Private James Cunningham Wilson
James Cunningham Wilson was born on 8 August 1899 at Ballygallagh, Ballylinney, County Antrim, the sixth or seventh child of finisher James Wilson and his wife Jane (née McLarnon). At the time of the 1911 Census he was living at 12.1 Coronation Terrace, Ballyclare, with his widowed mother and six of his nine surviving siblings.
Wilson enlisted in the North Irish Horse at Antrim on 15 November 1917 (regimental number not known – later Corps of Hussars No.71991). He was described as being 5' 7½" tall, with a fresh complexion, red hair and blue eyes. He recorded his occupation as a farm labourer.
He was reported to have deserted from the regiment's reserve base at Antrim on 19 January 1918. It is not known if he was subsequentially apprehended.
By 1920 he was living at Ballyclare and working as a labourer. On 25 June he married Martha Agnew in Christ's Church of Ireland Parish Church, Ballynure.
This page last updated 14 February 2024.