Cecil Forbes was the son of John and Anna Bella Forbes. He was born on 14th November 1885 in Omagh. He was one of at least seven children. By 1911, he was living in Belfast, working as a railway clerk. Private Cecil Forbes served with the Machine Gun Corps from the 23rd November 1914 until the 16th October 1918. He contracted tuberculosis and was medically discharged due to sickness. Cecil Forbes died at home in the Dungannon and Ballymagran area on 8th December 1920, aged 35 years old.