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Private John James Douglas

 

John James (Jack) Douglas was born on 23 May 1898 in High Street, Ballymena, County Antrim, the last of seven children of clerk James Douglas and his wife Bessie (née Fegan). When John was aged just two his father, then secretary of the Ballymena Land Building and Investment Company, was found shot dead by a revolver in his office. The coroner delivered an open verdict. By the time of the 1911 Census John was living a 31 Elgin Street, Belfast, with his mother and four of his siblings.

Douglas enlisted in the North Irish Horse between 20 and 27 April 1916 (No.2156). He trained at the regiment's Antrim reserve camp until November 1916, when he and around 100 other North Irish Horsemen volunteered to transfer to the Royal Irish Rifles. The formal transfer took place on 7 December (Douglas was issued regimental number 40870), and on that day the men embarked for France. There they were posted to the 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles, joining it on the Somme front on 12 December.

Nothing more has been discovered about Douglas's service with the regiment during the war. On 14 October 1919 he was discharged. He was granted a pension due to a disease of the right ear, which was attributed to his military service, his level of disability assessed at 10 per cent.