In April 2013 a committee member found a box of old lantern slides in the organ loft of Alexandra Presbyterian Church. The images were of soldiers and sailors in First World War uniforms. There are 77 lantern slides in total featuring the faces of 137 men. Of these 31 are known to have been Killed in Action. The slides were made by the famous Belfast photographer Mr Alex. R. Hogg. The committee minutes of Castleton Church state that in 1918 he was asked to put together a lantern slide exhibition ‘of our men at the front’ which was to be shown on 16th December 1918. Tickets were sent to the families of serving men. We assume that each family with a son serving in the Great War gave a photo for use in this exhibition.
We set out on a voyage of discovery to find out who these men were, what they did and in some cases how they died. The project therefore aims to match the names on the Roll of Honour to the faces in the photos. At first we were unsure if this included both those who came home and those men who paid the ultimate sacrifice. With further research and the assistance of Nigel Henderson, who is researching Belfast Presbyterians in the Great War, we have now established that the lanterns include both men who survived and men who were killed in action.
To date we have named over 30 men on the slides with help from various sources, but there are many more faces to put names to. We have linked families living in the community to both lantern slide images and names on listed on the Roll.
Some of the stories we have been able to tell are that of Lance Corporal Jack Trimble of the Royal Irish Rifles who joined up at the age of 15, went on to live to the age of 98, emigrate to Australia and have a family of three sons, eight grandchildren and fifteen great grandchildren. He told his story to a group of school children, the recording of which you can listen to here.
Francis Ernest McCann served in the Royal Army Medical Corps and his brother James McCann served in the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. Lance Corporal James McCann was killed at the Somme on 1st July 1916. David Morrow, a relative of these men supplied a letter written by James’ friend James Magill who had written to the McCann's mother Mary to tell her how her son had died and how he had received a proper burial. James Magill had been wounded in France and the Belfast Telegraph had printed his photograph.
At the launch of our Forget Me Not exhibition in the Red Barn Gallery, Belfast which featured the Castleton Lanterns images, David Morrow, (James McCann's relative) and James Magill's niece Carolyn Fullerton met for the first time since that letter was written almost a century ago. That David's family kept the letter for so many years shows just how important these family memories still are to descendants of these local men. The launch was an emotional experience for Carolyn and David. Additional photos and letters are pictured in this post and you can see the Castleton Roll of Honour here and all the lantern images are featured on the website here.
Karen O'Rawe, Project Manager of Castleton Lanterns said 'The example of James Magill, Francis Ernest McCann and James McCann demonstrate just how closely connected all the Castleton Lanterns men were. They were brothers, best friends, pals and colleagues. It’s important to find their stories and tell them, to understand their lives and remember them, coming up to the anniversary of the start of the Great War. It is sad to hear the stories of those who were lost or wounded beside those who lived and flourished and I’m sure the families who gathered to watch the lantern slide show in 1918 must have felt something similar. We are asking everyone who had relatives in Northern Ireland at the time to log on to our website at castletonlanterns.co.uk.
We have a list of all the men on the Roll of Honour for Castleton listed and you may find that your family member is pictured. We'd love to hear your stories and see your family photos. It is easy to forget how much these families gave up, how a whole generation of young men was lost and how much the community needs to remember not only the sacrifice of those who died, but also the sacrifice of those who lived. The attempt to identify the men, their stories and their families is a way of shining a light on their lives. With no remaining veterans of the Great War, it is especially important that these faces do not become numbers or statistics. These men have names, families, memories and experiences that with research and your help, we will be able to record for generations to come.'
