Friends of the Somme - Mid Ulster Branch  
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2323856   Sergeant John Rainey
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Dated added: 30/12/2015   Last updated: 16/03/2020
Personal Details
Regiment/Service: Royal Corps of Signals (British Army)
Date Of Birth: 13/06/1916
Died: 28/12/1944 (Killed in Action)
Age: 28
Summary      
It is believed that this is the man commemorated on Moy War Memorial. However, there is NO EVIDENCE at present to collaborate this. John Rainey was the son of Henry and Ann Jane Rainey. He was born on 13th June 1916 in the Omagh area. Sergeant John Rainey was serving with 1 Independent Troop Signal Section, part of the Royal Corps of Signals when he was killed on 28th December 1944 in the Antwerp area, possibly as the result of a V1 attack.
Further Information
AT THIS POINT THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO EVIDENCE TO SUGGEST THAT THIS IS THE J RAINEY ON MOY WAR MEMORIAL, BUT HE IS ‘BEST FIT’ AT PRESENT
John Rainey was the son of Henry A and Ann Jane Rainey. Henry Rainey and Ann Jane Hamilton were married on 5th April 1915 in the district of Omagh.
John Rainey was born on 13th June 1916 in the Omagh area.
Sergeant John Rainey was serving with 1 Independent Troop Signal Section, part of the Royal Corps of Signals when he was killed on 28th December 1944 in the Antwerp area.
There were three men from the Royal Corps of Signals who died that day and are buried in Geel War Cemetery. The other two were Raymond Vincent Carter (2806455) and Derrick Rowland John Moore (2806633). It is suspected they were killed by a V1 rocket.
Around that time, Antwerp was the subject of sustained V1 attacks on Antwerp. From October 1944 to March 1945, more than 4,800 V-1's were targeted at Antwerp. Of these, only 4.5 percent fell in the area around Antwerp.
Sergeant John Rainey is buried in Geel War Cemetery in Antwerpan, Belgium. His inscription reads: HE GAVE HIS LIFE FOR THOSE HE LOVED AND THOSE HE LOVED REMEMBER.
Sergeant John Rainey is commemorated locally on Moy War Memorial.
The CWGC record Sergeant John Rainey as the son of Henry A and Ann Jane Rainey of Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.
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References and Links
No Link Reference Map Doc
1 FindAGrave.com Photo of Sergeant John Rainey's gravestone
2 V1 Rockets - Antwerp City of Death Details of the huge rocket bombardments on Antwerp in early 1945.
3 War Graves Photographic Project Photo of Sergeant John Rainey's gravestone can be purchased here
Dungannon District's War Dead Acknowledgements 2015-2023