In memoriam
Private David Cameron
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David Cameron was born on 16 June 1891 at Corbally, Ahoghill, County Antrim, the first of five children of National School teachers William Cameron and his wife Margaret Elizabeth (nee Weir). Educated at Weston Super Mare in England and at the Ballymena Academy, by the time of the 1911 Census he was living with his parents and siblings at Cardonaghy, Galgorm, County Antrim. Soon after he was employed as a clerk with solicitor James Clarke of Ballymena.
Cameron enlisted in the North Irish Horse at Antrim in late 1916 or early 1917 (regimental number at present unknown). In July 1917 he transferred to the South Irish Horse (No.3151) and soon after, embarked for France as a reinforcement for one of the two South Irish Horse regiments there. (A newspaper article from 1918 suggests that he went to France with the North Irish Horse before transferring, but this seems unlikely.)
At the end of August 1917 the South Irish Horse regiments were disbanded and the men brought together to form the 7th (South Irish Horse) Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment. Cameron was issued a new regimental number – 25101.
On 12 December that year the 7th Battalion was in the lines on the south of the Cambrai front. Its war diary for the day states:
Battln relieved in evening by 7/8 R. Innis. Fus. & returned to billets at St. Emilie. Billets shelled & 28 men killed & 40 wounded. ... Battln moved out of billets & occupied Railway Cutting.
Cameron was one of the men wounded in that bombardment. Evacuated to a casualty clearing station, he died five days later. He was buried in the Tincourt New British Cemetery, Somme, France, grave III.G.15. His gravestone inscription reads:
25101 PRIVATE
D. CAMERON
ROYAL IRISH REGIMENT
17TH DECEMBER 1917 AGE 26
NOT DEAD BUT SLEEPETH
Image kindly provided by Steve Rogers, Project Co-ordinator of the The War Graves Photographic Project, www.twgpp.org.