Francis Bennett

Rank:	Private
Street:	Quay Street
Townland:
Town/Village:	Westport, Co. Mayo
Civil Parish:
Catholic Parish:
Country:
Alternative Address:	Co. Longford
Census 1901:	Resident at Quay Street, Mayo www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Mayo/Westport_Urban/Quay_Street_New/1608062/
Census 1911:
Regiment/Unit:	Connaught Rangers, 6th (Service) Battalion; [3rd Battalion]
Regiment Number:	3/4008
Date of Death:	06-08-1917
Cause:	Died of wounds
Memorial:	Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium & Mayo Peace Park and Garden of Remembrance
Information:	Francis was born in Co. Longford in 1889, although later records suggest that he was born in Co. Mayo. His family moved to Westport, Co. Mayo in c.1894. In 1901 Francis was recorded as working as a messenger in Westport. At the time his mother appears to have been working in Glasgow, and she is listed as his next-of-kin on his will and Francis is noted to have resided in Glasgow. Pte Bennett enlisted with the 3rd Connaught Rangers in Westport, Co. Mayo, before being transferred to the 2nd Battalion. He went to the front after September 1914. By 1917 he was serving with the 6th (Service) Battalion, when he was wounded in action, likely in the 3rd Battle of Ypres, and subsequently succumbed to his wounds, likely at the casualty clearing station/hospital in Lijssenthoek. Francis is also remembered on the WW1 memorial in the Mayo Peace Park and Garden of Remembrance in Castlebar.
Parents Names:	Son of Patrick Bennett, Quay Street, Westport, Co. Mayo and Mary Bennett, Princes Street, Govan, Glasgow, Scotland
Notes:	Princes Street, Govan now appears to be known as Vicarfield Street.
Links:	Link to CWGC entry; link to soldier's will; discussion on Invision Zone forum; link to Dependent's Pension Index, Fold 3 (paid subscription site);