Private George Briggs
This North Irish Horseman was probably the George Briggs born on 17 December 1888 at Tully North, Newtowngore, County Leitrim, the son of domestic servant Harriett Briggs. At the time of the 1901 Census he was living at the farm of his aunt, Mary Arnold, and her husband. Ten years later he was living at Drumharkan Glebe, Cloone, County Leitrim, at the home of Church of Ireland clergyman Andrew Graham, where he worked as a 'general domestic man'.
Briggs enlisted in the North Irish Horse on 3 September 1914 (No.1113 – later Corps of Hussars No.71237). On 1 May 1915 he embarked for France with D Squadron, which at the time was serving as divisional cavalry to the 51st Division.
In May 1916 D Squadron came together with A and E Squadrons to form the 1st North Irish Horse Regiment, serving as corps cavalry to VII, XIX, then V Corps until February-March 1918, when the regiment was dismounted and converted to a cyclist unit, serving as corps cyclists to V Corps until the end of the war.
Briggs remained with the regiment throughout the war. He received a shrapnel wound to his right hand in August or early September 1918 during the Advance to Victory offensive.
On 4 March 1919 he was discharged due to the wound, being 'surplus to military requirements, having suffered impairment since entry into the service' (paragraph 392 (xvi)(a), King's Regulations). He was granted a pension – his level of disability assessed at 10 per cent.