BORN MANCHESTER 10/07/1872. SON OF MICHAEL HENRY LEAHY (1832-1897) AND MARY BARLOW (1826-1901). HIS PARENTS WERE FROM IRELAND AND MARRIED IN BOLTON, LANCASHIRE, ON 22/06/1856. WILLIAM WAS ONE OF SIX CHILDREN. HE WORKED AS A DOCKSIDE LABOURER.
HE MARRIED, MARY ELIZABETH BARNABY (1881-1955), ON 12/12/1897, AT ST WILFRED’S, ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, HULL. HE HAD SIX CHILDREN – CATHERINE (1898-1939); JOHN WILLIAM (1899-1947); WILLIAM DANIEL (1903-1981), JAMES MICHAEL (1906-1976), MARY ELIZABETH (1909-1994) AND VIOLET LEAHY (1916-1996),
THEY LIVED AT, 11 HERBERT’S TERRACE, STRICKLAND STREET, HULL; 3 GRANVILLE TERRACE, STRICKLAND STREET, HULL (WAR PENSION ADDRESS) AND AT 6 IVY VILLAS, SELBY STREET, HULL.
DURING THE WAR, WILLIAM SERVED IN THE ROYAL NAVAL RESERVE, AS A COAL TRIMMER, ON THE TRAWLER “STEPEHEN FURNESS”. HE WAS SERVING ON THE TRAWLER “CAMEO”, WHEN HE DROWNED DURING ENEMY ACTION, ON 16/01/1917, AGED 43. HE IS BURIED AT HULL WESTERN CEMETERY. HIS WIDOW, MARY, WAS FORCED TO BORROW MONIES OFF THE COUNCIL WHICH WERE DEDUCTED FROM HER WAR PENSION. SHE WAS AWARDED A 15 SHILLING WEEKLY WAR PENSION, ON 19/07/1917, WHICH INCREASED TO 33 SHILLINGS AND NINE PENCE, A WEEK, FROM 01/05/1918.
In July 1915, North Sea, off Aberdeen: ‘Cameo’, Admiralty trawler, 172/1898, Hull-registered, hired 2/15, 1-12pdr (ap – 3pdr), Skipper Albert Sayers, on patrol with trawlers ‘Sea Ranger’ and ‘Eastward Ho’, all Peterhead-based. July – Cameo sighted U-boat, headed in its direction and was fired at, returned fire and hit three times, Eastward Ho! came up and submarine headed away on the surface; skipper wounded and awarded DSC, gunner the DSM.
