Date of birth:

May 15th, 1881 (Ballina, Ireland)

Date of death:

May 4th, 1922 (Belfast, Ireland)

Service number:

59994

Nationality:

Irish

John and Caroline’s second son, Frederick John was born at Ballina, County Mayo on 15 May 1881. He was employed in the Drapery business before following his father into the ranks of the Royal Irish Constabulary, being appointed on 1 February 1901 with the service number 59994.

Records indicate that Frederick was initially stationed at Brown Square station which is just off what is now Millfield, close to Belfast City Centre. This was the Headquarters station of what was the RIC’s Belfast C District. The other stations in the District being Antrim Road, Craven Street, Leopold Street, Ligoniel and Shankill Road. As a Headquarters station situated between the Shankill and Falls Roads, Brown Square would have been a very busy posting.
Frederick remained at Brown Square until August 1912 when he was posted to Magherafelt. This posting would have been influenced by his impending marriage, as RIC policy was again to post officers away from areas where close relatives resided. On Wednesday 6 November 1912, Frederick married Elizabeth McKee at St Andrews Church of Ireland, Belfast. Elizabeth was from Burnaby Street, Belfast, her father Andrew was a Publican and her mother Jane was a Grocer.

Following the marriage, the couple set up home at Garden Street in Magherafelt. Magherafelt was again a Headquarters Station supporting outstations at Ballyronan, Bellaghy, Castledawson, Draperstown, Gulladuff, Innisrush, Maghera and Moneymore. On 13 September 1913, the couple had a daughter, Caroline Winifred, born at the family home in Magherafelt. Unfortunately, the little girl died of burns received in an accident at her home on 8 June 1916 when she was aged 2.

Following the death, Frederick and Elizabeth remained resident at Garden Street, records indicating that Frederick was also a member of Masonic Lodge 532, based at Curran on the outskirts of the town. On 1 July 1921, Frederick was promoted to the rank of Sergeant. Records indicate that he was most likely posted to the RIC station at Ballyronan, on the shores of Lough Neagh.
During the Irish War of Independence, the IRA waged a savage war against any entity supporting the British Government. Chief among these, and frequent targets were the officers and men of the Royal Irish Constabulary, the visible manifestation of British rule in Ireland. Many barracks, mainly in isolated areas were attacked and officers targeted both on and off duty. This campaign had the intent of discouraging Irish men from joining the force and the more subtle consequence of increasing support for the IRA as murders of Police Officers were often followed by reprisals which frequently targeted the guilty and innocent alike.

On the evening of Wednesday 3 May 1922, Frederick was on patrol in Ballyronan at around 10.30 pm. He was accompanied by Special Constables Thomas Hunter aged 22 and Edward Hegarty, aged 20. Three men came up behind the Police officers who turned and commented on the weather as they stepped aside to let them past. As they drew level, the men fired a number of shots fatally wounding the two Special Constables, one of whom managed to return fire.

Frederick was seriously wounded by a gunshot wound to the abdomen and managed to run to the Police Station to raise the alarm. The attack appears to have been a concerted one as reinforcements summonsed from Antrim came under sustained gunfire in an ambush near Castledawson, and a further ambush took place between Castledawson and Toome in the early hours of the following morning.

Frederick was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, where he passed away on the evening of 4 May. His funeral left from his father-in-law’s home at 229 Grosvenor Road, Belfast to Belfast City Cemetery. Following Frederick’s murder, Elizabeth was awarded a widow’s pension of £119-11-08 annually.

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• - Jonathan Frizelle