Private William J. Lunny

 

The background of this man is not certain, but he appears to be the person born as John Lunny (recorded in later documents as William J. Lunny), on 1 September 1893 at Clonfane, Aghakellymaude, County Fermanagh, the fourth of eight children of farmer William Lunny and his wife Emily (née Johnston). His mother died in childbirth when he was just four years old. At the time of the 1911 Census he was living at Clonfane with his father, step-mother, an older sister and a step-brother, and working on the family farm.

Lunny enlisted in the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons Service Squadron between 13 and 19 October 1914 (No. UD/41 – later Corps of Dragoons No.21226). The squadron, which had been formed as divisional cavalry to the 36th (Ulster) Division, embarked for France on 6 October 1915. A party of about thirty men of the squadron, including Lunny, had embarked three days earlier, attached to 36th Division Headquarters – many if not all of them serving as batmen to senior officers.

In mid or late-1916 he was posted to the headquarters establishment of the 2nd North Irish Horse Regiment following the formation of that regiment in France from C and F Squadrons of the North Irish Horse and the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons Service Squadron.

The 2nd NIH Regiment served as corps cavalry to X Corps until August-September 1917, when it was disbanded and its men were transferred to the Royal Irish Fusiliers, an infantry regiment. Lunny, however, was not one of those transferred. Whether this meant that he had returned to the UK to the Enniskillen reserve depot, or continued in a headquarters posting, is not known at present.

On 18 February 1919 he was demobilised and transferred to Class Z, Army Reserve.

According to family records sourced from Ancestry.com, Lunny emigrated to Canada about 1926. There he married Scottish-born Mary Bain Robertson. He died in Saskatoon on 16 February 1956 and is commemorated in the Hillcrest Memorial Gardens.

 

This page last updated 5 February 2023.