Boylan - Joining the Army
The same search criteria on Ancestry.com also provides Boylan’s military attestation form. Many service records were lost during the Blitz in World War II, so it is fortunate that his record was only damaged and not destroyed. His record is damaged and difficult to read, but his reported birthplace of Gillardstown in Westmeath (listed here as “West Meath”) again confirms his identity. Boylan enlisted for 12 years in the Reserve, and he seems to have specifically requested to join the Royal Irish Rifles.1
Upon attestation he reported his age as 18 years old; however, the date of attestation is missing from the damaged form so I cannot determine his birthdate from this form. He also listed his trade as ‘van man.’
The next page, his medical examination in Dublin, provides more information. The medical examination may not have taken place on the same date as his attestation, but the form is dated 1st August 1908 and Boylan appeared to be 19 years old. This would place his birthdate around 1889, which aligns with a birthdate of ~1887 from the 1901 census. The medical examiner found Boylan ‘fit’ for service. This form also confirms the census report that he was Roman Catholic.
From these forms, I have learned that Boylan enlisted in the 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles around 1908. Although his letter home in 1914 suggested enthusiasm for the First World War and a desire to secure Home Rule for Ireland, his enlistment in 1908—well before the outbreak of war in 1914 and the introduction of the Third Home Rule bill in 1912—proves that these were not his original motivations for enlistment.
*Note that Ancestry.com requires a subscription to view these records.
“UK, British Army World War I Service Records, 1914-1920,” First World War ‘Burnt Documents,’ The National Archives Microfilm Publication WO 363, digital image s.v. “Anthony Boylan,” Ancestry.com. Images used with permission from The National Archives of the UK (TNA).