Roll of Honor
Incident
He boarded the Royal Mail Ship Leinster at Carlisle Pier, Kingstown (now Dun Laoghaire), County Dublin. The ship was bound for Holyhead, Anglesey, which was a regular shipping route and vital to move troops, people, supplies and even the post between Ireland and Wales for onwards movement.
RMS Leinster set sail shortly after 9:00am despite warnings from some Royal Navy warships that the Irish Sea had been particularly rough due to poor weather near Anglesey. Approximately an hour into the voyage some of the passengers on deck saw a torpedo heading for the Leinster’s port side but it missed and passed in front of the ship. The Leinster had been targeted by German submarine UB-123, which then released a second torpedo that struck the port side and destroyed the ship’s onboard postal sorting room.
Twenty-one of the twenty-two Dublin Post Office workers lost their lives in the blast. As there were relatively few casualties, the Captain decided to turn the ship about and began slowly sailing back to Kingstown while launching lifeboats. A third torpedo was fired and, now the Leinster had turned, struck the starboard side. The damage was catastrophic and the Leinster began to sink rapidly. The damage the third torpedo caused and the sinking led to the loss of over five-hundred lives, only one month and one day before the Armistice. Head Constable Ward was one of those to lose his life when the RMS Leinster sank.
He was survived by his wife of eleven years, Rosina, and their four children. Having joined the Royal Irish Constabulary on the 1st September 1899 Head Constable Ward had seen service throughout Ireland with postings to County Donegal, County Londonderry, Belfast, County Sligo, County Galway and County Clare. Nine days later, the submarine responsible, UB-123, struck a mine and went down near Orkney, with the loss of all thirty-six crew members.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife of eleven years, Rosina, and their four children.
In Our Keeping
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BO-GB-RIC-4CAB2D8A- Stewardship
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- Added to badge.nw
- April 8, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Head Constable Ward served with the Royal Irish Constabulary.
Thank you for your service. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Head Constable Ward.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Head Constable Owen Ward is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In L, 592 of 749 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 79% of this state's fallen. That is 24.8 percentage points above the national rate of 54.2%.
At Royal Irish Constabulary, 519 of 642 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 80.8% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Owen Ward's cause is highlighted.
How Owen Ward Compares
When Felonious Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. Owen Ward is highlighted in Oct.
Weapons Used Against Officers
Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths.
Others Who Wore This Badge
641 officers from Royal Irish Constabulary are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
