John McGee

John McGee

Male 1893 - 1917  (24 years)

Personal Information    |    Media    |    Notes    |    Sources    |    Event Map    |    All    |    PDF

  • Name John McGee 
    Birth 28 Jun 1893  Slieve Gullion Townland, Forkhill, County Armagh, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 2
    Address:
    Longfield Road, Slieve Gullion townland, Forkhill, Newry, County 
    • Present at Birth was "Annie Boyle-aunt". Anne Boyle (b1867) was a sister of the child's mother.
      Birth registered in Forkhill on 10 Jul 1893.
    Gender Male 
    Military Enlistment 3 Sep 1914  Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. Find all individuals with events at this location  [3
    • Prior to 1974 Birkenhead was in the county of Cheshire. The Local Government Act of 1972 caused Birkenhead to lose its county borough status and is now part of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in the metropolitan county of Merseyside.
    Death 13 Jul 1917  Salonika (Thessaloniki), Macedonia, Greece Find all individuals with events at this location  [4
    Age: 23y 
    Address:
    Doiran, Salonika, Thessaloniki, Greece 
    • Missing-in action July 1917 during the Battles of Doiran. On 09 Sep 1917 the War Office confirmed John's death on or after 13 Jul 1917.
    Person ID I475  Hannaway
    Last Modified 13 Nov 2023 

    Father James McGee,   b. Abt 1846, County Down, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 14 Mar 1918, County Armagh, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location (Age ~ 72 years) 
    Mother Mary Boyle,   b. Jun 1863, Slieve Gullion Townland, Forkhill, County Armagh, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 17 Apr 1946, Slieve Gullion Townland, Forkhill, County Armagh, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location (Age ~ 82 years) 
    Marriage 10 Jan 1882  Mullaghban, Newry, County Armagh, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location  [5
    Address:
    Mullaghban RC Church, Mullaghban, Newry, County Armagh, Ireland 
    • Bride & groom's residence was registered as Aughadanove (townland) but is in fact Slieve Gullion townland- see their 1901 & 1911 census. This residence anomally is identical to John & Hugh Hannaway.
      Witnesses: Patrick Boyle & Kate Grogan.
      Witness Role: Best man Name: Patrick Boyle
      Witness Role: Bridesmaid Name: Kate Grogan
    Family ID F166  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBirth - Address:
    Longfield Road, Slieve Gullion townland, Forkhill, Newry, County - 28 Jun 1893 - Slieve Gullion Townland, Forkhill, County Armagh, Ireland
    Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsMilitary Enlistment - 3 Sep 1914 - Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDeath - Age: 23y,Address:
    Doiran, Salonika, Thessaloniki, Greece - 13 Jul 1917 - Salonika (Thessaloniki), Macedonia, Greece
    Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 

  • Photos
    McGee,John_WW1 CWGMemCertificate
    McGee,John_WW1 CWGMemCertificate
    Johm McGee - certificate of Remembrance the Doiran memorial, Macedonia/Greece. John's name is inscribed - being one of the 2,171 soldiers missing in the battles on the Macedonian front in 1917. © Ancestry.com. British Army WWI Service Records, 1914-1920
    Keywords: Picture
    McGee,John(James)_1893Birth
    McGee,John(James)_1893Birth
    John McGee/Magee - birth registration 28 Jun 1893. Present at Birth was "Annie Boyle-aunt". Anne Boyle (b1867) was a sister of the child's mother - Mary Boyle. © https://www.irishgenealogy.ie - Civil Registers of Births, Marriages and Deaths & Church Records
    Keywords: Picture
    McGee, James, Slieve Gullion townland - 1901 census
    McGee, James, Slieve Gullion townland - 1901 census
    James McGee & Mary Boyle family, Slieve Gullion townland - 1901 census. Bridget aged 14 is missing, however in this census Bridget is found as a Domestic Servant in Banbridge, Co Down (see Bridget's page and records here). James (aged 16) is a Farm Servant for the Acheson family in Killycarn Upper, Mountnorris (9 miles north-west of Newry). Also Patrick (aged 18) is found in Glen, Co Down working as a farm servant. © AskAboutIreland and the Cultural Heritage Project; http://www.askaboutireland.ie
    Keywords: Picture
    McGee,John_WW1RecordsServ
    McGee,John_WW1RecordsServ
    John McGee - Statement of Service confirming his enlistment in Birkenhead into Cheshire Regt on " 3.9.14"; various postings - the last is "Mediterranean Exp Force 28 - OCT 1915" to the Dardanelles. Followed by "Missing believed killed 13.7.17" - killed in the battles around Doiran. © Ancestry.com. British Army WWI Service Records, 1914-1920
    Keywords: Picture
    McGee,John_WW1Records_a
    McGee,John_WW1Records_a
    John McGee - 2 pages from his WW1 record. The LH page was written up in 1920 after John had been killed in action. It lists his parents (father deceased) and siblings and signed by John's mother Mary McGee (née Boyle). On the reverse is a letter requesting details of the family for the provision of a plaque and a scroll for soldiers killed. The details had to be witnessed and signed by a J.P. thus Patrick Rice, a farmer in Shanroe, duly signed to vouch for Mary's details. Patrick Rice also had a grocery shop in Mullaghban. The RH page records: enlistment into the Cheshire Regt in Birkenhead 3.9.14; medals awarded (1914-15 Star and Victory Medal) and NOK names & address. © Ancestry.com. British Army WWI Service Records, 1914-1920
    Keywords: Picture
    McGee,John_WW1Records_b
    McGee,John_WW1Records_b
    John McGee - 2 pages from his WW1 record. The LH page is a War Office letter of Sept 1918 confirming John's death on or after 13 Jul 1917. RH page notes that John's effects should be despatched to his mother Mary McGee in Adanove. © Ancestry.com. British Army WWI Service Records, 1914-1920
    Keywords: Picture
    McGee,John_WW1Records6&7_medals_1920
    McGee,John_WW1Records6&7_medals_1920
    Receipts for WW1 medals awarded to the late Private John MGee. Upper: the 1914/15 Star, lower: British War Medal. John's mother Mary (Boyle) signed both and had to complete his regimental details on the upper receipt. Usually the war medals were collected from the local Post Office (PO) - in this case Mary McGee would have to go to Mullaghban PO. © Ancestry.com. British Army WWI Service Records, 1914-1920
    Keywords: Picture
    McGee,John_WW1_AuntsUncles_trancript_web
    McGee,John_WW1_AuntsUncles_trancript_web
    The page on the left (Army Form W. 5080) was written up in 1920 after John had been killed in action. It lists his parents (father deceased) and siblings and is signed by John's mother Mary McGee (née Boyle). On the right is a transcription of Mary's entries. It shows John's family, close relatives and where they were living in 1920 when Mary had to complete yet another Army form….. (Mary Boyle did not list her son Anthony. Also space on the form allowed room for only 3 of John's many "Nephews & nieces").

    Media Date: 20 AUG 2021
    Keywords: Picture

  • Notes 
    • John McGee was born on 28 Jun 1893 in the townland of Slieve Gullion, Forkhill, Co Armagh. John was the seventh of 13 children born to James McGee and Mary Boyle-one of the 5 Boyle sisters, as they were known locally. All 13 of James and Mary McGee's children were surviving at the 1911 census. However Owen, the youngest died in 1913 aged 6.
      The family home was difficult to access; there was no direct lane (loanin’) from the road (Longfield Road). Their home is at an altitude is 276 meters (900 feet), its location is: 54° 7'19.86"N 6°26'56.39"W. Like the Hannaway's the McGee's stated on official records (marriage/births) they were from Aughdanove townland. However they lived in Slieve Gullion townland - bordering Aughadanove - through which they would access the road (Longfield Road).
      John’s father, James McGee, had a brother Michael who married into the adjoining farm.
      In rural Ireland there were often several families with the same surname in the locality. So a nickname/moniker was used to identify the family in question. James McGee was known as “Hanging Dresser” McGee. His brother Michael and family were known as the "Bockee McGee's".
      After moving to England John enlisted in the 12th Battalion, Cheshire Regiment in Birkenhead on 3 Sep 1914 - with the service No 13793 (his Army Form B103).
      The 12th (Service) Battalion, Cheshire Regiment was officially raised in Chester on the 13th of September 1914 as part of Kitchener's Second New Army and joined 22nd Division as army troops. They trained at Seaford, spending the winter in billets in Eastbourne.
      In February 1915 they transferred to 66th Brigade, still with 22nd Division. They moved to Aldershot for final training in June and proceeded to France on the 6th of September, landing at Boulogne, the division concentrating near Flesselles. John's service history shows he embarked with the Expeditionary Force to France on 6 Sep 1915. John's service history then shows that six weeks later the battalion joined the Mediterranean Exp. Force.
      In October 1915 they moved to Marseilles by train and embarked for Salonika on the 27th Oct. The 67th Brigade, 9th Borders, 68th Field Ambulance and the Advanced Divisional HQ saw their first action in the second week of December in the Retreat from Serbia.
      In 1916 the division fought in the Battle of Horseshoe Hill and Battle of Machukovo. On 29 Oct 1916 John McGee (Regt No 13793) in C Company of 12th (Service) Battalion, received shrapnel wounds "(right) hand and arm (right)". John was transferred to hospital by No28 Clearing Station (Nat'l Archives Ref. MH106/132-medical records of 66th Field Ambulance).
      John was again wounded on 14 Dec 1916. (Nat'l Archives Ref. DT15121916).
      In 1917 they were in action during the Battles of Doiran. John was reported “Missing believed killed” on 13 July 1917, during the 2nd Battle of Doiran in the area of Salonika, northern Greece (04 Aug 1917-War Office Daily List No.5329)(Nat'l Archves Ref. NLS 1917_WList01). He is remembered on the Doiran Memorial and John McGee's name can be found on the west face of the Memorial: column 3, No 27.
      He was awarded the 1914/15 Star (or Mons Star), the British War Medal and the Victory medal. These were posthumously sent to his mother in county Armagh.
      John McGee now has a remembrance page on the Imperial War Museum's web site at:
      https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/story/112017
      (When the website opens click "More about John McGee" at the bottom of the page and select any of the Information icons. Microsoft Edge browser may stop at the Home page, so click "Life Stories" or John McGee is the second entry).




  • Sources 
    1. [S76] Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs ., irishgenealogy.ie, Civil Registers of Births, Marriages and Deaths & Church Records (Reliability: 3).
      Birth registered in Forkhill on 10 Jul 1893.

    2. [S184] 1901 Census - Ireland, (http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/).

    3. [S89] Ancestry.com. British Army WWI Service Records, 1914-1920, The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO).
      Regt No: 13793 (see media copy " General Service Attestation"-form B.111.)

    4. [S89] Ancestry.com. British Army WWI Service Records, 1914-1920, See images of John's military records "Media" (Reliability: 3).

    5. [S25] Northern Ireland GRO Records, Belfast, (https://geni.nidirect.gov.uk/), Marriage certificate, Mullaghbawn RC Church, Co Armagh. (Reliability: 3).
      Bride & groom's residence was registered as Aughadanove (townland) but is in fact Slieve Gullion townland- see their 1901 & 1911 census. This residence anomally is identical to John & Hugh Hannaway.