Henry Hughes

Rank:	Private
Street:	Little Water Street
Townland:
Town/Village:	Longford
Civil Parish:	Templemichael
Catholic Parish:	Templemichael
Country:
Alternative Address:	Great Water Street, Longford; Legion Terrace, Longford (likely)
Census 1901:
Census 1911:	Resident at Great Water Street, Longford www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Longford/Longford_No__1_Urban/Great_Water_Street/651365/
Regiment/Unit:	Royal Defence Corps; [Leinster Regiment, 3rd Regiment]
Regiment Number:	89048; [3/5278]
Date of Death:	09-03-1939
Cause:	Survived WW1
Memorial:	Ballymacormack Cemetery, Longford, Co. Longford.
Information:	Henry Jr. was born 23 September 1878 on Little Water Street, the son of Henry Hughes and his first wife Jane (née Kidney). Henry, like his father, was a long-time employee of the Midland & Great Western Railway (MGWR), later the Great Southern Railways (GSR). He joined in October 1903 and worked as a whitewasher among other tasks. Henry's railway employment record (ancestry.com, paid subscription site) noted that he left the MGWR to enslist for war service on the 10 Jan 1916. He left the army and returned to the railway on the 6 Jun 1919. During the WW1, Henry served with the Leinster Regiment and the Royal Defence Corps. At least two of his brothers, William and Patrick Hughes also served in the Great War. Henry married Bridget McNally in St. Mel's Cathedral on 3 February 1911. He left the employ of the GSR in September 1938, citing ill health. It is believed that this Henry Hughes is the same Henry Hughes of Legion Terrace, who died on 9 March 1939. An obituary in the Longford Leader states that Henry served in the 2nd Boer War, as well as World War 1. Henry's wife, Bridget, died four years earlier, on the 28 Feb 1935, a notice in the Leader also noted that he was a member of the Irish National Foresters.
Parents Names:	Son of Henry Hughes & Mary Jane (née Kidney), Little Water Street, Longford
Notes:	Many thanks to Mark Hughes and the extended Hughes family for the following information: William and Patrick were Henry's half-brothers. Henry Jr was the son of Henry Sr.'s first wife. A relative of his, Pte William A. Hughes was one of the Irish soldiers involved at the Siege of Jadotville, which took place in 1961: http://archive.irishnewsarchive.com/Olive/APA/INA.Edu/SharedView.Article.aspx?href=LOL%2F1961%2F11%2F11&id=Ar00117&sk=6843549C
Links:	link to Civil Record of birth; link to Civil Record of marriage; link to probable Civil Record of Death (please ensure web address ends in .pdf); probable Obituary, Longford Leader, 18 Mar 1939;