Private Frederick McCormick
The background of this North Irish Horseman is not known at present, other than that he was born around 1892 and was from Belfast. He may have been the painter Frederick McCormick shown in the 1911 Census as living at 5 Circular Road with his parents Henry and Elizabeth and brother David.
McCormick enlisted in the North Irish Horse on 20 October 1914 (No.1326 – later Corps of Hussars No.71338). On 17 November 1915 he embarked for France with F Squadron, which at the time was serving as divisional cavalry to the 33rd Division.
On 3 January the following year the Belfast News-Letter reported:
Trooper F. McCormick, of the North Irish Horse, writing in France to a Belfast gentleman, says:-- "I write to thank you on my own behalf and that of the other boys in the troop for the 'Belfast Weekly News,' which we are all so pleased to receive. It goes through many hands out here before we are finished with it. We had a most enjoyable Christmas Day. We had a very good dinner with plum pudding, and had a concert in the barn loft in the evening at which all our officers were present."
In 1916 or the first half of 1917 McCormick was injured and was evacuated to the UK for treatment. He did not recover sufficiently to return to the front and, most likely, spent the remainder of the war at the North Irish Horse reserve depot at Antrim.
On 7 March 1919 McCormick was discharged, being 'surplus to requirements, having suffered impairment since entry into the service' (paragraph 392 xvi(a), King's Regulations). Until 1922 he received a pension due to his injuries – to his ankle and right foot, and a corneal ulcer in his left eye – which were all attributed to his military service.
After the war he lived at 25 Nevis Avenue, Strandtown, Belfast.