George Thompson Boyd

Rank:	Sergeant
Street:
Townland:	Kilmore Lower
Town/Village:	Cloondara
Civil Parish:	Clongesh
Catholic Parish:	Clonguish
Country:
Alternative Address:	Moira, Co. Down; Dromore, Co. Down
Census 1901:	Resident at Kilmore, Co. Longford www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Longford/Cloondara/Kilmore_Lower/1553484/
Census 1911:	Stationed at the Moira RIC Barracks, Carnalbanagh, Co. Down. www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Down/Moira/Carnalbanagh_East/252106/
Regiment/Unit:	Royal Irish Rifles, 22nd Entrenching Battalion; [11/13th Battalion];
Regiment Number:	20/13;
Date of Death:	28-03-1918
Cause:	Killed in action, (Guillaucourt), France
Memorial:	Pozieres Memorial, Pozieres, Somme, Picardy, France.
Information:	George Thompson Boyd was born 23 November 1886 in Kilmore, Longford, one of at least eight children. His father, William, was a farmer. George's parents had died when he was quite young: his mother in 1897 and his father in 1910. George joined the Royal Irish Constabulary (No 62615) in Longford on 11 May 1907 and was posted to Co Down on 7 June 1908. In 1911, George was stationed in Moira, Co Down in the census of that year, he is shown as a Constable with another constable and a sergeant. He was then transferred to Dromore, Co Down in 1915. It was here that George enlisted in mid-November 1915 after a recruiting rally in Dromore, but was not deployed to the front until the end of 1915/1916. George was initally attached to the 11/13th Royal Irish Rifles. In February 1918, when the 11/13th was disbanded, men and officers such as George from this battalion formed the 22nd Entrenching Battalion, who were attached to the 50th (Northumberland) Division. They were initially tasked with digging cable trenches, however by the the German Spring Offensive began, they were without their Lewis Guns for defence. On the 24 March the battalion were sent to dig a defensive line from Rainecourt to Rosieres. It is likely George died in a surprise offensive on the 50th Division on the 27/28 March.
Parents Names:	Son of William Boyd and his wife Eliza (née Thompson), Kilmore, Co. Longford
Notes:	He is recorded in his enlistment papers as being born in Dromore, Co. Down but as this was where he enlisted it may have been an error. Elizabeth Boyd died in November 1897 and William Boyd passed away in December 1910.
Links:	Link to CWGC entry; Link to Civil Record of birth; Link to Irish Calendar of Wills;