On 9th July 1945 the Belfast Telegraph published a photograph taken at the unveiling of a memorial tablet to commemorate twelve servicemen from Foyle Street who had died during the Second World War. The names are grouped under three headings – NAVY (five), ARMY (six), and ROYAL AIR FORCE (one).
The memorial tablet was unveiled by Sir Alexander Wilson Hungerford, Member of the Northern Ireland Parliament for Belfast Oldpark (1925-1945), in a ceremony conducted by the Reverend John W Strutt of the North Belfast Mission.
Foyle Street was one of a number of streets, all named after rivers in Ireland, that lay between the Oldpark Road and Clifton Park Avenue. There were 63 houses in the street in 1939. The area has been redeveloped and the fate of the memorial tablet is unknown.
NAVY
Stoker William Stewart of 35 Foyle Street died when HMS Prince of Wales was sunk by land-based bombers of the Imperial Japanese Navy in the South China Sea on 10th December 1941. He was 35 years old and is commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial. He was born on 14th September 1906 at Weir Street to Annie Stewart and married Jane Ross. They had five young children when he died. His death was officially confirmed in May 1942. William was working for Belfast Corporation and was a member of the Colonel Eager Band when he joined the Royal Navy.
Seaman William Robert Steele was killed when a Luftwaffe Heinkel HE111 bombed SS Stanleigh in Liverpool Bay on the night 13th/14th March 1941. William was 26 years old and is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial. He was born on 2nd October 1914 at Shannon Street to Hugh Steele and Elizabeth Steele (nee Adair) and was a member of Apprentice Boys’ Memorial Lodge LOL1317.
William Cranston was born on 19th February 1917 at Crimea Street to David Ross Cranston and Rachel Cranston (nee Montgomery), who had married at St Anne’s Parish Church on 28th October 1906. David Ross Cranston served during the Great War with the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, the Royal Irish Fusiliers, and Northumberland Fusiliers. William had married Eleanor Shaw on 4th November 1939 at St Anne’s Cathedral, and they had two children. William had worked for Milford Clothing for eleven years when he joined the Royal Navy in 1941. He was serving on HMS Bramble as an Assistant Steward when he lost his life at the age of 25. HMS Bramble was an escort ship for convoy JW-51B to Russia when she was sunk by the German destroyer Friedrich Eckoldt in the Barents Sea on 31st December 1942, with the loss of 121 lives. William and his shipmates are commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial. Eleanor Cranston was living at Moscow Street when her husband died and was recorded as the occupant at 31 Foyle Street in the 1947 Belfast Street Directory.
Petty Officer Thomas Leighton of 58 Foyle Street was serving as a DEMS Gunner on SS Rosenborg when he died on 24th April 1943, aged 28, and is commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial. The ship was hit north of Rockall by two torpedoes fired by German submarine U-386 and sank with the loss of the master, 21 crew members, four gunners, and two passengers. His death was confirmed by the Admiralty in December 1943. Thomas was born on 17th February 1915 at Mountcollyer Street to John Leighton and Mary Elizabeth Leighton (nee Adams) and he had married Emily Steele on 4th September 1939 at Cliftonville Presbyterian Church. They had a son and a daughter when Thomas died.
Leading Seaman William White of 13 Foyle Street was serving as a DEMS gunner on MV Otina when she was torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-621 on 20th December 1942 whilst sailing from Belfast to New York. William was 35 years old when he died and is commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial. William was born in Ayrshire on 28th August 1908 and was survived by his widow, Margaret.
ARMY
Lance-Corporal Thomas Faulkner of 50 Foyle Street enlisted with the Royal Irish Fusiliers (Army Number 6974882) around 1924 and was serving with the Royal Corps of Signals when he died in an accidental bomb explosion on 29th August 1942. He was 36 years old and is buried in the Heliopolis War Cemetery in Egypt. He had been in the army for 18 years when he died and had had held the Army bantamweight championship of all India for three years. Thomas John Faulkner was born on 26th September 1905 at the Belfast Maternity Hospital to David Faulkner and Ellen Faulkner (nee Beattie) of Crimea Street. David had served on the Home Front with the Royal Irish Rifles between September 1914 and June 1916, and David and Ellen were living at 42 Foyle Street when their son died. Thomas had married Margaret Berry on 24th December 1934 at St Anne’s Church of Ireland Cathedral, and they had two daughters and a son. Margaret Faulkner died at 50 Foyle Street on 6th April 1961, aged 59.
Rifleman William John Rice was serving with 2nd Battalion Royal Ulster Rifles (Army Number 7011646) when he died on 9th June 1944 and is buried in the Cambes-en-Plaine War Cemetery in France. William was born on 24th October 1915 at Broom Street to Joseph Rice and Mary Rice (nee McIlroy). He was in the army and his home address was 56 Foyle Street when he married Jane Brownlee, a rover from Raleigh Street, on 19th December 1942 at St Mary’s Church of Ireland, Crumlin Road. Jane and their daughter, Kathleen, were living at 31 Arkwright Street when William died.
Corporal Frederick Murdock enlisted with the Royal Ulster Rifles (Army Number 7010813) was serving with 2nd Battalion when he was awarded the General Service Medal with “Palestine” clasp in June 1940. He was serving as a Signalman with 6th Battalion Royal Welch Fusiliers when he was Killed in Action on 25th September 1944, aged 33, and is buried in the Reusel Roman Catholic Cemetery in The Netherlands. Frederick was born on 4th January 1911 at Foyle Street to Robert Murdock and Margaret Murdock (nee Patterson) who were living at 60 Foyle Street when their son died. Frederick had married Violet Young on 21st December 1936 at St Mary’s Church of Ireland, Crumlin Road. She was living at 23 Woodford Street with three young sons (Jim, Fred, and Billy) when her husband died.
The fourth name under “Army” is Private Hill but, as the initial is unclear, it has not been possible to definitively identify the associated fatality details. Miss Hill was the occupant at 38 Foyle Street in the 1939 and 1943 street directories.
Rifleman Albert Conn Shaw was serving with 1st Battalion Royal Ulster Rifles when he was Killed in Action on 13th April 1945, aged 22, and is buried in the Becklingen War Cemetery in Germany. Albert Shaw was born on 4th January 1923 to John Shaw and Sophia Shaw (nee Stewart) who were living at 25 Foyle Street when their son died. He had married Grace Caldwell on 3rd November 1941 at St Anne’s Church of Ireland Cathedral, and she was living at 31 Mersey Street with their son, Alan, when her husband died.
Robert John Frazer was living in Surrey when he enlisted with the Welsh Guards (Army Number 2738288) and was serving with 3rd Battalion when he died on 22nd May 1945 and is buried in the Rome War Cemetery. Robert was born on 9th January 1921 at Fortingale Street to Thomas Frazer and Jane Frazer (nee Nevin) who lived at 46 Foyle Street from the mid-1920s until at least 1939. Five of their children died in infancy between February 1925 and November 1936.
ROYAL AIR FORCE
Francis Dermott Byrne enlisted with the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (Number 1123766) around 1940 and was a Flight Sergeant with 1654 Heavy Conversion Unit when he died on 5th February 1945, aged 23. He was the Wireless Operator on an Avro Lancaster aircraft from RAF Wigsley, which crashed in unknown circumstances during a cross-country navigation exercise. The eight-man crew were all killed and are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial in Surrey. Francis was born on 4th April 1921 at the Belfast Maternity Unit to Patrick Byrne, a storeman, and Mary Agnes Byrne (nee Matthews), whose home address was 6 Foyle Street. Mary Agnes Byrne had died at 6 Foyle Street on 11th April 1941.
Nigel Henderson, History Hub Ulster Researcher