11th Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (British Army)
Date Of Birth:
09/06/1891
Died:
16/08/1917 (Killed in Action)
Age:
26
Summary
James Spillane was the third son of John and Maggie Spillane. He was born on 9th June 1891. He was one of seven children. They lived in Mormeal, Tobermore, County Londonderry. His father, who hailed from Tipperary, was a Farmer and Civil Bill Officer. James too became a farmer. Private James Spillane was serving with the 11th Battalion of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers when he was killed in action at Passchendaele on Thursday 16th August 1917.
Further Information
James Spillane was the third son of John and Maggie Spillane. John Spillane married Margaret Moore on 10th June 1886 in the district of Magherafelt.
James Spillane was born on 9th June 1891. He was one of seven children.
Family: John Spillane, Margaret Spillane, William Spillane (born 21st October 1887), John Spillane (born 16th February 1890), James Spillane (born 9th June 1891), Robert Spillane (born 11th March 1893), Richard Spillane (born 23rd June 1894), Samuel Spillane (born 1st August 1896), Mary Jane Spillane (born 11th September 1898).
The 1901 census lists James as age 9 living with the family at house 3 in Mormeal, Tobermore, County Londonderry. His father, who hailed from Tipperary, was a Farmer and Civil Bill Officer.
The 1911 census lists James as age 19 living with the family at house 29 in Mormeal, Tobermore. James was a farmer.
James was a member of the Ulster Volunteer Force and also Blackhill L.O.L. No. 681.
James Spillane enlisted in Omagh.
Private James Spillane was serving with the 11th Battalion of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers when he was killed in action at Passchendaele on Thursday 16th August 1917. He was 26 years old.
Private James Spillane has no known grave and is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial. The Memorial to the Missing at Tyne Cot Cemetery, Zonnebeke, West Vlaanderen, Belgium bears the names of many who fell in the battles for Passchendaele and whose bodies were never recovered.
James’ younger brother Samuel also died in the war. Private Samuel Spillane was serving with the 1st Battalion of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers when he was killed in action on the second day of the German Spring Offensive on Friday 22nd March 1918. He was 21 years old.
Both brothers belonged are commemorated Kilcronaghan Parish Church in Tobermore and they are also commemorated in Tobermore and Blackhill Orange Halls.
The CWGC record Private James Spillane as the son of John and Margaret Spillane, of Mormeal, Kilcronaghan, Tobermore, County Londonderry. It was noted that his brother Samuel also fell.
All images courtesy of Sam Hudson, Desertmartin. Information provided here is courtesy of the excellent research donated by Mr Sam Hudson
