MORTON, Capt., Royal Irish Rifles, and Brigade Major, 9th Infantry Brigade, 2nd s. of Col. George Morton Stevens, late R.A., by his wife, Mary, dau of Surg.-Gen. William Campbell Maclean, C.B., M.D., LL.D.; b. Dover, 18 Dec. 1876; educ. Mr. T. Eastman’s, Stubbington; Appuldurcombe, I.W., and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd Lieut., Royal Irish Rifles, 5 Sept. 1896, and promoted Lieut. Aug. 1898; and Capt. 2 Jan. 1904; joined the 2nd Battn. at Poona in Oct. 1896; served in the South African War, Oct. 1890-1902; took part in operations in Cape Colony, 1899 to 1900 (was severely wounded at Stormberg, 10 Dec. 1899) and Nov 1900, to April, 1901 (Assistant Staff Officer to Assistant Inspector- Gen., Western Section, Lines of Communication), and in Orange River Colony, April, 1901, to 21 May, 1902 (Queen’s medal with two clasps, King’s medal with two clasps); and (2) in East Africa; was Special Service Officer on Staff during operations in Somaliland, 7 May, 1903, to 12 June, 1904; present at action at Jedballi (medal with two clasps); was Adjutant 25 Jan. 1905 to 25 Jan. 1908, and Officer of a company of Gentlemen Cadets at the R.M.C., Sandhurst, 25 Jan. 1908 to 21 Jan. 1910; joined the Staff College in 1910; was attd to the Naval War College, Portsmouth, 1912, and 1 Nov. of that year was appointed Brigade Major, 9th Infantry Brigade, Southern Command, an appointment he continued to hold until his death.

He went to the front 13 Aug. 1914; was in action at Le Cateau on the 26th, and an urgent order to retire instantly having been received, to ensure its reaching the front line and being acted on without delay, Capt. Stevens rode himself to deliver it and was mortally wounded in doing so, and died in a farmhouse the following day, 27 Aug. 1914. He was mentioned in F.M. Sir John (now Lord) French’s Despatch of 8 Oct. [London Gazette, 19 Oct.], 1914, for gallant and distinguished service in the field. He m. at Alverstoke, Hants, 1912, Elisabeth (Cambridge Cottage, Alverstoke), dau. of the late Rev. J. C. Mace, of Hawley, Blackwater, and had a dau., Agnes Desirée, b. 11 Sept. 1914-two weeks after her father’s death.

Source : De Ruvigny’s Roll Of Honour Vol 1