More than 13,000 records of WW1 deserting or AWOL soldiers have been added to FindMyPast. They have been transcribed from detailed lists published in a Police Gazette supplement every two weeks during the First World War. Each record in the British Army, Deserters and Absentees In Police Gazette 1914-1919 collection contains an image and partial transcript of the original source material.
Some 600-odd Irish soldiers seem to be included. It's a small number but the personal details revealed in the lists are likely to be of interest to family historians. Here are a few examples:
- Samuel Dunne, a 21-year-old labourer enlisted in Belfast on 27 October 1914. He was 5' 7" tall, had brown hair and grey eyes, and a 'Lillie/Samuel' tattoo on his right forearm. He was from Shankill. He served in the 3rd Royal Irish Rifles before going absent without leave on 29 October 1916 while on a home visit.
- John Power, a 43-year-old born in Ballavadin, Co Waterford, was serving in the British Navy on the Vield as a 1st class Stoker when he deserted on 20 November 1916. He was 5' 6" tall, and had brown hair and blue eyes.
- Edward Gibbons was 17 years old when he deserted while in Sittingbourne, Kent, England on 2 January 1915, less than three months from when he'd enlisted in Dublin. He was from St Kevin's, Dublin, stood 5' 3" tall, had brown hair and brown eyes and a scar between his upper lip and nose. He served as a messenger in the 4th Royal Dublin Fusiliers.