PRIVATE JAMES RATHBAND
ROYAL DUBLIN FUSILIERS
9TH SEPTEMBER 1916 AGE 16
BURIED: DELVILLE WOOD CEMETERY, LONGUEVAL, FRANCE
Private James Rathband was 16 when he was killed in action at Ginchy on 9 September 1916.The son of Mr and Mrs J Rathband of Dublin, his inscription was signed for by Miss A Rathband, 12E Abbey Cottages, Upper Abbey Street, Dublin. A street of very modest cottages now pulled down.
Where did the inscription come from? Did Miss A Rathband read it somewhere? Put the words into Google and they come up in at least three nineteenth-century romantic novels to describe young heroes whose deeds belied their years - just as James Rathband's must have done.
