Private William Henry Kaye
William Henry Kaye was born on 26 October 1894 at Dodder Cottages, Milltown, Rathmines, County Dublin, the first of seven children of gardener William Kaye and his wife Margaret (née McCartney). By the time of the 1911 Census he was living as a boarder at Clarkstown, Whitechurch, Dublin, and working as an assistant gardener and domestic servant.
Kay enlisted in the North Irish Horse between 15 March and 3 April 1916 (No.2135). He trained at the regiment's Antrim reserve camp until November 1916, when he and around 100 other North Irish Horsemen volunteered to transfer to the Royal Irish Rifles. The formal transfer took place on 7 December (Kaye was issued regimental number 40882), and on that day the men embarked for France. There they were posted to the 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles, joining it on the Somme front on 12 December.
In the early months of 1918 Kaye was wounded in the forearm. The injury was serious enough to end his front line service, and on 21 May 1918 he was transferred to the Labour Corps (No.518319). He was discharged on 18 November 1919.
By 1924 Kaye was living at 15 Richmond Hill, Rathmines, and working as a hospital attandant. On 2 September that year he married Margaret Toner at Charleston Road Methodist Church, Rathmines.
By 1967 Kaye was living at 312 Kildare Road, Crumlin, Dublin, having retired from work as a gardener. He died in the Adelaide Hospital on 11 June that year.
William's brother John Hamilton Kaye also served in the war, in the North Irish Horse and Nottinghamshire Yeomanry.