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John Horsley (1895-1916)


Hartlepool youth served with Canadian Expeditionary Force killed in the trenches


There were nine infants called John Horsley born in Hartlepool between 1894 and 1898 and two whose mother was called Rebecca. The John Horsley who went on to fight in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) was the son of William Horsley, an iron moulder. At the time of the 1901 census, he and his parents had moved to Stockton on Tees. On 15 September 1909, John and his mother, Rebecca, sailed from Liverpool, Lancashire to Quebec, Canada on SS Lake Champlain. Father William joined them the following year when they had settled in Oshawa, Ontario.

June 1915 saw labourer John travel to Camp Niagara to enlist in the CEF. He gave his mother in Oshawa as his next of kin and became Private 408797 of the 37th Battalion. Under the command of Lt-Col C F Bick, the battalion embarked for England on the SS Lapland at the end of November 1915. On arrival at Shorncliffe, Kent, the battalion numbered 40 officers and 1104 other ranks. In February 1916 John was one of the 405 men who were transferred to the 12th Reserve Battalion to provide reinforcements for the Canadian Corps in the field. On 8 May 1916 he was transferred from the 12th to the 19th Battalion as a reinforcement in the field.

John joined the 19th Battalion on 10 June 1916 in reserve Camp at Reninghelst, Flanders, Belgium as they left the trenches near Ypres. September saw them in billets near Albert, Somme, France and, on 15 June, in conjunction with the French, the Canadian Corps attacked the German trenches near Courcelette. Under intense fire all day, the objectives were gained but the battalion lost an estimated 250 men, one of whom was Private 408797 Horsley. With no known grave he is remembered on the Vimy Memorial, Vimy, France and in Canada on the Oshawa War Memorial.

Civil Parish: Hartlepool

Birth date: 04-Apr-1895

Death date: 15-Sep-1916

Armed force/civilian: Army

Residence: 40 Adderby Street, Stockton on Tees (1901 census)
33 Olive Street, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada (1915 enlistment papers)

Religion: Methodist

Employment: Labourer (1915 enlistment papers)

Family: Parents: William Horsley, Rebecca Horsley

Military service:

408797
Private
37th Battalion Canadian Expeditionary Force
12th Reserve Battalion Canadian Expeditionary Force
19th Battalion Canadian Expeditionary Force

Medal(s): Victory Medal
British War Medal

Memorial(s): Vimy Memorial, Vimy, France
Oshawa War Memorial, Ontario, Canada

Gender: Male

Contributed by Jean Longstaff, Durham

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