Private John Welsh Darling
John Welsh Darling was born on 2 February 1893 at Cornabrass, Newtownbutler, County Fermanagh, the only child of farmer James Darling and his wife Rebecca (née Welsh). His mother died when he was just six years old and from then he lived at nearby Drumbrughas with his aunt Mary Anne Welsh.
Darling enlisted in the North Irish Horse at Lisnaskea on 26 April 1913 (No.846), serving in No.3 Troop of C (Enniskillen) Squadron.
Following the outbreak of war, however, he failed to report for duty. On 1 October 1914 his doctor, Surgeon F.C. Fitzgerald, wrote to the North Irish Horse Adjutant:
I am writing for Pte J. Darling, & to say, that some days ago I was asked to see him in his own home two miles from Newtownbutler, as he was not feeling able to come in & see me, ... I then found him in a very weak excited state, his heart's action quite irregular, & his general condition one that to my mind bordered on Insanity; several of this young man's relatives died quite insane, they were patients of mine, so I know the family history. I think he should be given 2 or 3 months to recuperate in, he can then perhaps be sent forward for examination by a military surgeon. I must emphatically decline to report him as fit to travel.
P.S. I have no interest, direct or indirect, in keeping the lad at home, but at present he would be a useless unit in any force. I am acting here as recruiting agent for the Ulster volunteer force, & if he were offered to me tomorrow, I'd refuse to enlist him.
Following a medical board report, on 21 October 1914 Darling was discharged as unfit for military service (paragraph 281(i), Mobilisation Regulations), due to 'disordered action of the heart'. His military character was recorded as 'very good'.
In June 1923 Darling unsuccessfully sought a disability pension, writing:
I was enlisted on [26 Apr. 1913] did two trainings but in the second got a kick from a horse which laid me for a good part of the training. when I came home I got worse and when the war broke out I was unable to go up on a Army Medical. Doctor came to me I did not know how to get my discharge certificate till very lately so that I was unable to get any benefit so I wonder if you could consider my case for a pension or a lump sum.
After his discharge Darling returned to farming at Drumbrughas. he died in the Enniskillen County Hospital on 27 November 1942.