Patrick Diamond was born in Kilrea about 1886. The family lived in Claragh, just north of Kilrea. Patrick Diamond enlisted in Belfast around 1900 and was with 1st Battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles. The 1st Battalion was in Aden when war was declared and arrived at Liverpool on 22nd October 1914. Rifleman Diamond was given leave at this time and arrived home in Kilrea for a full week. Patrick had done about sixteen years in the army and served throughout the South African Campaign. On the 30th June 1916, five men were killed in action as the result of shellfire in the Somme region. Rifleman Patrick Diamond was one of them.
The Thiepval Memorial will be found on the D73, next to the village of Thiepval, off the main Bapaume to Albert road (D929). Each year a major ceremony is held at the memorial on 1 July.
