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John Henry Belt (1893-1918)


Darlington man awarded Military Medal


Black Banks Farm, Hurworth Moor, Darlington was the childhood home of Wesleyan John Henry (born 21/02/1893) and his dairy farmer father, Robert, mother Elizabeth and his elder brothers and sisters. The whole family emigrated to Canada, travelling third class, on the “Empress of Britain” sailing from Liverpool to Montreal, arriving on 26th October 1911, and then on to Saskatchewan.

Robert signed his attestation papers in October 1914, aged 21, in Prince Albert and Private 73427 embarked for England 7 months later, sailing on the SS Northland in May 1915. (This ship had just been renamed, as the original name SS Zeeland was thought to be German sounding).
By the end of August of that year he was deemed to be medically unfit and was admitted to the St Martin’s Plain Hospital at Shorncliffe, Kent. He was treated for syphilis and was in hospital for 23 days.

Returning to his unit of 28th Battalion (North West) of the Canadian Expeditionary Force just before Christmas, he was treated in the hospital at Etaples for bronchitis in February, and returned to his battalion to fight in the Somme Offensive but was wounded on 29th July 1916; he was returned to England and treated at the Canadian Hospital at Bushey Park, the gunshot wound healed with no complications but John needed rehabilitation and didn’t return to France until November.

On 2nd February 1917 his name was added to the Syphilis Register and he was hospitalised in Brighton for 3 months where he received a full course of treatment.

John Henry added a will to his pay book on 16th July 1917 leaving the whole of his property and effects to Mrs R Belt (his mother?), Alingby, Prince Albert. Only 2 days later at St.Omer he was hit by a bullet between 7th/8th ribs which came out below the 12th rib only 3 inches from his spine and damaged the liver and kidneys, reports say he was “dangerously wounded”. He was sent to hospital in Boulogne for initial treatment and then on to Bagthorpe Military Hospital, Nottingham, where the wounds healed, before convalescence at Bushey Park.

Returning to his unit in June 1918, he then fought in what the Battalion diary calls “the hardest fight in the history of the Battalion”, in the vicinity of Iwuy, in NW France, which held a key position in the German rearguard. The action on 11th October was “one of great severity” and John Henry Bolt was one of the 143 casualties. The casualty report reads “This soldier was first slightly wounded in the wrist by shrapnel, but carried on. Later in the day he was shot through the head by an enemy bullet and instantly killed”.

John Henry Belt is buried in Niagara Cemetery in Iwuy, Pas-de-Calais, France having been awarded the Military Medal.

Saskatchewan GenWeb, Battle of Iwuy:
http://sites.rootsweb.com/~cansk/surnames/BattleOfIwuy/

Civil Parish: Hurworth

Armed force/civilian: Army

Military service:

28th Battalion (North West) of the Canadian Expeditionary Force

Medal(s): Military Medal

Gender: Male

Contributed by Jean Longstaff, Durham | Jim Busby, Canada

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