RootsChat.Com

I am helping a grandson of Patrick Joseph above to piece together his rather convoluted life. In brief, he (grandad) was born Nov 1910 in Newry Workhouse, Co Down N. Ireland, the illegitimate son of Lizzie Devlin, who was only 14 at the time. The mother continues to live with her parents thereafter, but the boy is given into the care of a "friend" and her two daughters( allegedly no relation). Both natural and surrogate mothers die and youngster is then in care of the daughters. However they are both millworkers, and so the boy is left to run wild. The authorities pack him off to an Industrial School in Belfast, from where at age 16 he is sent to work for a farmer in Co Cavan ( no known relation) He marries Bridget Hughes in Newry 1936 and next turns up in Barrow on 1939 register. There is no occupation shown except for A R P and no sign of family. He supposedly enlists in Territorial Army prior to 1940, and the Barrow newspaper has several reports of a "I Devlin" winning prizes in shooting competitions. Family tradition has it that the wife returned to Ireland  " to avoid the bombing"' , or more accurately, the threat of bombing. None of the children were born in Barrow and in  Feb 1940 our man " enlisted with the Territorial Army as a member of the Royal Artillery, no 1526123". He serves through to Jan 1946 and returns to Newry. He had acquired a head injury in Malta , which contributed to his death in 1950s

 The family are keen to discover anything else about his time in Barrow in Furness

UK Long Service and Good Conduct Medals

Conway  Frederick

Quartermaster Sergeant

Service No 1291

Recommendation date 1882

Bedfordshire Regiment
1st Battalion

On his Attestation record ( available via Findmypast) he gives wife as Rose Ann Thompson ( as opposed to Roseanne) and married Londonderry ( not strictly true) 9th Sept 1870

They went on to have children ( according to descendant who I am trying to help with wedding mystery). They are assuming , they tell me, that Army would not let them move about as husband and wife without documentary proof??

Anne 1876 Hertford
Fred 1878 Ireland
Benjamin Somerville 1880 Athlone Ireland
Rose Thompson 1881 Hertford
Henry W 1884 Shorncliffe Kent
Rupert Thompson 1888 Hertford
Ralph Thompson 1890 England

And finally (?). He is buried in Glentree German War Cemetery , Co Wicklow, Ireland. Plot 5.
Photo on Find A Grave.

I have noticed how our man ended up in the Lunatic Asylum.

In Oldcastle Petty Sessions Court , July 30th, 1915, he was convicted, as a dangerous lunatic, of unlawfully attempting to assault a soldier the previous day.