Pte
William Cahill

Information about birth

Year of birth:
1881
Place of birth:
Delvin, County Westmeath, Ireland

General information

Profession:
Stonemason

Army information

Country:
Ireland
Force:
British Expeditionary Force
Rank:
Private
Service number:
5234
Enlistment place:
Mullingar, County Westmeath, Ireland
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.

Files 1

Sources 5

"The History of the Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians). Part II The Great War and the Disbandment of the Regiment", Whiton F.E., Aldershot, Gale & Polden Ltd., 1924, p. 422-425.
Sources used
Ancestry
Sources used
CWGC
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/158668/cahill,-william/
Sources used
The Long, Long Trail
http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/
Sources used
War Diary Leinster Regiment, 7th Bn.
Further reference