Lance Corporal William James Wylie
William James Wylie (or Wiley) was born on 24 June 1890 at Cloghtogle, Lisbellaw, County Fermanagh, the fifth of six children of farmer Andrew Wylie and his wife Margaret (nee Finlay). His mother died when he was just five years old. By 1911 he was living at Cloghtogle with his father and two brothers and working on the family farm.
Wylie enlisted in the North Irish Horse at Enniskillen on 14 April 1909 (No.357). He was promoted to lance corporal on 21 May 1914.
On 20 August 1914 he embarked for France with C Squadron, seeing action on the retreat from Mons and advance to the Aisne.
In January 1915 he was briefly hospitalised at Hazebrouck with inflamed connective tissues in the hand.
When Wylie's term of service ended he chose to leave the army. He left France on 10 April 1916 and on 13 April was discharged at Antrim as 'time expired'. His record of service was marked as 'very good'.
After Wylie's discharge he returned to farming. He died at Cloghtogle on 15 October 1961.
Wylie's older brother Robert Alexander Wylie, who also served in the North Irish Horse, died of wounds in France on 26 June 1917.