John Armour likeness

John Armour cap badgePrivate John Armour

5th (Service) Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
Service No: 19954

John Armour grave

1490

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Click here for a frameable A4 print
Personal details

Family Information

Son of John Armour and Jane Magill Armour (1859 - /09/1895) of 7 Townhead St, Ballymoney, Co. Antrim. Husband of Jane McWhinnie Armour (02/12/1895 - 1975) of 47 Coatbank St, Coatbridge then 18 Cameron St, Coatbridge. Father of John Armour (24/09/1911 - 1987), James Hoey C Armour (20/12/1914 - 02/06/1992) and Henry McWhinnie Armour (10/06/1919 - 07/08/1972). John never got to see his son Henry. From the 1901 Ireland Census - Address - Townhead St, Ballymoney, Co. Antrim - John Armour aged 40, Nancy Dixon Armour aged 18, John Armour aged 14, William Armour aged 11, Elizabeth Armour aged 8, Martha Armour aged 6. Another son James is listed born 26/03/1880. John's Pension was awarded to his wife Jane of 18 Cameron St, Coatbridge on the 12/06/1919. Their 3 children are also listed.

Born / Resided

7 Townhead St, Ballymoney, Co, Antrim / 47 Coatbank St, Coatbridge and 18 Cameron St, Coatbridge.

Died

Died of Edema of the Lungs and Exposure on the 23/11/1918 in a Flanders Hospital (48th, 37th and 12th Casualty Clearing Stations were stationed at Busigny)

Enlisted

Glasgow

Employed

Moulder in Caledonian Railway Works, Springburn, Glasgow / Apprentice Butcher in Ballymoney when 14 years old.

Age

31 / DOB - 30/10/1887

Buried / Remembered

Busigny Communal Cemetery Extension (VIII. B. 14), Nord, France.

Cemetery / Memorial Information

Busigny was captured by the 30th American Division and British cavalry on 9 October 1918, in the Battle of Cambrai, and in the course of the next two months the 48th, 37th and 12th Casualty Clearing Stations came successively to the village. The majority of the burials were made from these three hospitals. The cemetery extension was begun in October 1918, and used until February 1919. After the Armistice it was enlarged when graves were brought into Plots II-VII of graves from a wide area between Cambrai and Guise. Busigny Communal Cemetery Extension contains 670 First World War burials, 64 of them unidentified.

Additional Information

John arrived in France on the 26/05/1915. He was originally with the 2nd Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. The 5th (Service) Battalion were part of the 31st Brigade, 10th (Irish) Division. The Battalion landed at Suvla Bay, Gallipoli on the 07/08/1915 (not sure if John went to Gallipoli). The Battalion left the 10th (Irish) Division and moved to France on the 28/05/1918 and transferred to the 198th (East Lancashire) Brigade, 66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division at Avoncourt on the 19/07/1918. John Died of Edema of the Lungs and Exposure 12 days after the Armistice. The 48th, 37th and 12th Casualty Clearing Stations were stationed at Busigny. John died in one of these. My information of John's death comes from his Pension Record. See photos for a mention of how John possibly died from Robert Thompson's book Ballymoney Heroes 1914-1918. The Divisions last battle was the Battle of the Selle, 17th - 25th October 1918. This was part of the Final Advance in Picardy, 17th October - 11th November 1918. The hardest fought of the final offensive actions. First, Third and Fourth Armies exploited their success in breaking the Hindenburg Line by pushing on across the Rivers Selle and Sambre, recapturing Valenciennes and finally in liberating Mons where it had all begun for the British Expeditionary Force more than four years before. On the 20th - 21st October the Division was withdrawn and rested in the Serain area until the 1st November. It advanced through Le Cateau from the 2nd November and had some sharp engagements over the next few days. SEE PHOTOS x 43 FOR THE BATTALION WAR DIARY FROM OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 1918. John's Grave photo donated by Mick McCann at the britishwargraves.co.uk. John is also remembered on the Maxwell Parish Church Roll of Honour x 2 and the Ballymoney War Memorial x 4 (see photos). I personally placed at Poppy at the Ballymoney War Memorial on behalf of his namesake relative John Armour and family. See photos for John's Medal Index Card, his Army Register of Soldiers Effects, his Service Medal and Award Rolls, his CWGC Grave Registration x 2, his Headstone Report x 2, his name on the Ireland Casualties WW1 list, Busigny Communal Cemetery Extension, the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers Cap Badge, John's Pension Records x 2, the Ballymoney Heroes book, John's mention in the book, John's son Henry's Birth Certificate (Henry was born just after his father died), photos of John's wife Jane and his son James. John's Grave Inscription reads "TO DIE IS GAIN". Finally, see photos for the 66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division Order of Battle x 13 (the Division he was with when he died).

Photos
John Armour Medal Index CardJohn Armour newspaper clippingJohn Armour newspaper clippingJohn Armour newspaper clippingJohn Armour remembered at homeJohn Armour remembered at homeJohn Armour remembered at homeJohn Armour remembered at homeJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photoJohn Armour additional photo

War Diaries

The battalion War Diary is available on the National Archives website.

Creative Commons License

We have made this information and the images available under a Creative Commons BY-NC license. This means you may reuse it for non-commercial purposes only and must attribute it to us using the following statement: © coatbridgeandthegreatwar.com

Comments
I'm married to John Armour who is private John Armours Great Grandson, John has a lot of interest in his Great Grandfather and has all his medals from the Great War, we also visited his grave in Busigny France a good few years ago fantastic experience, I'm sure John will leave some more information when he sees this site.
Jane Armour, Coatbridge , 22/02/2019 8:29PM

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