In The News

Headstone is erected 94 years after burial of Portadown soldier

Headstone is erected 94 years after burial of Portadown soldier

A CEREMONY has taken place at a graveyard in Portadown to mark the erection of a headstone for a soldier who had been buried there 94 years ago.

Private James Neill, a member of the Royal Irish Fusilliers, had died when his troopship, RMS Leinster, was torpedoed by a German U-boat in the Irish sea on October 10, 1918 (see below).

Private Neill had been returning with hundreds of other troops who had been serving in France. The Leinster sank 16 miles out from Dún Laoghaire (then known as Kingstown) with the loss of 501 lives. It was the greatest loss of life in the Irish Sea.

His remains were brought back to his home town Portadown and buried in Seagoe Cemetery, but no headstone was erected at the time.

Confusion then arose when another Portadown man, also named James Neill and also a private in the Royal Irish Fusilliers, was killed in action in France. He was buried close to the battlefield and his grave was eventually marked by a headstone erected by Commonwealth War Graves Commission. His death was also marked back in Portadown when his name was added to the family’s memorial plaque in Seagoe Cemetery.

The fact that there was no headstone to mark the resting place of the other Private Neill in Seagoe only came to light when a volunteer from the War Graves Photographic Project was carrying out work at the cemetery. 

But it was to take a further six years to sort out the confusion and arrange for the headstone to be erected. However, since it proved impossible to establish the exact position of Private Neill’s grave, the headstone has been placed close to the main entrance at Seagoe.

For more information on the RMS Leinster disaster, click here.

View previous In the News items: Tributes are paid to actor Clive Dunn, Funeral of Comber soldier Channing Day to take place, Funeral of murdered prison officer David Black takes place, Former racing driver John Fitch passes away, Tributes are paid to songwriter Bill Dees, Tributes are paid to musician Jo Dunne, Composer Hans Werner Henze passes away, Battle of Britain pilot William Walker passes away, Veteran US politician George McGovern passes away, Genius inventor Stanford Ovshinsky passes away, Former footballer Helmut Haller passes away, Tributes are paid to veteran MP Sir Stuart Bell, Scientist behind cloning breakthrough passes away, Tributes are paid to former cricketer Kevin Curran, Former PoW Eric Lomax passes away, Atom bomb physicist Robert Christy passes away, Great session guitarist Big Jim Sullivan passes away, Tributes are paid to historian Eric Hobsbawm, Motown producer Frank Wilson passes away, Veteran actor Herbert Lom passes away, Singer Andy Williams passes away, Former football manager John Bond passes away, Tributes are paid to Cookstown funeral director, Tributes are paid to top wine merchant, Former London gangster Charlie Richardson passes away, American poet Louis Simpson passes away, Funeral takes place of tragic father and sons, Former footballer Jimmy Andrews passes away, Man behind advances in Formula 1 racing safety passes away, Discovered remains may be those of Richard III, Film producer Jake Eberts passes away, Inventor of modern laptop computer Bill Moggridge passes away, Wildlife expert Terry Nutkins passes away, Singer songwriter Joe South passes away, Funeral of motorcycle road racer takes place, Oscar nominated actor Michael Clarke Duncan passes away, Oscar nominated actor Michael Clarke Duncan passes away, Comedian and entertainer Max Bygraves passes away, Former junior minister Sir Rhodes Boyson passes away, Former Royal Navy frogman Sydney Knowles passes away, First man on the moon Neil Armstrong passes away, Character actor william Windom passes away, Amy Winehouse Foundation supports hospice in Dublin, Author Nina Bawden passes away, Comedian Phyllis Diller passes away, Tributes are paid to singer songwriter Scott McKenzie, Tragic mother Winnie Johnson passes away, Science fiction writer Harry Harrison passes away, Disability rights pioneer Lord Morris passes away, Darts broadcaster Sid Waddell passes away, Special effects expert Carlo Rambaldi passes away, Astronomer Sir Bernard Lovell passes away or Art critic and writer Robert Hughes passes away

 

If you have a relative or a friend who has passed away and feel they should be mentioned in our In the News section, then please email us.