211387 Gnr. Thomas Joseph Hussey British Army Royal Garrison Artillery from:Co. Westmeath, Ireland My Grandfather, Thomas J Hussey, served in the Royal Garrison Artillery in World War One. I don't know too much about his service. He was from outside Mullingar, Co. Westmeath, Ireland. He was long dead before I was born. I have his medals, (the British war medal and the Victory Medal). He was 39 and single when he joined up. Apparently he used to talk about serving in 'France and Flanders'. He had an old shell case that he brought home also, which we don't have any more. I have a photocopy of a letter that he sent home in 1916 to a neighbour. I know he also served in the East in the Palestine campaign and possibly Egypt or Mesopotamia and was in Jerusalem in 1917 when the British took it from the Turks. He served mass for the Chaplain on Christmas Day 1917 and the Chaplain asked him to guess his name, 'Joe' as he was known, guessed it correctly as Murphy and the Priest told him that he would go home safely from the war, and he did. He married and had 5 children and worked in a saw mills for years and as a farmer also. He passed away in September 1951. Unfortunately I don't have any photos of him.
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