Re - what happened to Martin mulligan

[eda]

My search for martin mulligan was answered here a couple of days, ago,, lm not sure if l attach my question to my last search or begin again,,
So here goes..
It seems he had a few name changes he changed to Michael and sighned up again 1909same address same father,,,
Now l have him in the airforce,, his record states he joined the grenadier guards 1913 remained in this reg for ww1, then joined the airforce as John Martin mulligan gave his birthdate as 1893 l found him on FindMyPast married to Joan mcleod,, had 2 children,, Sadley he died Croydon hospital 1924,,l would not have thought this was my man until l saw the discription of him The scars and tattoo were defiantly him,, now l would like to learn a little more about his time has a grenadier and what he did in the, airforce,, hoping maybe Andy could help he gave me lots of info on my last post,,, eda

[KGarrad]

Previous post:
https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=887305.

[Andy J2022]

Hi Eda,

There's no doubt that the John Martin Mulligan who joined the RAF on 25 Jan 1924 and who died in June of that same year was also Sgt JM Mulligan 16550 in the Grenadier Guards. And there is very strong circumstantial evidence that he was the same person as the Martin Mulligan who joined the 3rd East Lancs Regt in October 1906. Unfortunately the service record for Sgt Mulligan Grenadier Guards is not currently available online. However it should still exist because he served on after 1920, meaning that the MOD retained his records and they were not destroyed by the fire in WW2. These retained records are in the process of being transferred to the National Archives and so if you would like to obtain a copy you should initially apply to the MOD who will probably give you location details for where the record can be found within TNA, and you will then need to reapply to TNA. I would advise against applying directly to TNA because many of the documents are still being stored on pallets awaiting processing, and without the MOD's location details, they may be hard to find. https://www.gov.uk/get-copy-military-records-of-service/apply-for-the-records-of-a-deceased-serviceperson

His Grenadier Guards record should include details of all his former service so should confirm whether or not the two men are the same person. The record will also tell you which battalion(s) of the Grenadier Guards he served in. You will know from his two hospital admissions in 1918 that he was then serving in Number 4 Company of the 1st Battalion, but this doesn't mean he served in that Battalion throughout the war.  And obviously once you know which battalion he was in on 15 August 1915 when he went to France, you will be able to work out which battles he probably fought in.

Have you got a copy of Sgt Mulligan's marriage registration to Joan McLeod? This should give his father's name and be further corroboration that you have the same man as the Martin Mulligan who joined the East Lancs. Also have you obtained a copy of his death certificate?  He was only 30 when he died so his cause of death may be significant.  I doubt if the reasons for his hospital admissions in 1918 (prepatella bursitis and synovitis of the left knee) would have had anything to do with his later death.

Looking at his brief time with the RAF, he was instantly promoted to Corporal, I suspect this was based on his previous Army service, and because he is shown as being part of the permanent staff, he may have been employed in training recruits. His record then says that his first posting was to T Squadron which I assume may have been a Training Squadron. Then in May 1924 he was posted to 32 Squadron which was a flying unit then based at RAF Kenley near Croydon (hence the reason he was in Croydon General Hospital when he died).

[Andy J2022]

Eda,

Just to clarify, make it clear to the MOD that you require the service record of 16550 Sgt JM Mulligan Grenadier Guards, and not his subsequent RAF record which you have already seen.

[eda]

 thank you so much,, it means so much, l didn't know he had been in hospital,, l maybe haven't read the whole papers,, l tried to find his marriage,, it looks like she was from the Scottish islands, he changed his name on every thing I've read,, he was born 1891 so he, was older than stated but not much,, l have looked at the record of this person for a while now but did not think it was possible for somone to climb so high from where he came from he had such a terrible upbringing just goes to show what strength he must have had,, will now take another look at what you advised thankyou eda

[Andy J2022]

The hospital admission records are on Findmypast. The simplest way to find them is to select the military, armed forces and conflict collection on the left hand side of the main search page, just put Mulligan in the surname box and 16550 in the soldier number box at the bottom of the search terms. This should bring up 5 records. The first two are the medical records, and the other three concern his medals. If you don't already have his medal details he was awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal

[Andy J2022]

Incidentally in your first posting in this thread you mentioned that Michael Mulligan joined up in 1909. Where did you find that record and what regiment did he join? As far as I can see John Martin Mulligan did not join the Grenadier Guards until 1912 (based on his 1918 hospital record which said he had 6 years service)

[eda]

Thankyou l will check the dates you mention,, I've taken photo copies and they havnt gone out very clear,,, eda

[Andy J2022]

I'm not sure which direction you are coming from to get to John Martin Mulligan. Are you working backwards in time from one of his children, Joan and John, or forward from his father Martin and (I presume) mother Bridget? I have seen the 1901 census entry for the Mulligan family at 53 Moor Street Blackburn, with father Martin born circa 1857 Ireland bricksetter's labourer, Catherine born Wales circa 1859, older sisters Mary born c. 1883, and Ellen b. c. 1892, and older brother John born c. 1881 and Martin himself aged 8, with all the children born in Widnes.

I then assume this is the same family who in the 1891 census were at 3 Water Street, Widnes*, with father (now known as) Michael aged 35 born Ireland bricklayer's Labourer, wife Bridget aged 32 born Ireland, and children John 11, Kate 9, Mary 7 and Ellen 3 - children all born in Widnes.

And the same family (less the 3 daughters) in 1881 census at 18 Peel Street.

The family appear to have remained in the Widnes area until at least the death of Bridget Mulligan (nee Mulroy) in the last quarter of 1893, having perhaps given birth to John Martin Mulligan in the Summer of 1893 (according to his RAF record). Another address they occupied in Widnes according to the 1892 school records for Ellen was 9 Gerrard street.

It is no wonder that Martin Mulligan lied about his age to join the East Lancs since he would have been just 13 years of age. It also understandable why his first names should be so fluid, when his father at various times went by Michael, Martin, John and Thomas/Thomas M.

*On Martin Mulligan's 1906 attestation form for the East Lancs Regt, the address for his father Michael Mulligan as next of kin is given as 3 Water Street Blackburn. This is either a bizarre coincidence or an error on the part of Martin or the clerk who wrote down the details. According to the 1901 census the Mulligan family had already moved to Blackburn before 1906. There doesn't appear to be a Water Street in Blackburn according to the 1901 census, so perhaps Martin was trying to cover his tracks, since he was apparently under age and didn't want anyone contacting his family.