Lance Corporal Wallace Boyd McCappin
Wallace Boyd McCappin was born on 20 February 1895 at Dunmurry, Lisburn, County Antrim, the third of nine children of printer James McCappin and his wife Annie (née Copeland). By the time of the 1911 Census he was living at 2 Rathcool Street, Belfast, with his parents, siblings, an aunt and two cousins, and working as a bottler in a public house.
McCappin enlisted in the North Irish Horse between 28 May and 1 June 1915 (No.1648). (Military records give his name as McAlpine.) He trained at the regiment's Antrim reserve camp before embarking for France in 1916 or 1917, possibly with E Squadron on 11 January 1916.
In October 1917 he was transferred to the Military Mounted Police (No. P/13080). It is possible that he later returned to the UK and was transferred to the Royal Irish Rifles. In 14 September 1918 McCappin was transferred to the 9th North Irish Horse) Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers (No.42529), with a number of men of the Royal Irish Rifles who had arrived in France a week earlier. He remained with that regiment until demobilised or discharged on 28 February 1919.
After the war McCappin returned to Belfast, living with his family in Rathcool Street. On 14 May 1919 he married Mary McLaughlin in St Nicholas's Church of Ireland Parish Church, Belfast. By 1957 he was living at Drains Bay, Larne, having retired from work as a civil servant. He died in Moyle Hospital, Larne, on 19 January that year.