Lance Corporal Weldon John Tarleton
Weldon John Tarleton was born on 18 October 1896 at 8 Brighton Road, Rathmines, Dublin, the last of three children of bank clerk Weldon Robert Tarleton and his wife Kathleen Alice Mary (née Furney). His father had died just three days before he was born. By the time of the 1911 Census he was living at 3 Rathmines Park Terrace, Dublin, with his mother, a brother and a cousin. Soon after, he began work as a clerk in the Bank of Ireland.
Tarleton enlisted in the North Irish Horse between 7 and 23 August 1915 (No.1717). He trained at the regiment's Antrim reserve depot before embarking for France in 1916. There he was posted to D Squadron. In May 1916 D Squadron came together with A and E Squadrons to form the 1st North Irish Horse Regiment, serving as corps cavalry to VII Corps.
During 1916 Tarleton fell ill with trench fever. Evacuated to the UK for treatment, his health did not recover sufficiently to allow his return to front-line service, and on 9 July 1917 he was one of around thirty North Irish Horsemen transferred to the Labour Corps and posted to No.664 Home Service Labour Company. Tarleton was issued regimental number 333725.
Tarleton served as a clerk in the Military Convalescent Hospital at Holywood until the end of the war. Discharged on 16 March 1919, he was awarded a pension due to 'valvular disease of the heart', which was attributed to his military service.
After the war Tarleton returned to work in the Bank of Ireland in Dublin. On 31 October 1927 he married Elizabeth Frances Moore at the Holy Trinity Church of Ireland Parish Church, Rathmines. In October 1959 he was appointed a director of the Bank of Ireland.
Irish Times, 19 October 1959
His name is included on the Bank of Ireland's Roll of Honour (see image below).
Roll of Honour image sourced from the Irish War Memorials site.
This page last updated 20 March 2024.