Researching James Charles McGowan - Royal Field Artillery

[Jim near Oxford]

Recently I contacted the National Archives to obtain details of my great uncle's service record.  I was pleasantly surprised at how much information they supplied!  James Charles McGowan was a Gunner in the Royal Field Artillery (17511) and I was surprised to be sent almost 150 pages of his service record - is this the usual level of detail?  He was a career soldier, enlisting in 1901 a few months before his 15th birthday.  He served throughout the Great War (in India, France, Egypt & Mesopotamia) - again is this unusual for a soldier to survive the whole of the war?  After the war, he was posted in Ireland, where he died of pneumonia in Sept 1921.  He was stationed at the Curragh when he died, but I can find no details of where he is buried - there is no information in his 150 page service record and the CWGC have no details.  Is there any way that I can find out where he is buried?  Thanks for your help!

[kenf48]

Welcome to the GWF 

CWGC commemoration closing date 31 August 1921

He was probably interred at Curragh Military Cemetery if he died there

http://www.curragh.info/archives/CurraghMilitaryCemetery1869.pdf

Most WW1 service records were destroyed in the London Blitz. Those for soldiers who served after 1920 were held by the MOD/War Office which is why you have such an extensive record.

Not at all unusual for a soldier to survive the war The pneumonia was probably the result of the ‘Spanish Flu’ pandemic which, it is estimated, killed more people worldwide between 1918 and 1920 than died in the war.

[PRC]

Hi @Jim near Oxford and welcome to the forum.

The Irish Death Register has a 34 year old James McGowan, (no middle name), a Lance Bombardier in the Royal Horse Artillery who died in the Curragh Military Hospital on the 5th September 1921 from cystitis, (followed by another word that has been obscured by a smudge). So a sort of match but a bit of variance in details- is that the right man? https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/deaths_returns/deaths_1921/05091/4404944.pdf

The family could have requested the body was returned to them - he should have an entry in the Army Register of Soldiers Effects, (images available on Ancestry & Fold3), which might give you a starting point as to who the Army was dealing with as next of kin.

Edit: If you scroll up the page you will see there is a death recorded that occurred 28th July 1921 following an accidental bullet wounding of Private Terence Steele.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) website records that 2868123 Private Terence Coins Allan Steele, 2nd Battalion, Gordon Highlanders, died on the 28th July 1921 and is buried at Dundee - so obviously body was repatriated. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/327383/terrance-coins-allan-steele/

Cheers,
Peter

Edited Sunday at 20:12 by PRC
Add details about Terence Steele

[museumtom]

Forum member Corisande's page-https://www.cairogang.com/soldiers-killed/mcgowan-jvc/jvc-mcgowan.html

[kildaremark]

As he was Royal Horse Artillery,  I would imagine, he was more than likely stationed in Newbridge so may be buried in the cemetery there. 

 

 

Note that the 1921 UK census includes soldiers stationed in Ireland so if you have a subscription fro FMP and do a search through the following, you are likely to find out where he was and if he was in Newbridge or the Curragh. :

 

 

Mark

Edited Monday at 12:50 by kildaremark

[adrian 1008]

16 hours ago, PRC said:

Hi @Jim near Oxford and welcome to the forum.

The Irish Death Register has a 34 year old James McGowan, (no middle name), a Lance Bombardier in the Royal Horse Artillery who died in the Curragh Military Hospital on the 5th September 1921 from cystitis, (followed by another word that has been obscured by a smudge). So a sort of match but a bit of variance in details- is that the right man? https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/deaths_returns/deaths_1921/05091/4404944.pdf

The family could have requested the body was returned to them - he should have an entry in the Army Register of Soldiers Effects, (images available on Ancestry & Fold3), which might give you a starting point as to who the Army was dealing with as next of kin.

Edit: If you scroll up the page you will see there is a death recorded that occurred 28th July 1921 following an accidental bullet wounding of Private Terence Steele.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) website records that 2868123 Private Terence Coins Allan Steele, 2nd Battalion, Gordon Highlanders, died on the 28th July 1921 and is buried at Dundee - so obviously body was repatriated. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/327383/terrance-coins-allan-steele/

Cheers,
Peter

I think that the cause of death is Pyelonephritis, where a simple bladder infection (usually E Coli) tracks to the kidneys,

in the days before antibiotics.

[Jim near Oxford]

Thanks everyone for your very helpful comments - it's good to have a bit more background.  I'll do some more investigation as to whether he was stationed at Newbridge or the Curragh, but I'm still none the wiser on where he was buried.  I accept that his grave does not have a headstone - and his body was not returned to his family (who were in India).  His military records show that there was great confusion in informing his family of his death and it actually took a month for them to be informed that he had died.  While accepting that his grave does not have a headstone, I'm surprised that there is not a numbered register for the relevant cemetery so we could at least identify the unmarked grave.  Do you think such a register exists?  Thanks for all your help.

[David Porter]

"L" Battery RHA was at Newbridge on July 30, 1921, but had got orders to go to India in September. They were all given a months furlough and told to rejoin at Shorncliffe. Embarkation for India from Southampton was on September 17, 1921. Therefore it would seem that James was taken ill prior to July 30, 1921 and remained in hospital in Ireland whilst his battery prepared to move to India. Such a shame as his family were there. 

[kildaremark]

3 hours ago, Jim near Oxford said:

Thanks everyone for your very helpful comments - it's good to have a bit more background.  I'll do some more investigation as to whether he was stationed at Newbridge or the Curragh, but I'm still none the wiser on where he was buried.  I accept that his grave does not have a headstone - and his body was not returned to his family (who were in India).  His military records show that there was great confusion in informing his family of his death and it actually took a month for them to be informed that he had died.  While accepting that his grave does not have a headstone, I'm surprised that there is not a numbered register for the relevant cemetery so we could at least identify the unmarked grave.  Do you think such a register exists?  Thanks for all your help.

Working on that…. I’ll let you know!

Mark

[kildaremark]

A bit more on L Battery courtesy of Ogilby Muster (www.theogilbymuster.com)

[kildaremark]

A bit more on L Battery in Newbridge courtesy of Ogilby Muster

Reference on Ogilby:  AMOT039_WW1_BD.L.BATTERY.RHA_0034

Bad weather in July 1920 while they wre in the Glen of Imaal in County Wicklow - was this what contributed to his death?