Private John McBride
John McBride was born around 1895 in Bothwell, Lanarkshire, Scotland, the first of six children of coal miner Robert McBride and his Irish-born wife Maggie. By the time of the 1911 Census he was living at 49 Castle Square, Bothwell, with his parents and siblings, and working underground as a pony driver in the mines.
It appears that McBride was attested into the army on 14 January 1916. He was called-up between 18 May and 2 July 1917, and posted to the North Irish Horse (No.2515 – later Corps of Hussars No.71874).
He trained at the regiment's Antrim reserve camp before embarking for France in late 1917 or in 1918, where he was posted to one of the squadrons of the 1st North Irish Horse Regiment. In February-March 1918 the regiment was dismounted and converted to a cyclist unit, serving as corps cyclists to V Corps until the end of the war.
McBride was wounded in the right elbow and left forearm in late August or early September 1918 during the opening phase of the Advance to Victory offensive. Evacuated to the UK for treatment, on 28 May 1919 he was discharged, being 'no longer physically fit for war service' (paragraph 392 (xvi), King's Regulations), and was granted a pension due to his wounds.