Private Francis John Black
Francis John (Frank) Black was born on 11 September 1891 at Tullynewy, Dunaghy, County Antrim, the second of five children of general labourer William Black and his wife Matilda (née Park). By the time of the 1911 Census he was living at Carniny, Ballymena, with his parents, siblings and an aunt, and working as a draper's assistant. (Records show that he worked for woollen draper Gordon Black of Church Street, Ballymena, and general draper Thomas Allen Brett of Little Francis Street, Newtownards, County Down.)
Black enlisted in the North Irish Horse at Antrim on 15 November 1915 (No.1872 – later Corps of Hussars No.71607). He trained at the regiment's Antrim reserve camp before embarking for France on 28 June 1916. There he was posted to A Squadron of the 1st North Irish Horse Regiment. This regiment served as corps cavalry to VII, XIX, then V Corps from its establishment in May 1916 until February-March 1918, when it was dismounted and converted to a cyclist unit, serving as corps cyclists to V Corps until the end of the war.
Black remained with the regiment until near the end of the war, serving as a Lewis Gunner. On 24 August 1918, however, he fell ill. Admitted to the 2nd Canadian General Hospital at Le Treport, he was found to be suffering from 'disordered action of the heart'. In September he was evacuated to the UK, where he was treated in the Grove Military Hospital at Tooting.
On 18 October 1918 Black was transferred to the Labour Corps (No.669246), and later that month was posted to the 395th Home Service Labour Company at Newtownards. On 6 March 1919 he was demobilised and transferred to Class Z, Army Reserve.