7303 Rifleman
‘D’ Company 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Rifles, 74th Infantry Brigade, 25 Division.
Age: 32
Date of Death: 5.8.17
Buried: Dickebusch New Military Cemetery Extension IV.A.5
Family history: Husband of Mary McAteer, 29 Milton Row, Dunipace. They had four children, the fourth child was named ‘Hugh Messines’
He enlisted in the Militia on 29 August 1903 in Belfast, Territorials from 1908, and went to France on 13 August 1914 with the 2nd Battalion.
The action leading to his death
The Battalion were in billets at the Ramparts, Ypres. On the 5 August the War Diary records: 2KIA and 4 wounded. War Diary:
(Linesman Map showing Chateau Wood)
The Falkirk Herald under the heading ‘Letters from the Front’ featured excerpts from letters Patrick had sent to his wife. He commented on the plight of the Belgian civilians, the conditions in the trenches and hoped that the people of Denny would respond to the plight of the Belgian civilians.
Medals Awarded:
1914 Star and Clasp, The British War Medal, Victory Medal
