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In memoriam

Private Robert George Donaldson Montgomery

 

 

 

Robert George Donaldson Montgomery was born on 4 June 1894 at 82 Upper Canning Street, Belfast, the third of six children of Scottish-born house painter Robert Donaldson Montgomery and his wife Anne Eliza (nee Rice). By 1911 he was living with his family at 15 Artana Street, Belfast, and working as an apprentice painter at the shipbuilder Workman, Clark and Company.

Montgomery enlisted in the North Irish Horse at Belfast between 6 and 28 June 1916 (No.2192). At the end of December that year he was one of forty North Irish Horsemen who transferred to the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (No.40655). They embarked for France on 9 January 1917 and were posted to the 10th Battalion, joining it at Ploegsteert Wood on the Ypres front.

On 21 January 1918 the 10th Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was disbanded, with most of the men, including Private Montgomery, being posted to the 2nd Battalion.

The 2nd Inniskillings Battalion was in the line in the right sub-sector of the St Jans Cappel sector on the Ypres front from 24/25 to 31 August 1918. Casualties were fairly high, the battalion losing two officers killed and three wounded, nine other ranks killed, 54 wounded and one missing. It appears that Montgomery was one of the wounded.

He died of his wounds on 31 August and was buried in the Bertenacre Military Cemetery, Fletre, Nord, France, grave II.A.8. His grave inscription reads:

40655 PRIVATE
R. G. D. MONTGOMERY
ROYAL INNISKILLING FUS.
31ST AUGUST 1918

FOR EVER WITH THE LORD

 

Gravestone image kindly provided by Steve Rogers, Project Co-ordinator of the The War Graves Photographic Project, www.twgpp.org. Newspaper image from the Belfast Evening Telegraph kindly provided by Nigel Henderson, Researcher at History Hub Ulster (www.greatwarbelfastclippings.com).