John Robert Lamont was the youngest son of Robert and Mary Lamont. He was born on 4th May 1889 in the Moneymore area. He was the youngest of seven children. John’s mother and father died when he was young. He and his siblings lived in Ballygonney, near Coagh. John Lamont emigrated to the United States of America. John Lamont’s draft registration card records that he was employed as a motor man on the trams, employed by Chicago Surface Lines. He was living in Chicano, Illinois when he joined the US Army.