Private John Wallace
The background of this North Irish Horseman is not certain, other than that he was born around 1895 and soon after the war lived at 75B Marlboro Road, Donnybrook, Dublin. He may have been the John Wallace born on 31 August 1896 at Kilgobbin, Rathdown, County Dublin, the first of four children of coachman John Wallace and his wife Susan (née O'Neill). By the time of the 1911 Census he was living at 10 Beaver Row, Pembroke East, Dublin, with his widowed mother and siblings, and working as a motor engine apprentice.
Wallace enlisted in the North Irish Horse on 3 October 1914 (No.1270). He trained at the regiment's Antrim reserve camp before embarking for France on 17 November 1915 with F Squadron, which at the time was serving as divisional cavalry to the 33rd Division.
In June 1916 F Squadron combined with C Squadron and the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons Service Squadron to form the 2nd North Irish Horse Regiment, serving as corps cavalry to X Corps.
During 1916 or early 1917, however, Wallace fell ill and was evacuated to the UK for treatment. He was found to be suffering from tuberculosis, and on 11 May 1917 was discharged, being 'no longer physically fit for war service' (paragraph 392 (xvi), King's Regulations). He was granted a pension, the tuberculosis found to have been aggravated by his military service. As late as December 1922 his level of disability was assessed to 50 per cent.