Michael Joseph Cawley and William Briggs, both of A Company, 38th Machine Gun Corps, lie next to each other in The Guards Cemetery at Lesboeufs. Both were killed in action on the same day - 2nd September 1918 - and both were exhumed from the same spot on the battlefield and re-buried here in September 1919. The unknown soldier on the left was also brought in from the battlefield, but from a different location.
Note that Michael's name has been rendered incorrectly in the dedication supplied by his widow. The CWGC headstone records his name as MICHEAL although it is impossible to say whether this was an error introduced by the CWGC or by his widow. One would presume it was the former.
Michael was the son of Michael and Mary Cawley (nee Coleman) and the husband of Mrs. E. McCauley (formerly Cawley), of 101, Canton St., Providence, Rhode Island, USA. He was 23 years old when he was killed.
Less is known of William Briggs. He was born in Radclffe, Lancashire and enlisted at Bolton in February 1916. His and Michael's regimental numbers are close enough together for them to have enlisted, if not on the same day, then certainly within a few days of each other. They have lain together in a foreign field for nearly 98 years. RIP.
No comments:
Post a Comment