John Wilson was the son of Mrs Mary Wilson. John was born about 1892 in Magherafelt. By the time of the 1901 census the family had moved to Ahoghill Village, County Antrim. His mother was a linen dealer. John left school and was working as a tender. He was a marathon runner and also played for Ahoghill Football Club. John Wilson enlisted in Ballymena. Rifleman John Wilson was serving with the 12th Battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles when he was killed in action on the first day of the Battle of the Somme on Saturday 1st July 1916.
Further Information
John Wilson was the son of Mrs Mary Wilson. John was born about 1892 in Magherafelt.
Known family: Mary Wilson, John Wilson (born about 1892), Sarah Wilson (born about 1896).
By the time of the 1901 census John was age 9, living with the family at house 61 in Ahoghill Village, County Antrim. His mother was a linen dealer.
The 1911 census lists John as age 19 living with the family at house 63 in Ahoghill Town, Antrim. John was working as a tender.
John was a marathon runner and also played for Ahoghill Football Club.
John Wilson enlisted in Ballymena.
Rifleman John Wilson was serving with the 12th Battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles when he was killed in action on the first day of the Battle of the Somme on Saturday 1st July 1916. He was last seen 'half way across German lines'.
From the Belfast Newsletter dated 5th December 1916:
Private John Wilson, Royal Irish Rifles, Ahoghill, killed
Mrs Mary Wilson, who was living at Church Street, Ahoghill, received a letter from the Rev. Andrew Gibson, Presbyterian Chaplain, informing her that her son, Rifleman John Wilson (Central Antrim Volunteers), has been officially reported as missing‚ since the day the Ulster Division went into action. Continuing, the Rev. Gibson says:-
‘I wrote to offer you our deepest sympathy in your suspense and anxiety and to express the hope that you may have heard of him from some reliable quarter. It is to be feared that many of the missing have laid down their lives on the field of battle. Today there are many homes in Ulster where sorrow is, and many hearts prostrate with grief. Ulster’s sons fought a great fight and covered her name with glory. We are confident that you at home will meet these losses bravely and will walk the hard path with unwavering faith as those who have fallen would wish us to do.’
Rifleman John Wilson has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial. The Thiepval Memorial, the Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, bears the names of more than 72,000 officers and men of the United Kingdom and South African forces who died in the Somme sector before 20 March 1918 and have no known grave. Over 90% of those commemorated died between July and November 1916.
Rifleman John Wilson is also commemorated in Ahoghill Church of Ireland.
The CWGC Record Rifleman John Wilson was the son of Mrs Mary Wilson of Church Street, Ahoghill, Ballymena, County Antrim.
