Delving deep in her research, Fermanagh teenager Alison Glass has been representing the county in one of the first ever initiatives of its kind, ‘My Adopted Soldier.’ “This is an amazing project, where a secondary school student from each county in Ireland, all 32, have to ‘adopt’ a WW1 soldier from their county who took part in the Battle of the Somme, almost 100 years ago, and never returned home,” explained Alison, a pupil at the Collegiate Grammar School, Enniskillen, who has just returned from a weekend visit to the Somme.

The young woman - who has just completed her AS Levels in History, English Literature, Geography and Politics - points out that the soldier, she was given to research, was Corporal Robert Kerr from Lettan, Tempo. He joined the 11th Inniskillings, 36th Ulster Division in Enniskillen in 1915, and he was killed in action on July 1, 1916, at the age of 20, during the Battle of Albert. He was buried in a cemetery in Thiepval.

“To get to know him I have had the chance to visit museums, churches, family members and historians - it has been an excellent experience,” said the 17-year-old Ballinamallard teen, who last Friday, June 26, travelled to the Somme for a four day period “along with the rest of the students to visit the graves and memorials to honour and remember the Northern Irish and forgotten Irish Soldiers of World War 1.” Alison, who worked on the project from the start of the year, has described it as “an absolute honour” to represent Fermanagh in the venture. She regards it as “a privilege to be involved in such an historic project for our island as a whole.” She draws attention to the My Adopted Soldier website, which she points out is an archive of all 32 soldiers’ stories and the students’ own stories put together.

In reference to her own experience, she explained that when Mr. Meryvn Hall, her history teacher, first mentioned the My Adopted Soldier project, she knew it was exactly the one for her.

Immersing herself in her historical research on Corporal Kerr, she acknowledges in her writings that through the ‘Fermanagh War Memorial Book of Honour 1914-1921,’ an Inniskillings Museum Publication, she gained “an excellent insight into the life of Corporal Kerr and his brother, Robert.” In the book, she learned that Corporal Kerr’s medals are stored in the Inniskillings Museum in Enniskillen and that he attended Tempo Church of Ireland, where a plaque commemorates him.

At the museum, she was shown Corporal Kerr’s medals: the 1914-1917 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. She also gathered some useful background information about the 11th Inniskillings, 36th Ulster Division.

As well as visiting the church at Tempo, where she saw the grave of Corporal Kerr’s parents, she also delighted in making contact with Mrs. Hope Kerr, Corporal Kerr’s late nephew’s wife, who provided her with information; Mrs. Kerr showed her Corporal Kerr’s death penny and the bronze tin, he recieved during Christmas, 1914. In her focus on the ‘military experience’ of Corporal Robert Kerr - who was born in Tempo in 1896, a son of James and Matilda Kerr and whose family grew up in Lettan, Alison writes: “Robert joined the 11th Inniskillings, 36th Ulster Division in Enniskillen in July 1915. The division left Northern Ireland for England, spending three months training in Sussex before departing for France in the first week of October 1915. Robert was killed in action on the 1st July 1916 aged 20 during the Battle of Albert. He was hit by a shell while he was advancing with his mortar.” Noting that July 1, 1916 was “a tragic day for the British Army with 20,000 other British soldiers being killed,” Alison goes on to record that Robert is buried in Mill Road Cemetery, Thiepval.

Alison extends thanks to to everyone who helped with her research, which she felt proved most rewarding.