John Ryan
Memorial: Hanham Abbots - The Church of St George
Regiment: Royal Irish Regiment
Medals: 1914–15 Star, British War Medal, Next of Kin Memorial Plaque 1914 - 1921, Victory Medal
Rank and number: Private (No. 6795)
Parents: Unknown
Marital status: Single
Home address: Home Address: Freshford, County Kilkenny, Ireland. Lived: Conham Hill, Hanham (1911 Census)
Pre-war occupation: Farm Labourer
Date of birth: 1881
Place of birth: Freshford, County Kilkenny, Ireland
Date of death: 24/05/1915
Buried/Commemorated at: No know grave – commemorated on the Ploegsteert Memorial, Belgium
Age: 34
Further information:
The army records for John Ryan are muddled and confusing. There were two John Ryans serving in the Royal Irish Regiment with the number 6795 (different Battalions for the same Regiment had their own numbering system). The other John Ryan survived the war and lived in Ireland. The Soldiers Died entry states John enlisted in Kilkenny, and I assume he had returned to Ireland from Hanham.
A pension annuity card states John's mother to be Catherine Ryan who lived in Hanham Mills, but she died in 1918. There is a note on the card that the details may relate to another soldier, but his name was James Joseph Ryan, (survived) the information on the card seems to match this John. A later pension annuity card shows the benefit being paid to a William Ryan who lived at 250 Causeway, Fishponds (the connection to John is unknown)
The 1911 Census shows John (recorded as born Freshford) as the head of the household living on Conham Hill together with his brother James, nephew John and mother who was just stated as Mrs Ryan (born 1859). The Catherine who died in 1918 is recorded as having been born in 1859, and this was probably John's mother (unproven).
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Findmypast (Soldiers Died during the Great War, 1901 & 1911 Census etc), Volunteer Researcher John Davis.