John Nicholson (1897-1917)
Solicitors' clerk from Beamish served with DLI killed at the Battle of Arras
John was born in 1897 in Beamish, the fourth child and only son of Thomas and Alice Anne Nicholson. His father died when he was two years old. In 1901 he was living with his widowed mother and three older sisters at Urpeth West House, High Holden where his mother was a grocer and draper dealer at home. By 1911 the family had moved to 1 Nicholson Terrace, Beamish.
John attested at Stanley on 18 November 1915 when he gave his address as Urpeth West House and he was a solicitor’s clerk aged 18 years and four months. On 14 November 1916 John went to France with 2nd Battalion Durham Light Infantry and was posted soon after to 18th Battalion. He was killed in action 3 May 1917.
Civil Parish: Urpeth
Birth date: 1897
Death date: 03-May-1917
Residence: Urpeth West House, High Holden (1901 census)
1 Nicholson Terrace, Beamish (1911 census)
Urpeth West House, Beamish (1915 Attestation form)
Employment: Solicitors’ Clerk
Family: Parents: Thomas Nicholson (d.1899) and Alice Anne Nicholson (b.1863)
Siblings: Margaret Elizabeth (b.1893), Marion (b.1895) and Alice Ann (b.1896)
Military service:
Attested Stanley 18-Nov-1915
Exped Force France 14-Nov-1916 2nd Battalion, DLI
26-Nov-1916 posted to 18th Battalion DLI
Killed in action 03-May-1917
Medal(s): British War Medal
Victory Medal
Memorial(s): Arras Memorial
Plaque, St Paul’s Church, West Pelton
Family gravestone in St Paul’s Church, West Pelton
Gender: Male
Contributed by Harold P, Durham