People on board

McCARTHY, John

Named only as Stoker McCarthy, serving on HMS Marlborough, this man appeared in a contemporary photograph of three Royal Navy sailors with three U.S. Navy sailors, see below. He was identified as John McCarthy by his grandnephew in 2026.

Born in 1896, the eldest of eleven children, to Thomas McCarthy and Hannah Lenihan he grew up in Garrettstown, a few miles from Ballinspittle near the Old Head of Kinsale. In the 1901 census the surname given was Meenig, the name of a McCarthy branch. In 1911 the family was identified as McCarthy.

John enlisted in the navy on the 17th of May 1914 for twelve years, giving his occupation as a Farm Labourer. He served on several different ships and was on the Marlborough from November 1915 until September 1919 and his second ship was the HMS Tiger. A note on his record states that he “failed as Senior Stoker but qualified as leading Stoker” in May 1921.John’s brother Thomas also joined the navy and served on HMS Marlborough at the same time. John is recorded as being on the Marlborough during the Battle of Jutland in 1916 though it is not clear if Thomas was also there.

John McCarthy survived the sinking of RMS Leinster and continued serving in the Navy until 1926 but, unlike his brother, did not return to Ireland and contact with his family was lost. His death has not been identified.