Researched and presented by Nigel Henderson.
On the morning of 19th July 1941, a Mark 4 Bristol Blenheim aircraft (Number T2120) from 254 Squadron was returning to RAF Aldergrove in formation with two other aircraft. On approaching the airfield, the aircraft broke formation, with two of the aircraft making perfect landings. The aircraft piloted by Walter Hargreaves King crashed into the canteen run by the Navy, Army, and Air Force Institute (NAAFI). Three of the crew died in the crash, with the pilot’s body being found fifty yards from the impact site. One crewman, (see footnote) Aircraftman D R Comer, survived with extensive injuries. Ten aircraftmen who had been on the ground near the scene of the crash were seriously injured and one died of his injuries. However, the greatest impact occurred inside the NAAFI canteen where six female volunteers were killed and a further four were injured. RAF men being drilled nearby hurried to the impact site to help clear the debris and to provide assistance to the injured. The incident and the subsequent Coroner’s Enquiry received extensive coverage in Northern Ireland newspapers, although there was conflicting information. On 23rd July, the Northern Whig reported that the aircraft collided with a telegraph pole while flying at a low level and included an eye-witness statement that the wings were ripped off in the collision and the fuselage hurtled onto the canteen. However, this report referred to a Hudson bomber and to six Women’s Auxiliary Air Force fatalities.
On 23rd July, a Coroner’s Enquiry was held into the ten deaths and the following day the Northern Whig reported that the aircraft had struck a wooden building before crashing into the canteen. Evidence was given that the aeroplane was in perfect mechanical order when it took off. In response to a question from a relative of one of the victims as to whether the pilot was experienced, a flying officer responded that, “the pilot was fully qualified to fly the machine”. The Coroner returned a verdict of “Accidental death” and expressed his profound sympathy with the relatives of those who had lost their lives in the tragic accident. He also warmly commended those who had hurried to the scene to help in the rescue work. However, the Operations Record Book reveals a very different account of the incident which might have warranted a different verdict:“ … were killed when pilot failed to pull out of a dive on aerodrome in time to avoid obstruction. Port wing struck a telegraph pole and aircraft crashed into buildings and caught fire. This accident was the result of an error of judgement on the part of a comparatively inexperienced pilot. The flight was authorised for formation flying training and the dive was a breach of flying discipline. This pilot was a very quiet type and had never given cause to be suspected of dangerous flying.” [Author’s italics]
The bodies of the Royal Air Force fatalities were repatriated to England for burial:
Aircraftman (1st Class) Clifford Henry Hore in Birmingham (Handsworth) Cemetery
Pilot Officer Walter Hargreaves King in Sanderstead (All Saints) Churchyard Extension
Sergeant Philip Evans Neale in Boldmere (St. Michael) Churchyard
Sergeant Richard Edward Lea in Ormskirk (St Peter and St Paul) Churchyard
The NAAFI Fatalities
Unusually for civilian fatalities, the death notices for Miss Castles, Miss Crozier, and Miss Watson were placed in the “Died on Active Service” column.
Annie Watson was born on 25th March 1900 at Sydney Street West to James Watson, a smith’s helper, and Sarah Watson and the family was living at Pernau Street in the 1940s. Annie is buried in Belfast City Cemetery, in the same grave as her mother who had died just three months earlier. Whilst Annie’s age at death is officially recorded as 36, there is compelling evidence from census and civil registration records that she was 41 years old when she died.
Margaret Castles was born on 26th August 1916 Crumlin Road to Thomas Castles, a loom tenter, and Jane Castles (nee Welsh) who later lived at Blaris Road in Lisburn. Maggie Castles was living with Eliza Castles, her grandmother, at 25 Kitchener Street when she died and is buried in Belfast City Cemetery.
Annie Violet Shaw Crozier was born on 9th September 1915 at Blythe Street to William Crozier and Sarah Crozier (nee Austin) and the family home was at 80 Farnham Street in the Ormeau district in the 1940s. Annie Violet Shaw Crozier is buried in Knockbreda Cemetery but there is no memorial at her grave.
Brigid Isabella McGarry was born on 28th April 1919 at Killead, to James McGarry and Catherine McGarry (nee McStravick) who later lived at Largy Road, Crumlin. Brigid is buried in St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Graveyard in Glenavy. A shield at the McGarry plot declares it to be The family burying place of James McGarry 1882 and there are no details of the people interred in the plot.
Mary Agnes Mulholland was born around 1923 to Francis Arthur Mulholland, a builder, and Sarah Mary Mulholland (nee McAlea) of Aldergrove and is buried in St James’ Roman Catholic Church Graveyard, Aldergrove.
Elizabeth Osborne was born on 15th June 1907 at Excise Street in Belfast to Thomas Osborne and Elizabeth Osborne (nee Hopps) and the family later lived at Ballymacateer, Lurgan. Elizabeth Osborne is buried in the graveyard at First Lurgan Presbyterian Church.
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Additional information from the RAF Commands website and 254 Squadron Operations Record Book (National Archives Reference AIR/27/1514/37)
Researched and presented by Nigel Henderson.
Footnote: Nick Comer, son of D R Comer advises that his father was ‘on the ground’ marching’. Also see this website referencing the National Archives AIR81.
Originally known as David Street on leases of 1806, the present name of Queen Street came into being by 1810. The reason for the distinct angle on the street, at its junction with College Street, is because the original street was laid out using the line of part of the old town defences.
Its founder Edward Irvine was born in Annan, Annandale, Scotland in 1792, and is largely credited with the church’s establishment. After gaining his MA at the University of Edinburgh, he was ordained into the Church of Scotland in 1815, but during that time began to investigate other means of spiritual worship which eventually led to his expulsion from the Church of Scotland and the setting up of the sect which later became known as the Irvingian Movement.
Queen Street, like much of Wellington Place in the early 1800s was largely residential, with many fine Georgian houses on the thoroughfare. Just within a few yards away at its junction with Wellington Place was another church – the Evangelical Union Chapel, designed by John Boyd in 1858, showing that the area was very different in character to that found today.
As the area changed from residential to commercial, this church was replaced by Kingscourt, a seven-story warehouse, designed by the architect WJ W Roome and opened in 1901. It later became the home of the Athletic Stores, until its destruction by fire in 1974. This warehouse was replaced by a modern office building named Sun Alliance House in 1986 which stands next to the £28 million Aparthotel development being constructed on the site at 32-38 Queen Street today.
One of the most important civic buildings to be erected on Queen Street was the Hospital for Sick Children in 1878 by Thomas Jackson. The hospital had originally been established at 25 King Street before moving here in 1879. This building remained in use as a children’s hospital until its successor was built on the Falls Road in 1932. This unique building, in Scrabo sandstone, was then taken over as a police barracks which closed in 2000, following the peace process. It can be seen in use as an RUC station beside the Corporation Gas Showrooms of 1871 in this photograph of 1930.
By the end of the 19th century, the CAC church was no longer in use and the site was earmarked for commercial development. Work began at number 36 on a large red brick warehouse designed by Robert Inkerman Calwell in 1898 for the printing and stationary firm of John Dickinson & Company who had occupied smaller premises on the site since 1868. They specialised in linen ornament and fancy box manufacture. Calwell was born at Annadale, Belfast in 1854 becoming a respected engineer and architect, He was civil engineer to the Belfast Central Railway before becoming acting Belfast City Surveyor, a highly regarded position in the city.
The warehouse he designed for the site, and which opened in 1899, was an impressive affair. Built by one of the city’s leading building contractors, W H Stephens & Co, at five stories high it dominated this side of the street. It was however the end of the area being residential and the building became typical of those warehouses which would proliferate the area for the next 80 years. In this image, the former Georgian houses can still be seen on Queen Street at its junction with College Street.
Dickinson & Co, one of the largest and most important printing and stationary companies in the UK. Founded in Hertfordshire in 1810 by John Dickenson, the company pioneered several innovations in paper making under the Lion Brand. During the time the company remained on Queen Street, it acquired the well- known Basildon Bond range of stationary which was distributed from this building to most parts of Ireland.
During the “troubles” which broke out in 1969, Queen Street suffered from a destructive bombing campaign very similar to other parts of the city centre. Once it played host to famous dancehalls such as Romano’s which drew thousands of people weekly for entertainment. These gradually closed because of the reluctance of people to go into the city centre at night and Queen Street became much of a ghost town after 6:00pm each evening. This photograph captures Romano’s Ballroom in the 1960s with the warehouse of Nicholson & Morrow towering up to six stories in the background at no 32 Queen Street. Strangely enough the US Consul remained on Queen Street throughout the worst periods of civil unrest, where the “Stars & Stripes” could be found flying every weekday until the consulate removed to Danesfort in South Belfast.
In the mid-1980s, an application was lodged with Belfast City Council by property developer Gareth Graham to develop the site of the old warehouses on 32 – 38 Queen Street as a new retail and office development to be called Lyndon Court.
Following the financial crisis of 2008 in Ireland, the property portfolio of Lyndon Court had been passed to the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) as had many properties which fell during that crisis. By the following decade, the retail development had failed to attract the right prestige tenant and had become reflective of Queen Street itself … that of being rather run down whilst other prestige retail developments were surging ahead in the city such as Victoria Square.
In February 2019, an application was made for planning permission which would allow for the demolition of the existing buildings at 32-38 Queen Street, allowing for the erection of a 175-bed aparthotel with associated bar, restaurant and conferencing facilities. This application was subsequently approved, and demolition of Lyndon Court took place in late 2020.
Construction of the new development is now well underway. Designed by Like Architects and developed by Oakland Holdings, the project is just one further example of the massive changes happening on Queen Street and the surrounding area.
Shortly after 4pm on 10th April, Norman Russell along with four of his friends from Brandon Parade went to fish for minnows, colloquially known as spricks, at the Silver Stream near the old Sydenham Station on the Belfast and County Down Railway line. The other lads were Brian Johnston, Raymond Galloway, Leonard Waterworth, and Ronald Maitland. Raymond and Leonard also lived in ex-servicemen’s houses.
In the meantime, one of Norman’s friends went to raise the alarm with the family but Norman’s parents were at the cinema (where a notice about the incident was flashed on the screen). Noel Russell and Herbert Lemon rushed to the scene, but it was initially thought that Norman had been in another part of the field and had escaped the crash. However, Ronald Maitland maintained that that Norman had been hit and pointed out to a policeman where Norman had been standing. The National Fire Service was recalled to the scene and an hour later Norman’s body was found in the stream, under the wreckage.
The pilot of the aircraft was injured and died later the same day at the 24th (London) General Hospital, which was based at nearby Campbell College.
Norman Russell was twelve-years-old and was buried in Dundonald Cemetery on 13th April 1945, the funeral being conducted by the Reverend Chestnutt of Strand Presbyterian Church. The funeral was also attended by representatives of the Royal Navy and the Fleet Air Arm, 86th Company of the Boys’ Brigade, and Strand Public Elementary School. Sub-Lieutenant Edmund John Hoy was 26 years old and was buried in the Glenalina Extension at Belfast City Cemetery the following day.
Nigel Henderson, Researcher with History Hub Ulster, has been documenting the burial locations of civilians who died in the Second World War. He said, “Although a Civilian War Dead Roll of Honour was published after the Second World War, Norman’s name is not recorded. Whilst the majority of the civilians recorded on the Roll of Honour died due to direct enemy action in air raids and coastal bombardments, others died in accidents. For example, Josephine McGroarty died on 18th October 1943 when a Royal Air Force Avro Anson aircraft crashed onto a house at Drumavoley near Ballycastle. The inclusion of Josephine on the Civilian War Dead list and the absence of Norman’s name, highlights the anomalies that can occur in “official” records. In researching this tragedy for one of Peter’s graveyard tours, I was reminded of the wealth of information that can be gleaned from local newspapers. For example, the image of Norman Russell came from an 11th April 1945 edition of now defunct Northern Whig newspaper.”
Our researchers, Nigel Henderson and Michael Nugent have presented a short series of talks about the work of ministers and chaplains during the Great War, with a particular focus on clerics who died, were wounded, were taken prisoner, or who received gallantry awards. The talks are presented via our YouTube channel at the following links:
Forgotten Female War Workers
Just after 11pm on 29th February 1940, Captain Frederick FitzCurrie Trench, a volunteer worker at the club, bade goodnight to five female volunteers who had been on duty since 5:30. He saw them climb into an Austin 10 cabriolet car and heard the engine starting before he went back into the club to finish tidying up and to secure the premises. It was the last time that the women were seen alive. When the women failed to turn up at their respective homes, the alert was raised, and a search was instigated by Captain Trench. The following morning, the police noticed traces of oil on the water and a diver was called in to investigate. James Trainor from Fortingale Street located the car with its radiator embedded in the silt at the bottom of the dock and the vehicle was removed with the assistance of a crane. It seems that, as the car was being driven off in the blackout with minimum lights on the vehicle, the driver took a wrong turn and the car plunged into twenty feet of water in the dock. 
There were four bodies clasped together inside the car but the body of the fifth lady could not be located. The missing body was recovered on 3rd April, approximately fifty yards from where the car had entered the dock. The owner/driver of the car is not recorded in any of the newspaper articles relating to the incident or the Coroner’s Enquiry.
A Coroner’s Enquiry was held by Doctor Herbert Perry Lowe, City of Belfast Coroner, on 6th March 1940 and the solicitor acting for the Glass family was critical on the lighting restrictions. Mr George Leitch said, “Northern Ireland was miles away from the seat of hostilities, the lighting restrictions were stricter here than in cities and towns thirty miles from the Western Front. This tragedy should impress on the authorities the necessity for some alleviation in the lighting restrictions.” Doctor Lowe said, “of all the tragedies associated with the black-out he did not think they had one more tragic than this one.”
Mary Gorman Stafford was born on 11th May 1877 at St Stephen’s Green in Dublin to Reverend William Gorman, a Methodist Minister, and Mary Smallman Sibthorpe. The Reverend William Gorman ministered in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, and Belfast and has been described as “the prince of Irish Methodist preachers”. Mary Gorman married Frederick Stafford on 1st March 1898 at Balmoral Methodist Church (which was also known as Osborne Park Methodist Church), and they were members of the congregation for the rest of their lives. Frederick Stafford died on chronic nephritis on 29th June 1937 at the Rosapenna Hotel in Carrigart, Donegal. Like her husband, Mary Stafford was on the Board of Directors of J J Stafford & Sons, wholesale boot and shoe factors, of Union Street in Belfast and she also did voluntary work for the Voluntary Aid Detachment at the South Belfast Hospital Supply Depot. Mary Stafford as living at 1 Bladon Drive when she died at the age of 62 and is buried in the Stafford family plot in the Glenalina Extension of Belfast City Cemetery on 4th March. Her funeral was attended by the Reverend J E C Lawlor, Chaplain of Belfast Port, and Rear Admiral King. Mary Stafford left effects amounting to £4,117 eleven shillings and eightpence (approximately £245,261 in current terms) to her second son, Malcolm Ashman Stafford (Company Director) of Shrewsbury Drive in Belfast.
Frances Alexander McCammon was born on 12th August 1895 at Belmont Road in Strandtown to Richard Whytstock Leslie, a Medical Doctor, and Rosa Scott Alexander. Frances Leslie married John McCammon, a soldier, on 14th August 1919 in Belmont Presbyterian Church. John McCammon was a Manager with John Shaw Brown & Sons (Damask Linen and Handkerchief Manufacturers) of the Ulster Works on Dublin Road and Marcus Ward Street. Frances McCammon was a founder member of the Women’s League of Health and Beauty in Belfast. The family home was at 103 Osborne Park when Frances died at the age of 44. She is buried in Belfast City Cemetery and was survived by her husband and her daughter, June.
Mary Kathleen Jefferson was born on 18th July 1895 at Salisbury Avenue in North Belfast to John Cunningham McClung, a Linen Salesman, and Agnes Martha Currie. She took an active part in canteen work during the Great War and was later Honorary Secretary of the Duncairn-Clifton Women’s Unionist Association. Mary McClung married Frederic Jefferson on 25th August 1927 at Belfast Registrar’s Office and was living at 20 Bristow Park when she died at the age of 44. She was buried in the McClung plot in Belfast City Cemetery on 5th April 1940. The Right Reverend Doctor James Haire, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, the Reverend J E C Lawlor, Missions to Seamen, and the Reverend Alexander Lyle Harrison, Fortwilliam Park Presbyterian Church, officiated at the funeral. The Earl of Kilmorey and Rear Admiral King represented the Royal Navy. Mary Jefferson was a member of Fortwilliam Park Presbyterian Church and the Reverend Harrison said that he had made an appeal for books and magazines for the club on the Sunday before the tragedy and was to have handed them to Mrs Jefferson on 1st March. He said he felt that the five ladies were all victims of the war.
Winifred Jameson Glass was born on 14th June 1899 in Cooktown to Reverend Thomas Glass, Minister of First Cookstown Presbyterian Church, and Emily Wilson. Winifred Glass grew up in Australia as her father had accepted a call from a congregation in Melbourne. Following his death, she returned to Northern Ireland with her mother and was living at 53 Malone Road when she died at the age of 40 and was buried in Dundonald Cemetery on 4th March. She was an excellent golfer, being a member of Malone Golf Club.
Emily Margaret Davison was born on 31st August 1904 at Eia House on the Antrim Road to John Smith Morrow, a Medical Doctor, and Mary Mathers McLaughlin. Her maternal grandfather was William Henry McLaughlin, the founder of McLaughlin & Harvey, a construction company. The Morrow family was living at Malone Park when Emily Margaret married Alexander Davison on 12th September 1928 at Malone Presbyterian Church. Alexander Davison was the Managing Director of the Grove Weaving Company and Chairman of the Irish Power Loom Manufacturers Association. Emily Margaret Davison was on the Board of Governors of Ashley House School and was an active member of the Royal Maternity Hospital’s “Gleaners Committee”, which had been formed in August 1933 to further the interests of the hospital. The family home was at 15 Harberton Drive when Emily Davison died at the age of 35 and she was buried in the McLaughlin family plot in Belfast City Cemetery on 4th March. Amongst those attending the funeral were Mr E H Stephens, Missions to Seamen, and Rear Admiral King. Emily Margaret Davison was survived her husband and three children, aged five to eleven.
On 7th March 1922, the Larne War Memorials’ Committee organised two ceremonies in the town – one to commemorate the fallen from the town and the other to demonstrate gratitude to those who had served in the Great War. Colonel Robert Chaine Alexander McCalmont, who had served with 12th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles and 1st Battalion Irish Guards, played a role in both ceremonies.
The memorial was originally erected in the roadway at the junction of Main Street, Glenarm Road, and Curran Road. The Methodist Church was behind the memorial and the Laharna Hotel was in front of it. There were changes to the memorial even before its re-location to its current location at Inver. When the memorial was unveiled, the dedication and the names of the fallen were individual metal letters attached to the stonework. By the end of October 1925, a bronze dedication panel and two bronze panels listing the names of the fallen had been inserted into the stonework.
Signaller McCluggage was Killed in Action on 7th March 1917, aged 19, and is buried in St Quentin Cabaret Military Cemetery in France. Locally, he is commemorated on the memorial tablet for Ralloo Presbyterian Church, on a family memorial in the graveyard at St John’s Church of Ireland in in Glynn, and on the War Memorial in Glynn Village. Robert McCluggage received a War Gratuity of £8 and ten shillings in October 1919.
The Limavady War Memorial Institute was formally opened on Thursday 2nd March 1922 by Major General Sir Oliver Nugent, who had commanded the 36th Ulster Division for much of its active service in France and Flanders. However, the story goes back to the weeks that followed the signing of the Armistice in 1918.
The Honorary Treasurer of the War Memorial Committee was Lieutenant Colonel Francis Samuel Needham Macrory of Ardmore Lodge. He had been commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers in February 1896 and held the rank of Major with 10th Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers when he was deployed to France in October 1915. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in the 1917 New Year’s Honours List, was mentioned in Despatches in January 1917 and again in December 1917. He was later Chairman of the Board of Trustees and he was Commanding Officer of 1st Londonderry Battalion Ulster Home Guard during the Second World War.
The dedicatory panel reads, “Limavady and District War Memorial, to commemorate alike the brave sons of this district who died fighting for their country, and the gallant survivors who shared their dangers, toils, and sufferings; to show honour to the dead and gratitude to the living by a memorial whose object is to imbue successive generations with the same love of country and sense of duty, and to forge, by the memory of valour and self-devotion, a fresh bond of union and friendship among all who dwell in this district.”
In the late 1920s, a Celtic Cross was erected at the Institute and this became the focal point for Armistice Remembrance and the Limavady Branch of the British Legion received permission to use, free of charge, a Billiard Room and an Ante Room for meetings.
The youngest fatality was only 17 years old. Rifleman David Martin, Royal Irish Rifles, was Killed in Action on 17th June 1916 and is buried in Authuile Military Cemetery in France. He was born on 27th April 1899 at Ballynahinch Road to David Martin and Annie Singleton.
