Beatty, William John
Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE)
Major
Royal Army Service Corps attached 4th Army Heavy Artillery
Died of disease on Monday 10 February 1919 (aged 30)
Buried:
Charleroi Communal Cemetery, Hainaut, Belgium (Grave S. 9)
Commemorated:
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Holywood Masonic Lodge No. 254
North of Ireland Cricket Club Memorial Plaque (includes those members of the Club who played Rugby Football)
BIOGRAPHY
William John Beatty was born on 23 October 1888 in High Street, Holywood and he was a son of George Beatty (born in County Cavan) and Ellen Elizabeth Beatty (nee Dinsmore, born in County Armagh) who were married on 15 September 1885 in St James’s Parish Church of Ireland Church, Dublin. George Beatty was an Acting Sergeant in the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) stationed at The Depot, Phoenix Park, Dublin and he was a son of John Beatty, a farmer. Ellen Elizabeth Dinsmore aged 19 from County Armagh was a daughter of William John Dinsmore, a farmer.
In 1901 the Beatty family lived at 46 Church View, Holywood and in 1911 at 21 University Street, Belfast.
George Beatty was an RIC Sergeant stationed in Holywood and, after he retired from the RIC in the 1890s, he worked as a rate collector.
George and Ellen Beatty had seven children:
Jane Elizabeth (born 25 September 1886 in High Street, Holywood)
William John (born 23 October 1888 in High Street, Holywood)
Maud Eleanor (born 1 October 1890 in High Street, Holywood)
George Robert (born 22 March 1892 in High Street, Holywood)
Alfred Henry (born 2 June 1894 in High Street, Holywood)
Eileen (born 22 March 1898 in Church View, Holywood)
Clara Emma (born 12 February 1907 at 15 Chichester Street, Belfast)
William John Beatty played rugby for the North of Ireland Football Club and he won three international caps playing as a prop for Ireland between 1910 and 1912 (two against France and one against Wales).
William John Beatty was a member of Holywood Masonic Lodge No. 254.
William John Beatty was the husband of Vivienne G. Beatty who lived in Chelsea, London.
During the First World War, William John Beatty OBE served as a Major in the Royal Army Service Corps and he was 30 when he died on 10 February 1919.
He died at the 20th Casualty Clearing Station, Chaleroi as a result of pneumonia following war wounds
Major William John Beatty OBE was buried in Charleroi Communal Cemetery, Hainaut, Belgium and he is commemorated in Holywood Masonic Lodge No. 254 and on the North of Ireland Cricket Club Memorial Plaque (includes those members of the Club who played Rugby Football).
[The North of Ireland Football Club (members played Rugby Football as opposed to Soccer) was founded by members of the North of Ireland Cricket Club and the North of Ireland Cricket Club Memorial Plaque commemorates members of both Clubs. Members of the Football Club were also members of the Cricket Club but not all members of the Cricket Club were members of the Football Club.]