Relatives of Lord Kitchener’s bodyguard are being sought as the centenary of their tragic deaths draws near.
Officers from Scotland Yard’s Royalty and Specialist Protection Command are trying to find direct descendants of Detective Sergeant Matthew McLoughlin, who was Lord Kitchener’s personal protection officer during the First World War
DS McLoughlin died on June 5th, 1916, aged 37, along with 65-year-old Lord Kitchener and 735 others, aboard HMS Hampshire which sank after hitting a mine near Orkney during the First World War.
Kitchener – whose commanding image famously appearing on recruiting posters demanding “Your country needs you!” – was making his way to Russia for negotiations when the ship struck a German mine.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the tragedy and the Met Police’s Royalty and Specialist Protection Command plan to name their new office after DS McLoughlin when they move from New Scotland Yard later this year.
Scott Hamer, of the Met Police, said: “Matthew was born in Kilcommon, North Tipperary, Ireland, on February 6th, 1879, to Michael, a farmer, and Bridget McLoughlin.
“He was the seventh of 14 children and lived in a small house on the side of a hill near the hamlet of Foilnadrough, about a mile to the west of Kilcommon.
“He moved to London in January 1900 and joined the Met on September 17th, 1900. In 1904 he transferred to a specialist unit, where he protected royalty and ministers of state.
“His son, Michael Paul McLoughlin, was born on April 19, 1912, at Sunny View, Pardown, Wootton St Lawrence, Hampshire. His birth certificate reports Margaret Amelie McLoughlin, formerly Quernel (or possibly Queruel or Quesnel) as his mother. She is believed to have been born in France, possibly at Le Havre where it appears Matthew served as a Special Branch Ports officer.
“His son, Micheal, may have ended up in Caracas, Venezuela as somebody with that name applied for a passport there on a date unknown. Matthew and Margaret were married in Kensington, London, on January 13th, 1912.”
Anyone who believes they are related, or have any information that might assist officers tracing a living relative, should email scott.hamer@met.police.uk or richard.roe@met.police.uk
