Descendants of Lord Kitchener’s personal protection officer are being sought ahead of the centenary of their death during the First World War.
Officers from the Metropolitan Police’s Royalty and Specialist Protection Command are hoping to trace relatives of Detective Sergeant Matthew McLoughlin by next month.
Mr McLoughlin died along with Lord Kitchener and 735 others on June 5 1916 when the HMS Hampshire sank after hitting a mine near Orkney.
The specialist protection squad intend to name their new office after the detective when they move from Scotland Yard later this year.
Mr McLoughlin was born in Kilcommon, North Tipperary, on February 6 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 joined the Met on September 17 1900 after moving to London in January of that year and went on in 1904 to join the specialist unit to protect royalty and Government ministers.
The officer married Margaret Amelie McLoughlin (formerly Quernel, Queruel or Quesnel), who is believed to be French, in Kensington on January 13 1912, and had a son, Michael Paul McLoughlin, on April 19 1912 in Wootton St Lawrence in Hampshire.
Officers believe Michael may have travelled to Caracas, in Venezuela, because someone of that that name applied for a passport there.
Anyone with information should contact [email protected] and [email protected].
