George (John George) Molloy

John George was born in Lawrencetown, Co. Galway c.1886, the son of John Molloy a former R.I.C Constable.

Pte Molloy served in France and Belgium. In an interview with the Longford Leader printed on the 16 October 1915 Molloy states that he enlisted to avenge the death of his brother Robert (Irish Guards, 1545), in 1914. He describes life at the Front, as well as his "narrowest shave" in the vicinity of La Bassée. He fought at the 1st battle of Ypres with nearly 1500 others from his regiment, and was the only Irishman out of 185 to survive (link below). He was engaged in other battles, including at Hill 60 and in setting mines under German trenches. Molloy was wounded by a piece of wooden shrapnel on the 28 July and recuperated in Bologne and later Birmingham; he kept the piece of wood as a memento. 

John's brother Robert, served in WW1 with the Irish Guards, but was sadly one of the first local fatalities of the war. It appears that his cousin Patrick, who also served in the Kings Royal Rifle Corps (No. 5990), before joining the Royal Engineers. enlisted at the same time as John; a P. Molloy gave an account of his first months in the war, noting his cousins' service, in the Longford Leader. 

Longford Leader, Eight Months in the Firing Line, Sept 1915; Longford Leader, Ten Months in the Firing Line, 16 Oct 1915;