Naval Reserve Engineer and HMS Somali Survivor

The contributor's grandfather, Peter McGinn, was born in Newcastle and moved to Belfast in June 1912. He worked at Harland and Wolff, as well as Workman, Clark and Company, but was later unemployed and denied a ship in Bangor. The contributor's grandfather was called up for Royal Naval Reserve and trained as an engineer. He was stationed in Londonderry, where he was billeted with a local dentist. The contributor stated that her grandfather perceived himself as British ( "Geordie"), Unionist, and Catholic. A story about the contributor's grandfather and his family losing their lodgings with the dentist due to being Catholic is detailed in uploaded images 11 and 12.

The contributor's other grandfather, Edward Sullivan Senior, whose details appear in the uploaded images 5 to 10 connected to this contribution, served on HMS Somali. HMS Somali sunk after being attacked by torpedoes, and the contributor's grandfather remained on board to attempt to repair the damage. The contributor advised that her grandfather survived when the vessel foundered; however, a number of his shipmates were lost.

The contributor also noted her ties to the McGrattan family, who have been noted in Barry Niblock's books.