I am trying to confirm the identity of a young soldier in the attached photo postcard.
The lad standing is my great-great-uncle, John Henry (Harry) Jones, from Ince in Wigan, who died at Gallipoli in August 1915, aged 20. We've long wondered who the other young man is, but after some digging I believe him to be John Mahoney, born 1898 in Ince, killed in action in France, 1916. The back of the photo identifies Harry, but not his friend.
Both signed up at the same recruiting office in Wigan on the same day, and their service numbers are only one digit different. John's service record is in Ancestry, and the physical description could fit.
His mother was Selina (nee Heath), mn. Walker, then McNalley, then Mahoney. She had children Arthur, Sarah, Selina, Isaiah, Clara, Richard and John, by her three husbands, primarily in Stoke-on-Trent, then Wigan. In a strange coincidence, Isaiah was killed at Gallipoli on the same day as Harry.
I know it's a massively long shot, but I was wondering if anyone from the Ince area might know of this family, be descended from John's siblings, or know of any local papers that may have mentioned him as he was posthumously awarded the DCM.
The postcard is in a special frame with our own pictures, and we like to think we've adopted 'John' and his memory alongside Harry's, in case there is no one else left to remember him, but we'd love to share the picture if we can.
Thank you!
