Soldier Record
Robert McKinley
Contributed by: Peter Mason, on 2008-11-09
| Rank | |
|---|---|
| First Name | Robert |
| Surname | McKinley |
| Year of Birth | 1886 |
| Year of Death | 1973 |
| Regiment | Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers |
| Place of Wartime Residence | Mannorcunningham, Co Donegal, Other |
Robert's Story
Captain Robert McKinley, 9th Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, was a farmer in Co Donegal and joined up in September 1914 and rose through the ranks to 2nd Lieutenant prior to the battle of the Somme. He was part of a raid on the German trenches on the night of 7th/8th May 1916, and claims in subsequent letters to be the first Ulsterman to enter a German trench. He won the Military Cross on the first day of the Somme, his battallion was one of the few to reach their objectives on the first day. He was promoted to Captain until the end of the war.
He joined the Royal Ulster Constabulary as District Inspector until 1945. He was shot and wounded in the arm in 1923 by the B Speacials. He was seconded to serve in the British Police Mission to Greece in 1945 and retired in 1950.
He died in Belfast in 1973
No additional memories have been submitted