Pte
John Marshall
Information about birth
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Date of birth: 09/11/1884 |
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Place of birth: Skipton, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom |
General information
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Profession: Coal miner |
Army information
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Country: England, United Kingdom |
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Force: British Expeditionary Force |
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Rank: Private |
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Service number: 203309 |
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Enlistment place: Wigan, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom |
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Units: — King's (Liverpool Regiment), 1/8th Bn. (Irish) (Last known unit) |
Information about death
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Date of death: 20/09/1917 |
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Place of death: Schüler Galleries, Belgium |
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Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
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Age: 32 |
Memorial
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Tyne Cot Memorial Panel: 33A |
Distinctions and medals 2
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British War Medal Medal |
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Victory Medal Medal |
Points of interest 2
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Enlistment place |
My story
John Marshall was born in 1884 in Skipton, North Yorkshire to the household of James Marshall and Jane Marshall (nee Cullen). He married Elizabeth Marshall (nee Gibbon) in the year 1907 and had two children with her, his son Walter Arthur and daughter Catherine. Prior to the war John worked as a coal miner and later at Roburite & Ammonal Limited, an explosives manaufacturer located in Wigan, Lancashire.
He enlisted in February 1917 at Wigan and served with the 1/8th (Irish) Battalion, King's (Liverpool Regiment), part of the 164th (North Lancashire) Brigade, of the 55th (West Lancashire) Division. Prior to his death on the 20th of September 1917, his battalion concluded final preparations before moving to the battle front on the 18th of September of the same year. On the night of the 18th and 19th they relieved the 1/10th (Scottish) Battalion of the King’s (Liverpool Regiment) and took over the Congreve / Liverpool Trench. From here they moved to assembly positions on the 19th to take part in the Battle of the Menin Road Ridge the next day.
On 20 September 1917 the 55th Division took part in the opening phase of the Battle of the Menin Road Ridge, a stage in the Battle of Passchendaele. The 165th brigade attacked on the right and the 164th Brigade on the left flank of the divisional front. The 1/8th King’s were on the extreme left side of the 164th Brigade during the attack. The Liverpool Irish were to capture and consolidate two objectives. First, a line of trenches and strongpoints on the extreme left and from thence to Schüler Galleries. Secondly they were to take the strongpoint at Schüler Farm and a small portion of ground Eastward.
At zero hour, 5.40 a.m. the attacking parties moved forward behind a creeping barrage. Once the men had left their jump-off positions, a heavy German artillery barrage came down on the Liverpool Irish. They also came under severe machine gun and rifle fire from the German strongpoint on the right bank of the Hanebeek. Heavy German resistance was also met from the shell holes and shallow trenches about 40 yards in front of the Schüler Galleries lines as well as from concrete emplacements at the Northern end of Schüler Galleries. The advance of the Liverpool Irish was momentarily checked, but the Battalion soon rallied, attacked and captured the Schüler Galeries Line. The concrete emplacements on the Northern end were outflanked and captured by 7.15 a.m. The Liverpool Irish re-formed for the attack on the second objective, though they had lost touch with the barrage. Without the assistance of the artillery it proved impossible to storm Schüler Farm. Several attempts to attack the position were halted by machine-gun and rifle fire from Cross cottages and from Schüler Farm itself and the Battalion chose to dig in on the Galleries Line. It took until the 21st to take Schüler Farm.
Thirty-three-year-old Private John Marshall was killed in action on 20 September 1917. His body was not recovered or identified after the war. He is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial, panel 33A.
He enlisted in February 1917 at Wigan and served with the 1/8th (Irish) Battalion, King's (Liverpool Regiment), part of the 164th (North Lancashire) Brigade, of the 55th (West Lancashire) Division. Prior to his death on the 20th of September 1917, his battalion concluded final preparations before moving to the battle front on the 18th of September of the same year. On the night of the 18th and 19th they relieved the 1/10th (Scottish) Battalion of the King’s (Liverpool Regiment) and took over the Congreve / Liverpool Trench. From here they moved to assembly positions on the 19th to take part in the Battle of the Menin Road Ridge the next day.
On 20 September 1917 the 55th Division took part in the opening phase of the Battle of the Menin Road Ridge, a stage in the Battle of Passchendaele. The 165th brigade attacked on the right and the 164th Brigade on the left flank of the divisional front. The 1/8th King’s were on the extreme left side of the 164th Brigade during the attack. The Liverpool Irish were to capture and consolidate two objectives. First, a line of trenches and strongpoints on the extreme left and from thence to Schüler Galleries. Secondly they were to take the strongpoint at Schüler Farm and a small portion of ground Eastward.
At zero hour, 5.40 a.m. the attacking parties moved forward behind a creeping barrage. Once the men had left their jump-off positions, a heavy German artillery barrage came down on the Liverpool Irish. They also came under severe machine gun and rifle fire from the German strongpoint on the right bank of the Hanebeek. Heavy German resistance was also met from the shell holes and shallow trenches about 40 yards in front of the Schüler Galleries lines as well as from concrete emplacements at the Northern end of Schüler Galleries. The advance of the Liverpool Irish was momentarily checked, but the Battalion soon rallied, attacked and captured the Schüler Galeries Line. The concrete emplacements on the Northern end were outflanked and captured by 7.15 a.m. The Liverpool Irish re-formed for the attack on the second objective, though they had lost touch with the barrage. Without the assistance of the artillery it proved impossible to storm Schüler Farm. Several attempts to attack the position were halted by machine-gun and rifle fire from Cross cottages and from Schüler Farm itself and the Battalion chose to dig in on the Galleries Line. It took until the 21st to take Schüler Farm.
Thirty-three-year-old Private John Marshall was killed in action on 20 September 1917. His body was not recovered or identified after the war. He is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial, panel 33A.
Sources 6
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Ancestry https://www.ancestry.com Sources used |
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CWGC https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/1634564/john-marshall/ Sources used |
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McCarthy Chris. "Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account" (London, Uniform, 2018), 84-85. Sources used |
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The Long, Long Trial http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk Sources used |
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War Diary, 1st/8th (Irish) Battalion The King’s (Liverpool Regiment), September 1917 http://www.nmarchive.com/war-diary-result/2923-3961/page/0 Sources used |
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Wyrall Everard. The history of the King’s Regiment (Liverpool): 1914-1919. London: Edward Arnold & Co., 1928. 514-7. Sources used |