When Death Flies Swift

“Sergeant 14/17063 Thomas George Wortley ‘D’ Company 14th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles (Young Citizen Volunteers). Killed in action 7th June 1917 Battle of Messines. Buried C.10 Spanbroekmolen British Cemetery.”

Wortley was born in Carrickfergus and lived in Belfast. He (and James Sharpe, also from Carrick) was killed on the first day of the battle at Messines (findagrave) and buried in a small cemetery of British soldiers, many from the 36th (Ulster) Division, in Spanbroekmolen on the Ypres Salient in Flanders (WP) – shown in the mural. He is remembered in Carrickfergus with a parade each year on the date of his death (carrickfergusrollofhonour).

The medals in the top left are Pip, Squeak, and Wilfred (that is, the 1914 Star, for service in France or Belgium, the War (service) medal, and the Inter Allied Victory medal) (Identify Medals). The ‘Dead Man’s Penny’ memorial plaque (WP) appears next to the gravestones.

The Larches, Carrickfergus, replacing a painted version.