My great-uncle John Joseph Tague Jr. of Irish descent was born in Airdrie, Lanark County, Scotland on September 8, 1889 to John J. Tague Sr.(1859-1937) and Margaret Gilmartin(1861-1929). John Jr. was the youngest of 5 living children: Thomas, Michael II, Mary, Anna and Hugh.
John entered the U.K. military during WWI and became a wireless telegraph officer on the Ship
"SS Serula" of the Mercantile Marines out of County Cork.
The SS Serula was a 1,388grt and a defensively-armed British steamship. On the 16 September 1918, 13½ miles NE ½ N from Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire, Wales she was torpedoed without warning by German submarine UB-64 and sunk when on route from Manchester for Rouen with a general cargo. Seventeen lives were lost that day in the Irish Sea off the coast of North Wales.
John Jr. drowned on that day as a result of the attack, September 16, 1918, he was only 19 years old.
He was one of only three crew members remains that were identified.
John's mother Margaret Gilmartin Tague had tried to keep him out of the war by sending him to school to be a telegraph operator. His death was 2 months before the November Armistace Day.
John Jr. is Remembered With Honor on The Airdrie War Memorial with WWI and WWII soldiers and sailors names inscribed.
John is on Panel #4 of the War Memorial.
The inscription reads:
"In memory of the men of Airdrie who gave their lives for their country in the Great War 1914 - 1919."
(Panel 4, Tague John J.)
Commemorated in perpetuity by
the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: Against West boundary.
Cemetery: ABERFFRAW (ST. BEUNO) CHURCHYARD
Country: United Kingdom
Locality: Anglesey
No. of Identified Casualties: 3
bio by Jill
My Ancestor
With the greatest appreciation to Helen, Find A Grave member 47880495 for the photos of Aberffraw Cemetery and the following history.
"In the logbook of the village school it was recorded that following the discovery of the bodies of two Mercantile Marine Servicemen (washed ashore on the beach next to the village) a decision was made to bury the men in the village churchyard.
The funeral service was well attended by members of the village and indeed, the village school was closed for the day to allow teachers and pupils to attend. The Headmaster of the school, Mr Evan Parry, had lost his son, Hugh, six months earlier (he died of wounds received on the Somme and was buried in France).
Perhaps because of this, he was particularly keen that your Great Uncle and his shipmate be honoured for their sacrifice and although they were buried a long way from their homes and families, that their graves were tended regularly.
The children of the village school were encouraged to lay flowers and keep the graves tidy. My next door neighbour is now an elderly lady but she has confirmed that this was a tradition upheld for many years after the end of the war.
The school itself has now unfortunately closed but the tradition is still observed and flowers are placed on the graves on Palm Sunday and also On Remembrance Sunday each November."
Military History
S.S .Serula (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland): World War I: The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Irish Sea 13.5 nautical miles (25.0 km) northeast of Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire by SM UB-64 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of seventeen crew.
SM UB-64 was a German Type UB III submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy (German language: Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 5 August 1917 as SM UB-64.
UB-64 was surrendered to the British on 21 November 1918 in accordance with the requirements of the Armistice with Germany and broken up in Fareham in 1921.[3]
John entered the U.K. military during WWI and became a wireless telegraph officer on the Ship
"SS Serula" of the Mercantile Marines out of County Cork.
The SS Serula was a 1,388grt and a defensively-armed British steamship. On the 16 September 1918, 13½ miles NE ½ N from Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire, Wales she was torpedoed without warning by German submarine UB-64 and sunk when on route from Manchester for Rouen with a general cargo. Seventeen lives were lost that day in the Irish Sea off the coast of North Wales.
John Jr. drowned on that day as a result of the attack, September 16, 1918, he was only 19 years old.
He was one of only three crew members remains that were identified.
John's mother Margaret Gilmartin Tague had tried to keep him out of the war by sending him to school to be a telegraph operator. His death was 2 months before the November Armistace Day.
John Jr. is Remembered With Honor on The Airdrie War Memorial with WWI and WWII soldiers and sailors names inscribed.
John is on Panel #4 of the War Memorial.
The inscription reads:
"In memory of the men of Airdrie who gave their lives for their country in the Great War 1914 - 1919."
(Panel 4, Tague John J.)
Commemorated in perpetuity by
the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: Against West boundary.
Cemetery: ABERFFRAW (ST. BEUNO) CHURCHYARD
Country: United Kingdom
Locality: Anglesey
No. of Identified Casualties: 3
bio by Jill
My Ancestor
With the greatest appreciation to Helen, Find A Grave member 47880495 for the photos of Aberffraw Cemetery and the following history.
"In the logbook of the village school it was recorded that following the discovery of the bodies of two Mercantile Marine Servicemen (washed ashore on the beach next to the village) a decision was made to bury the men in the village churchyard.
The funeral service was well attended by members of the village and indeed, the village school was closed for the day to allow teachers and pupils to attend. The Headmaster of the school, Mr Evan Parry, had lost his son, Hugh, six months earlier (he died of wounds received on the Somme and was buried in France).
Perhaps because of this, he was particularly keen that your Great Uncle and his shipmate be honoured for their sacrifice and although they were buried a long way from their homes and families, that their graves were tended regularly.
The children of the village school were encouraged to lay flowers and keep the graves tidy. My next door neighbour is now an elderly lady but she has confirmed that this was a tradition upheld for many years after the end of the war.
The school itself has now unfortunately closed but the tradition is still observed and flowers are placed on the graves on Palm Sunday and also On Remembrance Sunday each November."
Military History
S.S .Serula (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland): World War I: The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Irish Sea 13.5 nautical miles (25.0 km) northeast of Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire by SM UB-64 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of seventeen crew.
SM UB-64 was a German Type UB III submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy (German language: Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 5 August 1917 as SM UB-64.
UB-64 was surrendered to the British on 21 November 1918 in accordance with the requirements of the Armistice with Germany and broken up in Fareham in 1921.[3]
My great-uncle John Joseph Tague Jr. of Irish descent was born in Airdrie, Lanark County, Scotland on September 8, 1889 to John J. Tague Sr.(1859-1937) and Margaret Gilmartin(1861-1929). John Jr. was the youngest of 5 living children: Thomas, Michael II, Mary, Anna and Hugh.
John entered the U.K. military during WWI and became a wireless telegraph officer on the Ship
"SS Serula" of the Mercantile Marines out of County Cork.
The SS Serula was a 1,388grt and a defensively-armed British steamship. On the 16 September 1918, 13½ miles NE ½ N from Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire, Wales she was torpedoed without warning by German submarine UB-64 and sunk when on route from Manchester for Rouen with a general cargo. Seventeen lives were lost that day in the Irish Sea off the coast of North Wales.
John Jr. drowned on that day as a result of the attack, September 16, 1918, he was only 19 years old.
He was one of only three crew members remains that were identified.
John's mother Margaret Gilmartin Tague had tried to keep him out of the war by sending him to school to be a telegraph operator. His death was 2 months before the November Armistace Day.
John Jr. is Remembered With Honor on The Airdrie War Memorial with WWI and WWII soldiers and sailors names inscribed.
John is on Panel #4 of the War Memorial.
The inscription reads:
"In memory of the men of Airdrie who gave their lives for their country in the Great War 1914 - 1919."
(Panel 4, Tague John J.)
Commemorated in perpetuity by
the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: Against West boundary.
Cemetery: ABERFFRAW (ST. BEUNO) CHURCHYARD
Country: United Kingdom
Locality: Anglesey
No. of Identified Casualties: 3
bio by Jill
My Ancestor
With the greatest appreciation to Helen, Find A Grave member 47880495 for the photos of Aberffraw Cemetery and the following history.
"In the logbook of the village school it was recorded that following the discovery of the bodies of two Mercantile Marine Servicemen (washed ashore on the beach next to the village) a decision was made to bury the men in the village churchyard.
The funeral service was well attended by members of the village and indeed, the village school was closed for the day to allow teachers and pupils to attend. The Headmaster of the school, Mr Evan Parry, had lost his son, Hugh, six months earlier (he died of wounds received on the Somme and was buried in France).
Perhaps because of this, he was particularly keen that your Great Uncle and his shipmate be honoured for their sacrifice and although they were buried a long way from their homes and families, that their graves were tended regularly.
The children of the village school were encouraged to lay flowers and keep the graves tidy. My next door neighbour is now an elderly lady but she has confirmed that this was a tradition upheld for many years after the end of the war.
The school itself has now unfortunately closed but the tradition is still observed and flowers are placed on the graves on Palm Sunday and also On Remembrance Sunday each November."
Military History
S.S .Serula (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland): World War I: The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Irish Sea 13.5 nautical miles (25.0 km) northeast of Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire by SM UB-64 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of seventeen crew.
SM UB-64 was a German Type UB III submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy (German language: Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 5 August 1917 as SM UB-64.
UB-64 was surrendered to the British on 21 November 1918 in accordance with the requirements of the Armistice with Germany and broken up in Fareham in 1921.[3]
John entered the U.K. military during WWI and became a wireless telegraph officer on the Ship
"SS Serula" of the Mercantile Marines out of County Cork.
The SS Serula was a 1,388grt and a defensively-armed British steamship. On the 16 September 1918, 13½ miles NE ½ N from Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire, Wales she was torpedoed without warning by German submarine UB-64 and sunk when on route from Manchester for Rouen with a general cargo. Seventeen lives were lost that day in the Irish Sea off the coast of North Wales.
John Jr. drowned on that day as a result of the attack, September 16, 1918, he was only 19 years old.
He was one of only three crew members remains that were identified.
John's mother Margaret Gilmartin Tague had tried to keep him out of the war by sending him to school to be a telegraph operator. His death was 2 months before the November Armistace Day.
John Jr. is Remembered With Honor on The Airdrie War Memorial with WWI and WWII soldiers and sailors names inscribed.
John is on Panel #4 of the War Memorial.
The inscription reads:
"In memory of the men of Airdrie who gave their lives for their country in the Great War 1914 - 1919."
(Panel 4, Tague John J.)
Commemorated in perpetuity by
the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: Against West boundary.
Cemetery: ABERFFRAW (ST. BEUNO) CHURCHYARD
Country: United Kingdom
Locality: Anglesey
No. of Identified Casualties: 3
bio by Jill
My Ancestor
With the greatest appreciation to Helen, Find A Grave member 47880495 for the photos of Aberffraw Cemetery and the following history.
"In the logbook of the village school it was recorded that following the discovery of the bodies of two Mercantile Marine Servicemen (washed ashore on the beach next to the village) a decision was made to bury the men in the village churchyard.
The funeral service was well attended by members of the village and indeed, the village school was closed for the day to allow teachers and pupils to attend. The Headmaster of the school, Mr Evan Parry, had lost his son, Hugh, six months earlier (he died of wounds received on the Somme and was buried in France).
Perhaps because of this, he was particularly keen that your Great Uncle and his shipmate be honoured for their sacrifice and although they were buried a long way from their homes and families, that their graves were tended regularly.
The children of the village school were encouraged to lay flowers and keep the graves tidy. My next door neighbour is now an elderly lady but she has confirmed that this was a tradition upheld for many years after the end of the war.
The school itself has now unfortunately closed but the tradition is still observed and flowers are placed on the graves on Palm Sunday and also On Remembrance Sunday each November."
Military History
S.S .Serula (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland): World War I: The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Irish Sea 13.5 nautical miles (25.0 km) northeast of Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire by SM UB-64 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of seventeen crew.
SM UB-64 was a German Type UB III submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy (German language: Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 5 August 1917 as SM UB-64.
UB-64 was surrendered to the British on 21 November 1918 in accordance with the requirements of the Armistice with Germany and broken up in Fareham in 1921.[3]
Inscription
Wireless Operator
J. Tague
SS Serula
16th Sept 1918
Gravesite Details
Inscription on Aidrie Memorial - In Memory of Wireless Telegraph Operator JOHN TAGUE
