Military History

John is listed as being killed in action on 28th April 1917, having initially been reported missing. The following extract from the Commanding Officers diary for that day is transcribed below courtest of Lightbobs.com a website dedicated to the history of the Oxford & Bucks Light Infantry.

Commanding Officers (Lieut.-Colonel Crosse's) Diary.

April 27th.- At 11 a.m. the Regiment moved to the transport bivouac, there to equip and move direct to the Assembly Trenches after dark. On going into the Assembly Trenches on the night of the 27th/28th, A Company was shelled near Brigade H.Q., 2nd Lieut. E.G. Callo­way and 6 men were killed, and a number of others wounded. Two Lewis-guns were destroyed, and the teams practically all casualties. There were several others wounded going in, for the most part belonging to Regimental H.Q.

April 28th.-4.25 a.m. was fixed for "zero hour," when the Regiment attacked in four Waves, B and D Companies (Captain Giles and Captain Barnes) on the right and left front respectively, C and A Companies (Lieut. Dowson and 2nd Lieut. Whitehead) forming the 3rd and 4th Waves in rear.

The 8th Battalion Canadian Infantry attacked on the left and the 2nd H.L.I, on the right, the 6th Infantry Brigade being again beyond them on the right. The whole attack was more successful on the left than on the right, the Canadian Corps taking and holding, apparently without difficulty, all their objectives.

On the right the 6th Infantry Brigade experienced considerable trouble in the vicinity of Oppy Wood and Village, partly due, it is believed, to an uncertain situation still farther to the right or southwards. This affected the Regiment and the 2nd H.L.I, on our right in that our right flank had to be swung back and in a measure made "defensive."

The feature of the operations (which continued, as far as the Regiment was concerned, up to the night of the lst/2nd May, when it was finally relieved) was the initiative, resource, and good leading of the Company and Platoon Commanders, more especially Captain D. T. Barnes and Captain Giles, to whom very great credit is due for the immediate control of the forward situation.

All their subordinate commanders seemed to realize the necessity for at once collecting together adjacent men—no matter to whom they belonged—and retelling-off and reorganizing them for immediate further action. Particularly good work in this latter respect was done by 2nd Lieut. B. J. Crewe.

The casualties included 2nd Lieut. G. S. La W. Lyle, wounded (subsequently died of his wounds at Aubigny); also wounded: Lieut. L. S. Dowson, 2nd Lieut. P. H. R. Whitehead, 2nd Lieut. A. E. Walter, 2nd Lieut. H. A. Smith, 2nd Lieut. H. S. Eagle (who re­joined after 3 days), about 200 other ranks, of whom 130 were wounded, and the remainder either killed or missing.

The Regiment, in touch on either flank with the adjacent troops, continued to hold its front, approximately on the line of the "Blue Line" (2nd Objective), where extremely good work was done by the Lewis-gunners. The trenches were very much shelled and badly provided with dugouts; a number of men were buried, and a certain number of casualties occurred, the exact figures it has not yet been possible to arrive at as regards separating them from those which occurred in the actual attack. After the attack the Captains of the two leading Companies of the Regiment reported :--

Right Company.—"On my Company front there was only one proper gap in the wire, and that was on the right. The remainder of the wire had not been cut very much."  Left Company.—"There was one gap in the wire on my Company frontage, and that was a very bad gap."

Both these officers described our barrage at zero as "weak." Rations, water, and stores for consolidation purposes were brought up by the 10th (Pioneer) Battalion D.C.L.I. As far as I could ascertain, arrangements in accordance with Field Service Regulations, Part II, Ch. XI (12) for clearing our part of the area of operations of the wounded had not been made sufficiently early, as might have been done.