Signalman John Quirey saw action with 36th Ulster Division in The Great War before re-enlisting in the Royal Corps of Signals during the Second World War.
Signalman
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Signalman John Quirey (7006083) served in 3rd Heavy Anti-Aircraft Division Signals attached to 12th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Division Signals, Royal Corps of Signals during the Second World War. Born on 21st July 1898, he was the son of John Quirey and Eliza Jane Quirey (née Harkness) of Mervue Street, Belfast, and the husband of Mary Quirey (née Rainey) of Clady Road, Dunadry, Co. Antrim.
The Quirey family had a strong military tradition. John Quirey Sr. had served in the Royal Navy. Of his five sons, three joined the British Army and two followed their father into the Royal Navy. John Quirey Jr. who himself saw action during The Great War with the 36th Ulster Division also had a son, James Quirey, who served with the British Army in Northern Ireland during the Second World War. In the interwar period, John worked for the engineering department of the General Post Office before re-enlisting at the outbreak of the conflict in 1939.
Signalman Quirey died on 15th February 1941 aged 42 years old at a military hospital in Holywood, Co. Down. His grave is in Glenalina Extension, Section AS, Grave 91 of Belfast City Cemetery, Belfast. His headstone bears the inscription:
Greater love hath no man.