Griffiths, J E (Jack Edward)
Griffiths, J E (Jack Edward)
Signalman Jack Griffiths was married to Sarah McCluskey and was the son of Mr and Mrs T.J. McCluskey.
During the evening of the 5th of June 1940, Jack, his wife, and brother-in-law Robert McCluskey, went to the river Faughan in the Drumahoe area of the city to bathe.
As Jack could not swim, he soon got into difficulty in the strong currents of the river and got pulled under. His brother-in-law Robert, who could not swim well, tried desperately to save him, but unfortunately could do little to help as Jack got pulled under in a deep area of the river and drowned. Robert was pulled from the water exhausted.
Later that evening Sterling Graham, William Coyle, and Sergeant Lapsley of the R.U.C. retrieved the body from the river, using a boat and grappling irons. He was found in seven feet of water and about six feet from the bank.
Jack was laid to rest on the 8th of June 1940, with full military honours. His sister and brother-in-law, Samuel, and Mary Isobel Corscadden, who also attended the funeral, would eventually be laid to rest, along with their son, in the same grave as Jack.
Date of Death: 05/06/1940 (aged 20)
Service: Signalman: Royal Corps of Signals
Service Number: 4194023
Burial Location: Glendermott Presbyterian churchyard, Sec. D. Grave 23.
