TOPIC:

Hi all,
I am new to this forum so please bear with me.
I am trying to find out about my grandfathers service history.
My mother is the last remaining of his children and I only have her memories to go on.
She remembers him saying he was with Kitchener at Ladysmith, 2nd Boer war.
She thinks he was in the Royal Irish Rifles.
He also served in WW1, in France.
He was also in the home guard WW2, stationed at Antrim castle.
His name is Robert Maguire.
DOB 2/12/1881.
Born in Shuttle Hill, Coleraine, Northern Ireland.
We have no records and no medals, so any information would be much appreciated.

Sug,

Welcome!

There is a 6415 R Maguire serving in the Royal Irish Fusiliers. This man was not involved at Ladysmith/

There are not that many men of this name on the medal rolls:

R Maguire 1st Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers
R Maguire Army Post Office Corps
R Maguire 1st Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
R Maguire 133N Company 29th Battalion I Y (Irish Horse)
R Maguire C (Eastern) Division S A C
R Maguire Army Post Office Corps South
R Maguire 1st Battalion Royal Fusiliers
R Maguire 1st Royal Irish Fusiliers

Regards
David

Hello Sug

Check for service papers on Ancestry.com as he served in WW1. You may also find papers on Findmypast.co.uk if he served in the militia prior to joining the regulars.

Searching is free on these sites.

It may be worthwhile contacting the regimental museum as many now have databases of soldiers who served in the regiment.

Regards
Meurig

All surviving service papers for the British Army for the period in question here are held at the National Archives Kew in WO96, WO97, WO363 and WO364.
Almost all are available on line via FMP/Ancestry, if you cannot see who you are looking for, it simply means that they are less likely to have survived, a manual search would be needed, however, this would not be possible with WO363, as these are in poor condition.

Sug wrote: Hi all,
I am new to this forum so please bear with me.
I am trying to find out about my grandfathers service history.
My mother is the last remaining of his children and I only have her memories to go on.
She remembers him saying he was with Kitchener at Ladysmith, 2nd Boer war.
She thinks he was in the Royal Irish Rifles.
He also served in WW1, in France.
He was also in the home guard WW2, stationed at Antrim castle.
His name is Robert Maguire.
DOB 2/12/1881.
Born in Shuttle Hill, Coleraine, Northern Ireland.
We have no records and no medals, so any information would be much appreciated.

djb,

Thanks for that. It's very helpful. I will check these details with my mother, she's 83 years old, and perhaps this will jog her memory.
Is it possible to check my grandfathers date of birth 02/12/1881 against the R Maguires you listed?

Regards.

There are a number of Robert Maguire's that are possible, memories often fade down the years, are you really quite sure about his date and place of birth? for example there was one born in Coleraine in 1877.