Heaney, Edward
Private
No. T4/088228, Royal Army Service Corps, transferred to
No. 30501, 11th Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment
Killed in action on Thursday 5 September 1918 (aged 22)
No known grave
Commemorated:
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Ploegsteert Memorial, Belgium (Panel 5 and 6)
Helen’s Bay Presbyterian Church
BIOGRAPHY
In some records his surname is spelt Heany.
Edward Heaney was born on 4 September 1896 in Crawfordsburn and he was a son of Robert and Annie Heaney (nee Doris).
Robert Heaney worked as a general labourer and he and Annie had at least 13 children including:
James (born around 1886/1887)
Eliza (Lizzie, born 9 June 1888 in Ballyvernon)
Margaret (Maggie, born 8 August 1893 in Ballyvernon)
Edward (born 4 September 1896 in Crawfordsburn)
Edward Heaney enlisted in Belfast and he served with the Royal Army Service Corps (No. T4/088228).
[The Army Service Corps received the Royal prefix in 1918.]
Subsequently he was transferred to the East Lancashire Regiment and he was 22 when he was killed in action on 5 September 1918 during the Allied offensive against all sections of the German line.
In A History of Helen’s Bay Presbyterian Church compiled by Margaret A K Garner in 1958 she commented that ‘the 1914 – 1918 War years were difficult for the Helen’s Bay congregation’.
She went on to say, ‘there has been considerable difficulty in compiling a complete Roll of Honour and the list printed may contain the names of members of other churches’.
Under the heading 1914 – 1918 In Memoriam 19 names were listed:
S Brownrigg
J A Craig
G Foster
A W V Green
W Gilpin
D Goodchild
A Hollywood
J Hollywood
J Heaney
E Heaney
W Irwin
H Milligan
W Morrison
F Morrow
W Patterson
L Porter
H Sheals
J Torrance
J S Ward
It is the case that not all of those listed in the book died in the Great War.