Montgomery, John
Sergeant
No. 4595, 1st Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, transferred to
No. 29028, 121st Company, Machine Gun Corps (Infantry)
Died of wounds on 28 January 1918 (aged 31)
Buried:
Mory Abbey Military Cemetery, France (Grave II. E. 7)
Commemorated:
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Bangor and District War Memorial
Royal British Legion (Bangor Branch) Memorial Plaque
Comrades of the Great War (Bangor Branch) Album in North Down Museum
Conlig Orange Hall
Conlig Presbyterian Church
Brother of Private Thomas Montgomery (No. 42345)
BIOGRAPHY
John Montgomery was born on 19 October 1886 in Conlig and he was a son of John and Margaret (Maggie) Montgomery (nee Nelson) who were married on 22 January 1883 in Great Victoria Street Presbyterian Church Belfast. John Montgomery from Ballymacarrett, Belfast was a son of Joseph Montgomery, an engine driver. Margaret Nelson from Conlig was a daughter of Robert Nelson, a labourer.
The Montgomery family lived in Barrows House, Main Road, Conlig.
John Montgomery worked as a general labourer and he and Margaret had ten children:
Elizabeth (born 15 July 1883 in Conlig)
Robert (born 20 December 1884 in Conlig)
John (born 19 October 1886 in Conlig)
Joseph (born 11 November 1889 in Conlig)
Hugh (born 17 April 1892 in Conlig)
William (born 16 October 1894 in Conlig)
Thomas (born 12 February 1897 in Conlig)
Barbara Agnes (born 27 January 1899 in Conlig)
Margaret (born 31 March 1901 in Conlig)
Alice (born 29 August 1905)
John Montgomery and Jane (Jinnie) Clarke were married on 23 February 1914 in Newtownards Registrar’s Office. John Montgomery, a labourer from Conlig, was a son of John Montgomery, a labourer. Jinnie Clarke from Movilla Street, Newtownards was a daughter of Robert Clarke, a labourer.
John and Jinnie Montgomery (nee Clarke) had at least one child:
Margaret (born 11 August 1914 in South Street, Newtownards)
Before the outbreak of the Great War John Montgomery worked as a farm servant and general labourer. He enlisted in Newtownards and served with the 1st Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (No. 4595) before being transferred to the Machine Gun Corps (No. 29028).
Sergeant John Montgomery served in Gallipoli where he was wounded twice before being sent to the Western Front. He was wounded again on 22 January 1918 at Arras and died six days later. Sergeant John Montgomery was 31 when he died, and it was reported in the Press that he had three brothers on active service.
At the time of his death John’s wife Jane and their daughter Margaret (aged 3) lived at 14 South Street, Newtownards.
Sergeant John Montgomery was buried in Mory Abbey Military Cemetery, France and he is commemorated on Bangor and District War Memorial; on the Royal British Legion (Bangor Branch) Memorial Plaque; in the Comrades of the Great War (Bangor Branch) Album in North Down Museum; in Conlig Orange Hall and in Conlig Presbyterian Church.
Sergeant John Montgomery’s father John died on 12 June 1923 (aged 62) and his mother Margaret died on 19 January 1947 (aged 83). Both were buried in Bangor Cemetery, Newtownards Road, Bangor and two of their sons are also commemorated on the headstone – Hugh who died on 19 May 1925 (aged 32) and Robert who died on 9 August 1950 (aged 65).
At an earlier stage in the research into this casualty it was suggested that Sergeant John Montgomery (No. 29028) was a son of William and Sarah Montgomery (nee Whitlaw) from Conlig but that has since been shown not to be the case. William and Sarah Montgomery (nee Whitlaw) did have a son called John (born 5 November 1890 in Conlig) and he was Sergeant John Montgomery’s first cousin. For interest only, some of that John Montgomery’s family details are included below.
John Montgomery was a son of William and Sarah Montgomery (nee Whitlaw, sometimes Whitla) who were married on 26 December 1874 in Great Victoria Street Presbyterian Church Belfast. William Montgomery, a shoe maker from Belfast, was a son of Joseph Montgomery, Belfast, an engine driver. Sarah Whitlaw from Belfast was a daughter of Samuel Whitlaw, a weaver.
This Montgomery family also lived in Main Road, Conlig.
William Montgomery worked as a shoemaker and he and Sarah had sixteen children including:
Sarah (born 18 September 1876 in Conlig)
William Robert (born 1 May 1879 in Conlig)
Isabella (born 28 June 1881 in Conlig)
Ann (born 26 September 1883)
Samuel (born 10 January 1886 in Conlig)
Joseph (born 10 April 1887 in Conlig; died of gastritis 5 June 1892 aged 5)
James (born 19 September 1888 in Conlig)
John (born 5 November 1890 in Conlig)
Joseph (born 21 August 1893 in Conlig)
Mary (born 1 September 1896 in Conlig)
Agnes (born 26 October 1898 in Conlig)
Adeline (born 10 March 1901 in Conlig)
Ellen (born 10 February 1902)
John Montgomery worked as a labourer and he and Elizabeth Rebecca Mulholland were married on 28 April 1915 in Ballygilbert Presbyterian Church. Elizabeth Rebecca Mulholland (aged 19) from Conlig was a daughter of John Mulholland, a labourer.
John’s mother Sarah died on 27 February 1922 (aged 69) and was buried in Bangor Cemetery, Newtownards Road, Bangor. John’s father William died on 12 July 1930 (aged 77) and was buried in Bangor Cemetery, Newtownards Road, Bangor. Both graves are unmarked.