Private Edward Joseph Gray
Edward Joseph Gray was born on 20 January 1899 at 4 Williamson's Place, Dundalk, County Louth, the sixth of eleven children of boot and shoemaker John Gray and his wife Mary Anne (née Connolly). By the time of the 1911 Census he was living at Williamson's Place with his parents and his nine surviving siblings. He later worked, according to his enlistment papers, as an assistant cinema operator.
Gray enlisted in the Hussars of the Line at Dundalk on 30 May 1917, reporting for duty at Dublin a week later. He was issued regimental number 35912. Posted to the 2nd Reserve Cavalry Regiment at Newbridge, on 2 July he was transferred to the North Irish Horse and sent to the regiment's reserve depot at Antrim. There he was issued regimental number 2574.
On 5 November 1918 Gray embarked for France (six days before the end of the war) with a reinforcement draft for the North Irish Horse Cyclist Regiment, joining it in the field in early December. On 7 June the following year, with around twenty other North Irish Horsemen, he was transferred to the Army Cyclist Corps (No.23922) and was posted to IV Corps Cyclist Regiment, part of the Army of Occupation based in Rolsdorf, Germany.
Gray had been allowed a fortnight's leave to the UK from 26 May, but arrived back at his new regiment two days late. For this he was awarded ten days' Field Punishment No.1 and lost two days' pay.
On 10 November 1919 he was demobilised and transferred to Class Z, Army Reserve.