Cpl James Molloy 2nd batt Royal Dublin Fusilers

[peter leg]

Hi My name is Peter Leggett from Dublin ,

My maternal grandfather was Cpl James Molloy 2nd batt the royal Dublin Fusilers.

I have his medal index card which says POW my mum thinks he was wounded at Mons as he used to talk about it.

I have photos of him in Linburg camp with a football team with shamrocks on their brests.

I also have a newspaper that says he was wounded in 1915 and was in the Machine gun mellion???

From what I can research the dubs were no where near Mons in 1915.

Also his medal index card says he is entitled to the 1915 star....but the 2nd dubs landed in France in Aug 14 so if he landed with them would he not be entitled to the 14 star.

he survived the war and I have a postcard from him to my grandmother from The Hauge in Holland dated 1919.

He is buried in the British army cemetary along with my grandmother on Blackhorse Avenue in Dublin,


Anybody got the 2nd batt war diaries or any information would be great thanks.

By the way I have about 10 photos from Limburg camp all original if anybody wants them scanned....

Thanks to Connor Dodd and his father for all their previous help. ie the newspaper clipping from November 1915 that started this quest

[ander11]

Hello peter

Welcome to the Great War Forum, have tried the LLT (Long Long Trail)

http://www.1914-1918.net/dubs.htm

http://www.1914-1918.net/4div.htm

http://www.1914-1918.net/16div.htm

http://www.1914-1918.net/31div.htm

http://www.1914-1918.net/50div.htm

I hope you find this useful, and it would be great to see your great war photo's

Best regards

Ian

[tipperary]

James MIC shows entitlement to 14 star and date of entry of 23/8/14.john

From the dates of landing i think they probably got into action first at or around Le Cateau.

http://www.1914-1918.net/bat2.htm

Edited 11 March , 2012 by munster

[corisande]

The initial expeditionary force sent to France contained every Irish regiment of the British Army other than the Dublin Fusiliers. The Dublin Fusiliers had two regular battalions at the outbreak of the Great War. The 1st Battalion was in Fort St George in Madras in India. The 2nd Battalion was at home, and home for the 2nd Dublin Fusiliers was in Bordon Barracks in Gravesend – it’s now a supermarket. They were kept at home because the British War Office feared that there would be a German invasion of Britain, so they were kept at home to defend Britain. For fear of being over-run by superior German firepower and infantry, the French 5th Army began to withdraw and for the same reasons on 24 August, the BEF began to retreat from the Belgian City of Mons. It was during this retreat that the 2nd Dublin Fusiliers, as part of the 4th Infantry Division, were brought over from England and placed around the town of Le Cateau. Their objective was to provide a rear guard force that would cover the retreating BEF.

You can read about the problems on the retreat in "Dishonoured" by Peter T Scott which covers the cashiering of the Battalion commander for action of his during the retreat.

The most likely place for his capture (I have no idea whare he actually was captured) was

24 May 1915 645 men were lost out of 666. The Royal Dublin Fusiliers started the day at Ypes on 24th May, 1915 with 666 men - by the end of the day they had lost 645 men, of whom 149 were listed dead. The battle at Mouse Trap Farm is famous one in the history of the RDF, the CWGC describes it as "Located half-a-mile north of Wieltje, originally a moated farm with outbuildings. It was first given the name 'Shell Trap Farm' by the British. The unhappy associations of this designation were held to be detrimental to the garrison's morale and the position was subsequently re-named by the Staff as 'Mouse Trap Farm'. On the morning of the attack on 24 May 1915 what was left of the farm after the bombardment ('a mere heap of mud and rubbish') was defended by two platoons of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers; being a mere 30 yards from the enemy trenches the rapid occupation of the farm by the quick-moving German infantry was little short of inevitable"

Tom Burke of RDF Association has written a small book on 2nd RDF and the Tragedy of Mousetrap Farm

I have some notes on Limburg Camp click this link and the Irish POWs. My interest was in Casements recruiting of the Irish Brigade (who were moved out in Jun 1915 to Zossen) but attempts at recruiting did continue

I would like copies of those Limburg photos you have. If you not able to get this web site's technology to post them here, can you send them to me. You need to make a few more posts before we can use the PM system with you.

[museumtom]

Good man Peter, you know me from the fairs. Welcome to the forum, they are a great bunch here and will find anything that survives in the records.

Kind regards.

Tom Burnell

[archangel9]

Hi Peter,

Welcome to the forum.

As John(Munster) has already posted your grandfather was entitled to 1914 Star having entered theatre on 23/8/14. He also applied for and was issued the Clasp & Roses.

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/medals.asp?WT.hp=Campaign%20Medals%20-%20£2

Machine gun mellion is probably Machine gun section.

In the book "Prelude to the Easter Rising" by Reinhard R Doerries there is a list of men in Limburg camp in April 1915 who -

"...are either not Irish at all, or are so strongly Pro-British that they seriously hinder the effort to form an Irish Brigade. They should be carefully collected together and removed altogether from Limburg,...."

number 63 on this list is Corporal Molloy. It is possible that this is your grandfather but by no means certain. I would love to get copies of your photos and I'll send you a PM once you have 5 posts.

John

[archangel9]

Peter,

Your Grandfather 11364 Cpl. J. Molloy was reported missing, along with a large list of Royal Dublin Fusiliers, in the Times edition of 14th November 1914. I can send you the list once you have the 5 posts up and can use the PM system.

John

[archangel9]

Peter,

See also this topic -

http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=87288&st=0&gopid=1724088entry1724088

John

[archangel9]

On 3rd May 1915 in the Times his status as a PoW was confirmed. Under the heading -

"Previously reported missing, now reported prisoners."

there is a list of 23 RDF's including 11364 Cpl. J. Molloy.

John

[Noor]

Hi,

I haven't check yet does his papers exist (I presume not) but I can confirm that he enlisted to the Royal Dublin Fusiliers on mid August 1912.

Dublin Infantry office recorded his address on 1914:

And here is also his VM/BWM roll input - he served only with the 2nd Battalion:

Kind Regards,

Timo aka Noor

[peter leg]

Thank you one and all for the information I will try over the next few days to post the photos online. one of them shows a white robed guy(I take it its a priest) with a football team with a shamrock on the ball in the photo all the guys( about 25 Of them) appear in army uniform. Another has shamrocks on the breast of white shirts. On the rear of the photo it says 5 Company Limburg and another word after it I cant make out. There is an X uner my grandfather I take it he sent these home from the camp???

Thanks again Peter

[archangel9]

number 63 on this list is Corporal Molloy. It is possible that this is your grandfather but by no means certain.

Peter,

The full entry reads -

63. Corporal Molloy. 5 Coy. 12 Section. 19 Barracks.

5 Coy ties in with the photo you have. I think it is very likely that this is your grandfather.

John

[peter leg]

Thanks for that archangle9

Busy as we speak trying to get these photos up...My scanner aint doing well have to try another way hope to have them done by tonight as I m back to work tommorrow.

[Kentishwolf]

Peter,

I recently read a book, The Old Toughs; From Milton to Mons, which gives a history of the 2nd RDF during their time at Gravesend, the barracks closed in the 1970's. Some of the old buildings are still standing, and there are various photo's in existence of the RDF in their time at Gravesend. It was Milton Barracks, not Bordon, it is not now a supermarket as mentioned in the article, it recently had a large Sikh temple built on the site.

Andy