In 1944, postal assistant Maureen Flavin played a vital role in the Allies’ success — although she didn’t find out until years later
Sarah Webb at Blacksod Lighthouse. Photo: Fergus Sweeney
I t was 2014 when I first discovered that I had family involved in both world wars. The start of the World War I centenary prompted people in Ireland to talk openly for the first time about relatives who fought in the trenches, and memorials to lost servicemen and women were erected in towns and cities around the country.
My dad told me about my great-grandfather on his side, Captain Jack Webb, who was in the Royal Navy during World War I before becoming harbourmaster at Dublin Port, and about Jack’s daughter, May, who lost her husband at sea in World War II; he was also a captain in the Royal Navy. My mum told me about her male ancestors who were killed in the trenches in World War I, and about my great-aunts who travelled to London to work as ambulance drivers and nurses during the same conflict.
