Michael McMahon was born in 1894 at a British Army barracks in Cawnpore, India, where his father was stationed with the Royal Munster Fusiliers. In 1913 the family moved to Bonnybridge where Michael married his wife Catherine, and worked at the stove and brickmaker Smith and Wellstood.
Michael joined the Royal Munster Fusiliers in Stirling in 1916.
Throughout the following year Michael completed his basic training and was sent to Etaples in France before being deployed to Belgium, where he was captured as a Prisoner of War.
After being captured, Michael was sent to Dulmen Camp in Germany.
Prisoners of War received regular food packages from committees in Britain and could exchange vouchers for essential items.
Michael was moved from the Minden Prisoner of War camp to another POW camp in Munster on 17 January 1918.
Munster Prisoner of War camp, where Michael spent 6 months from June to December 1918.
Michael was finally returned to the UK on 3 December 1918, where he was assigned to work as a driver.
On 27 July 1919 he was discharged from the Army and returned to his wife and family in Bonnybridge, Scotland. He and Catherine had another son and two daughters and lived in Bonnybridge for the rest of their lives.
Michael died aged 77 in 1971.
Thank you to his family for sharing his story.
You can discover more Passchendaele stories from areas across the UK and find out more about our Commemoration plans to mark the Centenary at https://passchendaele100.org/.
