Finlay, Robert John (Robert)
Rifleman
No. 3528, 8th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles
Killed in action on Saturday 1 July 1916 (aged 38)
No known grave
Commemorated:
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Thiepval Memorial, France (Pier and Face 15 A and 15 B)
BIOGRAPHY
In the Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914 – 1919 database it is recorded that Rifleman Robert John Finlay (No. 3528) was born in Newtownards and enlisted in Belfast.
Rifleman Robert John Finlay served with the 8th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles in 107th Brigade of the 36th (Ulster) Division and initially he was reported as missing in action after the first day of the Battle of the Somme. Later it was officially confirmed that he must be presumed to have been killed in action. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial in France.
In military records, it is noted that his sole legatee was his widow, Ellen.
Robert John Finlay aged 37, a soldier from 80 Island Street, Belfast and a son of William Finlay, a labourer, married Ellen Lewis on 25 February 1915 in St Patrick’s Church of Ireland Church, Ballymacarrett, Belfast. Ellen Lewis from 80 Island Street, Belfast was a daughter of William Lewis, a labourer.