Miskimmin, Samuel George (Samuel)
Sergeant
No. 18413, ‘C’ Company, 13th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles, transferred to
No. 17756, 108th Company, Machine Gun Corps (Infantry), 36th (Ulster) Division
Died of wounds on Sunday 25 November 1917 (aged 23)
Buried:
Hermies British Cemetery, France (Grave C. 9)
Commemorated:
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Raffrey Presbyterian Church
Killinchy Parish Church of Ireland Church
BIOGRAPHY
In some records his surname is spelt Miskimon, in others Miskimmon and in others Miskimin.
Samuel George Miskimmin was born on 26 February 1894 in the townland of Ballybundon and he was a son of David and Annie (Anna) Elizabeth (Bella) Miskimmin (nee Woods) who were married on 2 March 1877 in Second Saintfield Presbyterian Church. David Miskimmin from Raffrey was a son of John Miskimmin, a farmer. Anna Bella Woods was a daughter of Thomas Woods, a farmer.
The Miskimmin family lived in the townland of Ballybundon, Killinchy.
David Miskimmin was a farmer and he and Annie had at least twelve children including:
John (born 20 January 1878 in Ballygigan)
Robert (born 28 November 1880)
Agnes (born 24 June 1882)
Anna (born 21 January 1884)
David (born 18 September 1885; died of bronchitis in Ballybundon 5 January 1886)
David (born 10 July 1887 in Ballybundon)
Thomas (born 27 October 1888)
William (born 25 November 1889)
Margaret (Meta, born 22 November 1891)
Samuel (born 26 February 1894 in Ballybundon)
Prior to the outbreak of the Great War Samuel George Miskimmin worked for the machine manufacturing firm of Messrs Coombe, Barbour & Coombe in North Belfast. He enlisted in Downpatrick and served with ‘C’ Company 13th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles (No. 18413) in 108th Brigade of the 36th (Ulster) Division.
Sergeant Samuel George Miskimmin was transferred to the Machine Gun Corps (No. 17756) and on 10 June 1916 he was wounded when an enemy shell exploded close by. Private John Price from Comber was killed in the attack and Samuel wrote a letter of sympathy to John’s mother.
In the letter he said, ‘I cannot express in words how I felt when I came to myself and saw before me, in such a condition, poor John. I could hardly realise that it was he, as we were speaking to each other so soon before. He, being so much bigger than I, saved me from being perhaps killed. I don’t know how I escaped at all, I had been knocked below him. When I came to myself and saw what had happened, I wished it had been the other way, it was heartbreaking.’ Samuel went on, ‘I am now in hospital, I wanted to stop as I would have liked to be at the burial, but I had to come for a few days rest until my nerves got settled. God knows I would gladly have gone in his place as I think he will be more missed than I would.’
Some 17 months later, on 25 November 1917, Sergeant Samuel Miskimmin (No. 17756) died of wounds received in action on 22 November 1917 at Cambrai. He was 23 when he died and he was buried in Hermies British Cemetery, France.
Sergeant Samuel George Miskimmin (No. 17756) is commemorated in Raffrey Presbyterian Church and Killinchy Parish Church of Ireland Church.
Sergeant Samuel George Miskimmin (No. 17756) is listed on Comber and District War Memorial (surname spelt Miskimmon) as having served and survived. His father David died on 12 February 1934 (aged 76).