1507 Lt. Charles John Casey British Army 15th Btn. Royal Irish Rifles from:Walton-on-Thames Charles John Casey was my Grandfather. He was an Officer cadet and then a Lieutenant in the 15th Battalion RIR from early 1916 until at least July 1918. My research into his army days has so far revealed the at he was a school teacher by profession and enlisted initially as a Private in the 18th Btn Royal Fusiliers (1st Public Schools) at Epsom, Surrey on the 11/09/1914, age 26.
They landed in France on the 14/11/1915, and he fought there with the Fusiliers until the 24/04/16 when the battalion was disbanded owing to 'many men having gone to take commissions'. My Grandfather left the Fusiliers as a Corporal, presumably on that date.
The next we hear of him is in the London Gazette on the 7th July 1916, as 'Cadet Charles John Casey made temp 2nd Lt.' This is in reference to the RIR, and his 14-15 Star medal card confirms the 15th Battalion. There is a final mention in the Gazette for him on the 7th January 1918, which reads 'C.J.Casey temp 2nd Lt. to Lieut.'
I currently have the 15th battalions War diary on order from the National Archives, so will be interested to see if there are any first hand accounts of things he actually did in France. Obviously both I and his son, my Father, have the greatest of admiration for his wartime service and so are very interested to find out as much as we can. My Grandfather died in 1967.
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