Private John Rusk
The only reference to this man's military service discovered to date is contained in the Presbyterian Church in Ireland's Roll of Honour: 1914-1919, which states that he served as a Private/ Trooper in the North Irish Horse, and that he lived at Winterdene, Cavehill Road, Belfast. He is shown as belonging to both the Fortwilliam Park, and Macrory Memorial Congregations.
John Rusk was born on 4 March 1900 at 88 Limestone Road, Belfast, the second of four children of linen merchant (or linen warehouseman) James Rusk and his wife Janet Bigger Rusk (née Farquhar). At the time of the 1911 Census he was living at 3 Coronilia, Cavehill Road, with his parents and two surviving siblings. The family later moved to nearby Winterdene.
Given his age it is probable that Rusk enlisted in the North Irish Horse in 1917 or 1918. He would have served until the end of the war at the regiment's reserve depot at Antrim before being demobilised in 1919.
In the 1920s he emigrated to Canada, shipping records giving his occupation variously as merchant, book-keeper and clerk.
This page last updated 28 June 2025.