Pte
William Cahill
Information about birth
|
Year of birth: 1881 |
|
Place of birth: Delvin, County Westmeath, Ireland, United Kingdom |
General information
|
Profession: Stonemason |
Army information
|
Country: Ireland, United Kingdom |
|
Force: British Expeditionary Force |
|
Rank: Private |
|
Service number: 5234 |
|
Enlistment place: Mullingar, County Westmeath, Ireland, United Kingdom |
|
Units: — The Prince of Wales’s Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians), 7th Bn. (Last known unit) |
Information about death
|
Date of death: 31/07/1917 |
|
Place of death: Potijze Château, Belgium |
|
Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
|
Age: 36 |
Cemetery
|
Potijze Chateau Lawn Cemetery Plot: / Row: B Grave: 19 |
Distinctions and medals 2
|
British War Medal Medal — 23/02/1920 |
|
Victory Medal Medal — 23/02/1920 |
Points of interest 2
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Enlistment place |
My story
William Cahill was born in 1881 in Delvin, County Westmeath, in Ireland. According to the 1911 Ireland census William worked as a Stone mason. By the summer of 1917 William had enlisted in the army and served as a private in the Leinster Regiment, 7th Battalion, part of the 47th Brigade, of the 16th (Irish) Division, which participated in the Third Battle of Ypres, also known as The Battle of Passchendaele.
On 31 July 1917, the opening day of the offensive, a large party of the 47th Brigade, including the 7th Leinsters, was detailed to laying telephone cables in the vicinity of Potijze Château. The area was frequently shelled by the German artillery and the Battalion suffered heavy casualties, while working near the Château. One officer was wounded and the Company Sergeant-Major of “A” Company was killed along with several of his men on the Potijze road. A total of ten men were killed and thirty-four men were wounded.
Private William Cahill was one of the men of the 7th Leinsters who were killed in action on 31 July 1917. He was buried at Potijze Chateau Lawn Cemetery; Row B, Grave 19 and can assume, that he fell due to German shelling on the Château. William Cahill left behind a wife and three daughters.
On 31 July 1917, the opening day of the offensive, a large party of the 47th Brigade, including the 7th Leinsters, was detailed to laying telephone cables in the vicinity of Potijze Château. The area was frequently shelled by the German artillery and the Battalion suffered heavy casualties, while working near the Château. One officer was wounded and the Company Sergeant-Major of “A” Company was killed along with several of his men on the Potijze road. A total of ten men were killed and thirty-four men were wounded.
Private William Cahill was one of the men of the 7th Leinsters who were killed in action on 31 July 1917. He was buried at Potijze Chateau Lawn Cemetery; Row B, Grave 19 and can assume, that he fell due to German shelling on the Château. William Cahill left behind a wife and three daughters.
Sources 2
|
7 Battalion Leinster Regiment. Also absorbed 2nd Leinster, Feb 1918, (The National Archives, KEW (TNA), WO 95/1970/4). Further reference |
|
Whiton F.E., The History of the Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians). Part II The Great War and the Disbandment of the Regiment, (Aldershot, Gale & Polden Ltd., 1924), p. 422-425. Sources used |
More information 3
|
Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/158668 |
|
Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=613250a1-969f-450f-b54d-908eb547f83b |
|
Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/5440088 |