10 replies to this topic

[Airshipped]

Hi,
I'm just wondering if anyone has more information on the the above two gentlemen?

I've seen Usborne recorded as "Osborne" on the Earl of Ypres' "Ireland's War Memorials". I gather Usborne's wife re-married and that her son became a decorated WWII pilot.

I also gather that Usborne and de Courcy Ireland were both distantly related to the Irish ace, Conn Standish O'Grady. It's this aspect which interests me, so if anyone has further information I'd be grateful. (I've already extensive detail on Usborne's naval career via the ADM files from the UK National Archives, i.e. the military aspect of these aviators' careers is plentiful, but I'm finding their relationship to Ireland a complex one and so would love to see more re their families).

[HERITAGE PLUS]

It looks like Usborne's connection to Ireland is linked to his fathers career.

http://www.usbornefa...neville1883.htm

Click the 'father' button this site for details of his father George.

Dave

[Peter Mc]

De Courcy Ireland - Was it William or Wyndor? Wyndor Plunkett de Courcy Ireland died 21 Feb 1916, he may - I have not investigated further - have been related to Plunkett deCourcy Ireland, County Inspector RIC who died 1891, late of Dalkey and Borrisokane.
I'd be interested in what you find.

[Airshipped]

Peter Mc, on 22 April 2012 - 08:25 AM, said:

De Courcy Ireland - Was it William or Wyndor? Wyndor Plunkett de Courcy Ireland died 21 Feb 1916, he may - I have not investigated further - have been related to Plunkett deCourcy Ireland, County Inspector RIC who died 1891, late of Dalkey and Borrisokane.
I'd be interested in what you find.

Thanks for the information,

From the information to hand the full name would appear to have been William Wyndor Plunkett de Courcy Ireland.

I can obtain much of his service history through digitized copies of his records ...

http://www.nationala...=1&mediaarray=*

... but I'm finding it hard to track down the details of his family connection to Ireland. I'll try to trace the Tipperary link. (I gather there were a number of prominent intermarried Anglo-Irish Plunkett/O'Grady/de Courcy families in the Limerick area, so the road to Tipperary would be a logical one).

Btw his full service record is recorded as ADM 273/2/27, which has not yet been digitized. It may well trace changes of detail for next-of-kin over the years.

The next-of-kin for the chap is muddied by his marriage to Myrtle Susan Lloyd, who in the Irish Census 1911, was still single and from Wexford but visiting the Nappers of Meath, grr:

http://www.census.na...s/nai003084750/

It would be really interesting if the link to Tipperary could be established, as there are a number of prominent families there who deserve a encyclopedia to themselves, let alone the small mention in some modest historical research I'd hope to complete. Certainly there's plenty of evidence that "by 1906 the representatives of de Courcy P Ireland were occupying MertonHall"

http://landedestates...show.jsp?id=470

Thanks for the info.

[Jonathan Saunders]

By a strange coincidence I was at Woodlands Cemetery this morning photographing some graves for other GWF pals and also took photos of the graves of Usborne and de Courcy Ireland with a view to seeing what information I could find.

Let me know if you would like photos of the headstones, which are rather nice and the same for both men, otherwise possibly unique headstones.

Regards,

Jonathan S

[Jonathan Saunders]

Airshipped, on 22 April 2012 - 01:56 PM, said:

It would be really interesting if the link to Tipperary could be established ...

Not conclusive but I found the briefest of information concerning de Courcy Ireland in a local (Medway) newspaper of which the opening sentence states "Squadron Commander Ireland belonged to County Tipperary, and was 31 years of age."

Regards,

Jonathan S

[Jonathan Saunders]

Airshipped, on 15 April 2012 - 05:43 PM, said:

I'm just wondering if anyone has more information on the the above two gentlemen?

Still on the trail of Usborne and de Courcy Ireland, I found out today that Usborne's wife, Helen Montieth Hamilton, was niece of Sir Ian Hamilton of "All you have to do is Dig, Dig, Dig" fame.  A tenuous WW1 link ...

Regards,

Jonathan S

[Moriaty]

Usborne's wife was actually Elizabeth (Betty) Monteith Hamilton rather than Helen, her father was Vereker Monteith Hamilton, an artist and younger brother of General Sir Ian Hamilton.

[Jonathan Saunders]

Apparently christened Elizabeth Helen Monteith Hamilton.  Thanks for the correction.

Regards,

Jonathan S

[Airshipped]

I'd lost my login details for this forum, so am just back now in the online equivalent of the land of the living. Some excellent links there, thanks for the additional pointers for further research. I'll post on this again with what I have found on this pair of very interesting gentlemen.

[Jonathan Saunders]

Look forward to the updates from Airshipped's findings.