Private William Armstrong
William Armstrong was born on 30 April 1894 at 235 Spamount Street, Belfast, the first of four children of grocer Henry Armstrong and his wife Margaretta (née Clarke). By the time of the 1911 Census he was living at 187 Upper Meadow Street, Belfast, with his parents and two of his siblings.
Armstrong enlisted in the North Irish Horse on 8 November 1915 (No.1813 – later Corps of Hussars No,71573). He trained at the regiment's Antrim reserve depot before embarking for France in 1916, where he was posted to one of the squadrons of the 1st or 2nd North Irish Horse Regiments.
At some point during 1916, while attached to the Military Mounted Police, Armstrong was wounded. Following his recovery he was posted to a squadron of the 1st North Irish Horse Regiment.
Armstrong was one of ten men of the regiment gassed while on a working party at Ypres on 6 September 1917. It is not known whether he recovered sufficiently to rejoin his regiment at the front later in the war.
On 5 March 1919 Armstrong was demobilised and transferred to Class Z, Army Reserve.