Private James Forsythe
James Forsythe was born on 26 April 1896 at Newtownhamilton, County Armagh, the fourth of nine children of tailor James Forsythe and his wife Jane (née Taylor). At the time of the 1911 Census he was living at 17 Armagh Street, Newtownhamilton with his parents and seven surviving siblings.
Forsythe enlisted in the North Irish Horse with his older brother William John Forsythe between 1 and 5 February 1913 (No.797). He embarked for France with C Squadron on 20 August 1914, seeing action on the retreat from Mons and advance to the Aisne.
C Squadron then served as corps headquarters cavalry until April 1915, when it was attached as divisional cavalry to the 3rd Division. In June 1916 it joined with F Squadron and the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons Service Squadron to form the 2nd North Irish Horse Regiment, attached as corps cavalry to X Corps until September 1917, when the regiment was disbanded and most of its men were transferred to the infantry. Like the majority, Forsythe joined the 9th (Service) Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers – renamed the 9th (North Irish Horse) Battalion – on 20 September. He was issued regimental number 41490.
He probably saw action with the battalion at the Battle of Cambrai in November and December 1917, and during the retreat from St Quentin from 21-28 March 1918. He was wounded soon after, in the left leg, probably in the fighting between Wulverghem and Kemmel on the Ypres front in April 1918. The leg had to be amputated.
He was discharged on 20 February 1920 and was granted a pension as a result of his injury, his level of disability assessed at 60 per cent in April 1920.
Following his discharge Forsythe lived in Belfast, where he worked as a tailor. On 20 February 1922 he married Ellen Irvine in the Albertsbridge Road Congregational Church, Belfast. James was living at 180 Silvio Street at the time, but the couple later lived at 7 Thiepval Avenue. He died in the Royal Victoria Hospital on 2 June 1937.
Another brother, David Forsythe, was probably the man of that name who served in the North Irish Horse from mid-1917.
This page last updated 10 October 2023.