John Thomas Huggins (1890-1916)
From Felling to the front line with the Canadian Army
Named after his father, John Thomas Huggins was born in Heworth, Felling in August 1890. His mother, Sarah Jane Huggins nee Boyd, was his father’s second wife. John had an elder half sister, Alice, a brother, Albert, and a sister, Ada. John Thomas senior died in 1906 and brother Albert died the following year. In March 1910 young John Thomas sailed from Glasgow, Lanarkshire to Halifax, Nova Scotia on board the SS Grampian, making for Oak Lake, Manitoba. He was followed a year later by his mother and sister Ada.
When John enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) in Saskatoon in October 1914, he was living with his mother and sister in the town and he was working as a farmer. Before he had even left Canada, his mother had remarried and she and Ada moved to live with John Bell. John Thomas was one of 228 men from Saskatoon to become part of the 28th Battalion and he became Private 73985 attached to “D” Company and underwent initial training in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
The battalion sailed from Montreal, Quebec to Plymouth, Devon on the SS Northland, arriving on 7 June 1915 after a calm crossing. They then travelled by train to Dibgate Camp west of Dover, Kent. By August they were at the training camp at Otterpool, Kent where they were inspected at various times by the Canadian Prime Minister, King George V and Lord Kitchener.
16 September 1915 saw the battalion receive orders to embark for France so in their new British uniforms and carrying packs weighing 90 pounds they marched into Folkestone. They arrived in Boulogne, France from where they travelled by train and foot into Belgium and a bivouac at Ploegsteert. One week later they were in the trenches. They would carry on with trench routine, rotating in and out of the line, for the rest of the winter, working to improve field works, dressing stations as well as patrolling “No Man’s Land”.
January 1916 saw the battalion moving north across the Ypres-Menin Road and at the end of March were transferred to Mettern before moving to St Eloi in April. 4 May 1916 saw them relieving the 26th Battalion in the trenches and it was here the following day that Private 73985 Huggins was killed in action. He is buried in Spoilbank Cemetery, Zillebeke, Belgium.
Civil Parish: Heworth
Birth date: 19-Aug-1890
Death date: 05-May-1916
Armed force/civilian: Army
Residence: 8 Cross Row, Heworth, Felling (1891 census)
325 Avenue 4 South, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada (1914 enlistment papers)
Religion: Presbyterian
Employment: Farmer (1914 enlistment papers)
Family: Parents: John Thomas Huggins, Sarah Jane Huggins nee Boyd
Siblings: Alice Huggins (half sister); Albert Huggins, Ada Elena Huggins
Military service:
73984
Private
28th Battalion Canadian Expeditionary Force
Medal(s): 1914/15 Star
British War Medal
Victory Medal
Memorial(s): Spoilbank Cemetery, Zillebeke, Belgium
Gender: Male
Contributed by Jean Longstaff, Durham | Jim Busby, Canada