James McGall was the eldest son of Johnston and Elizabeth McGall. He was born on 7th April 1884 in Portglenone. In Portglenone, James was a car driver. His father was a labourer. James married Sarah Jane Scott, probably in Scotland or northern England, sometime between 1901 and 1911. The 1911 census lists his wife Sarah Jane and two children living with her parents in Portglenone. Prior to enlistment he had worked in the coal mines in the north east of England. He enlisted in Gateshead. Private James McGall D.C.M. was serving with the Depot with the Durham Light Infantry when he had died of wounds in England on 1st November 1918, just ten days before the end of the war.
