237114 L/Cpl. William Meehan British Army 6th Btn. Royal Irish Regiment from:Killenaule (d.16th Dec 1916) My grandfather William Meehan, was serving in the 6th Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment when he was killed in December 1916. In October 1916, the battalion was moved from the Somme area in France to positions south west of Ypres. Their camp was on the Kemmel-Poperinge road near La Clytte. They remained in that area until mid March 1917. According to the official history, they were in "brigade reserve" and "the routine was four days in front line trenches, four days in support line and eight days in reserve". My grandfather was 1 of 3 officers and 14 men killed during the period October 1916 to March 1917.
According to another historical document I have on the RIR war dead, my grandfather was killed in action on 16th of December 1916. He enlisted in Clonmel but I don't know when. He is buried in Pond Farm Cemetery which makes sense given the location of the 6th Battalion in December 1916. I've not yet had any luck in locating the official war diaries of the 6th Battalion for December 1916. If and when I do, I think there's a good chance of finding out how he died.
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