David Paul was the eldest son of James and Isabella Paul. He was born on 12th May 1893. The family lived in Crew, Maghera. His father was a farmer. His mother, died in 1903, when David was 10 years old. He attended Rainey Endowed School, then Lafayette College and the Seminary at Princeton University. He became a student in the Assembly’s College, Belfast, for the third year of his theological course. On his return to Ireland from Princeton he joined Queens University OTC. He was sent to France in March 1917. Second Lieutenant David Paul was serving with the 16th Battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles when, on 21st March 1918, he was fatally wounded at St Quentin and died the same day.
Further Information
David Paul was the eldest son of James and Isabella Paul. James Paul and Isabella Shiels were married on 1st April 1891 in the district of Coleraine.
David Paul was born on 12th May 1893. He was one of five surviving children.
Family: James Paul, Isabella F Paul, Margaret S Paul (born 24th January 1892), David Paul (born 12th May 1893), William S Paul (born 11th August 1894), Joshua Joseph Paul (born 22nd August 1895), Robert Paul (born 19th June 1898, died 9th June 1899), James A Paul (born 30th December 1900).
The 1901 census lists David as age 7 living with the family at house 15 in Crew, Maghera, County Londonderry. James Paul was a farmer.
David’s mother, Isabella Paul, died on 2nd July 1903, aged 41 in Maghera. David was 10 years old.
His preparatory studies were pursued in the Rainey Endowed School of Magherafelt, Ireland.
David graduated from Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, in 1914. He entered the Seminary at Princeton, New Jersey, in the fall of the same year, remaining two years.
He became a student in the Assembly’s College, Belfast, for the third year of his theological course. On his return to Ireland from Princeton he joined Queens University Officer Training Corps in Belfast on 5th June 1916. While at Queens, he lived at 62 University Street, Belfast.
He became a Second Lieutenant in the 16th Royal Irish Rifles, being sent to France in March 1917.
Second Lieutenant Paul was in every engagement of his division after this and was severely wounded in October 1917 and returned to Ireland on leave in January 1918.
From the Mid Ulster Mail dated 2nd March 1918: Trooper Joshua Paul (brother of David Paul)
Trooper Joshua Paul, North Irish Horse, Crewe, who was seriously wounded in the neck five months ago, and in hospital since then, is home on leave.
Second Lieutenant David Paul was serving with the 16th Battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles when, on 21st March 1918, he was fatally wounded at St Quentin and died the same day. He died nine days after his 25th birthday.
From unknown document: David Paul
Son of James and Isabella (Shiels) Paul, was born May 12, 1893 Maghera, County Derry, Ireland. He made a public confession of his faith in the Presbyterian Church of Maghera at the age of sixteen. His preparatory studies were pursued in the Rainey Endowed School of Magherafelt, Ireland, and he graduated from Lafayette College in 1914. He entered the Seminary at Princeton in the fall of the same year, remaining two years. He became a student in the Assembly’s College, Belfast, for the third year of his theological course. On his return to Ireland from Princeton he joined Queens University Officer Training Corps in Belfast and became a Second Lieutenant in the 16th Royal Irish Rifles, being sent to France in March 1917. He was in every engagement of his division after this and was severely wounded in October 1917 and returned to Ireland on leave in January 1918. On 21st March 1918, he was fatally wounded at St Quentin and died soon after, nine days after the completion of his 25th year. He was buried presumably at St Quentin, France.
Second Lieutenant Paul has no known grave and is commemorated on the Pozieres Memorial in Picardie, France.
The CWGC record Second Lieutenant David Paul as the son of James and Isabella Paul.
