Private John Henigan
28811 11th Lancashire Fusiliers
Lived at 23 Hart Street
Killed in Action 21st October 1916, aged 33
Born in Burnley
Commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, France
I wanted to thank you for the work you
have done to chronicle the impact of the Great War on Burnley. My two
great-uncles, whom I never knew, had been living in New Jersey with my
grandparents, Irish immigrants who married in Burnley, in St. Mary's Church.
When the war broke out, Walter
Henigan and John Henigan left for
England -- both had been born in Burnley -- to join the British army.
That much I knew from family history. Your website told me much more.
I now know that John joined the Lancashire Fusiliers and died at the Somme,
and Walter was in the RAMC and survived. He returned to New Jersey, died
in 1947, and is buried with his sister -- my grandmother, whom I also
never knew -- and her husband and members of their family.
Thanks for your reply. What I find interesting is that the two brothers, although born in Burnley, were the sons of a man born in County Mayo, and had living with my Irish-born grandfather and his wife, my grandmother. I did not know my grandmother, who died when my mother was a baby, but family lore has it that she always considered herself English (since my first email, I have indeed confirmed that she, like her brother, was born in Burnley). This identification may account for the fact that her brothers enlisted in the British army. And when Walter returned to the US, he lived just a few blocks from my grandfather, with my grandfather's sister and her family. He is buried in the McNulty family plot. I will try to get from my cousin the location of the grave. I have a little more information about the two brothers. John Henigan's address in Burnley was 23 Hart Street. Walter's address was 21 Crowther Street.
I have no photos of the two men, but would be pleased to see them linked together.
As a retired history professor, I can imagine the time and effort you have put into your endeavor. Yes, I live in the states, in Maryland, near Washington, DC, in a town called Silver Spring. Do you live in Burnley? For the record, my grandmother worked in a cotton factory in Burnley before her marriage.
So, thank you again for your work.
Christine Lourie
