Pte 21607 John Morgan Rees

• Age: 24
• From: Leeds
• Regiment: The King's (Liverpool Regiment) 19th Btn
• K.I.A Sunday 30th July 1916
• Commemorated at: Guillemont Rd Cem
  Panel Ref: V.D.5

His mother, aged 35, died in 1900 when John was 8 years old. She was buried at Holbeck Cemetery, Leeds. 

In 1901 his father is living with daughter Olive and his sister-in-law Emily Orange in Leeds. His sister Gwendoline is living in Leeds with her grandfather Oliver Orange and aunt Lily Orange.  John, age 8, is living in Wales with his uncle and aunt, William and Margaret Rees, and their baby son Cyril.  William and Margaret are both teachers at the National School, Oldcastle, Glamorgan, and live on the premises.  It is probable that John attended the school, but it is not known for how long. He also attended school for some time in Hawarden, Flintshire.

The 1911 census finds John living with his father at The Willows, Queensferry, West Saltney, Flintshire. His father is working at the Steelworks in the Smelting Dept.  John, 19, is an assurance clerk, Gwendolyn,15 is in domestic work, Olive,13 and Hilda, 6 are at school, and Edna is 4. Also in the household is his aunt, Lily Orange.   

John enlisted in Liverpool, as Private 21607, 19^th (Pals) Battalion of The King’s Liverpool Regiment.

After training locally, then at Belton Park Camp in Lincolnshire, and finally at Larkhill Camp on Salisbury Plain, John shipped to France with his battalion, disembarking at Boulogne on 07th November 1915. 

By the summer of 1916 the Pals battalions are in the front line trenches at Maricourt. The 19th Battalion were in reserve battalion during the successful attack at Montauban on 01st July 1916 but still suffered casualties. They were heavily involved in the fighting at Trones Wood and their next task was to be part of the attack at Guillemont. On 30th July 1916 three Battalions of the Liverpool Pals attacked the German stronghold of Guillemont. The attack was a disaster and cost the lives of close to 500 men.

19^th Battalion Diary 30^th July 1916

MALTZ HORN FARM

BATTLE begun. ZERO hour 4:45 am. The Battalion reached its objective, but suffered heavy losses, and had to evacuate its position owing to no reinforcements.

Everard Wyrall gives details of the attack in his book The History of The King’s Regiment; 

"The 2nd Attack on Guillemont- 29th July 1916 the 89th Brigade the 20th King's were to attack on the right and the 19th on the left. During the evening of the 29th the night was dark and foggy when the Battalions moved off and the 19th with Lt Col G Rollo commanding, when passing the South east of the Briqueterie they were heavily shelled first with H E and then with a new kind of asphyxiating Gas shell which had curious results, at first it had no nasty effect but about 8 hrs later men began to fall sick with violent headaches and pains in the stomach. All ranks had to wear gas masks which in the darkness and mist made the going terribly difficult. It was indeed wonderful that they were able to reach their Assembly point at all. But they did and by 2.45 a.m. on the 30th July 1916 the Btn was assembled having suffered about 30 Casualties on the way up ready for the Zero hour at 4.45 a.m.

It is known that the two left Companies of the 19th under Capt. Dodd and Capt. Nicholson advanced in touch with the 2nd Royal Scots Fusiliers on their left although they suffered many casualties from Machine gun Fire did not encounter many Germans and reached their final objective about the time allocated, beginning at once to dig in south of the orchard on the South east corner of Guillemont.  

On the left of the 19th the Scots Fusiliers most gallantly forced their way through Guillemont to the eastern side of the village but were soon overwhelmed by the enemy and few returned. 

At 8 a.m. finding that the village was not held the two left Companies of the 19th received no word from the rear or either flank believed themselves to be totally isolated so were forced to fall back and dig in, their position being untenable.

At midday the effective fighting strength of the 19th Btn was just 7 Officers and 43 other ranks" 

When darkness fell on the battlefield the 30^th Division held a line from the railway on the eastern side of Trones Wood , southwards and including Arrow Head Copse, to east of Maltz Horn Farm. On this line the division was relieved by the 55^th Division during the early hours of the 31^st July.

Casualties in the 19^th Battalion were 11 Officers and 435 Other Ranks 

The events of 30^th July 1916 were regarded at the time as Liverpool’s blackest day. There follows an extract from The History of the 89^th Brigade written by Brigadier General Ferdinand Stanley which gives an indication of the events of the day.

Guillemont

Well the hour to advance came, and of all bad luck in the world it was a thick fog; so thick that you couldn’t see more than about ten yards. It was next to impossible to delay the attack – it was much too big an operation- so forward they had to go. It will give some idea when I say that on one flank we had to go 1,750 yards over big rolling country. Everyone knows what it is like to cross enclosed country which you know really well in a fog and how easy it is to lose your way. Therefore, imagine these rolling hills, with no landmarks and absolutely unknown to anyone. Is it surprising that people lost their way and lost touch with those next to them? As a matter of fact, it was wonderful the way in which many men found their way right to the place we wanted to get to. But as a connected attack it was impossible.

The fog was intense it was practically impossible to keep direction and parties got split up. Owing to the heavy shelling all the Bosches had left their main trenches and were lying out in the open with snipers and machine guns in shell holes, so of course our fellows were the most easy prey.

It is so awfully sad now going about and finding so many splendid fellows gone.  

John was one of those killed, he was 24 years of age. 

He was buried close to where he fell and after the war, when graves were concentrated, his body was removed and reinterred in Guillemont Road Cemetery where he now rests. 

Guillemont was an important point in the German defences at the beginning of the Battle of the Somme in July 1916. It was taken by the 2nd Royal Scots Fusiliers on 30 July but the battalion was obliged to fall back, and it was again entered for a short time by the 55th (West Lancashire) Division on 8 August. On 18 August, the village was reached by the 2nd Division, and on 3 September (in the Battle of Guillemont) it was captured and cleared by the 20th (Light) and part of the 16th (Irish) Divisions. It was lost in March 1918 during the German advance, but retaken on 29 August by the 18th and 38th (Welsh) Divisions.

The cemetery was begun by fighting units (mainly of the Guards Division) and field ambulances after the Battle of Guillemont, and was closed in March 1917, when it contained 121 burials. It was greatly increased after the Armistice when graves (almost all of July-September 1916) were brought in from the battlefields immediately surrounding the village and certain smaller cemeteries, including:-

HARDECOURT FRENCH MILITARY CEMETERY. The village of Hardecourt-au-Bois was captured by French troops on the 8th July 1916, and again by the 58th (London) and 12th (Eastern) Divisions on 28 August 1918. Five British Artillerymen were buried by their unit in the French Military Cemetery, in the middle of the village, in September 1916; and in 1918 the 12th Division buried in the same cemetery 14 men of the 9th Royal Fusiliers and two of the 7th Royal Sussex.

Guillemont Road Cemetery now contains 2,263 Commonwealth burials and commemorations of the First World War. 1,523 of the burials are unidentified but there are special memorials to eight casualties known or believed to be buried among them.

The cemetery was designed by Sir Herbert Baker.      

John earned his three medals. His effects and pension went to his father John, at ‘The Willows’, Fairfield Road, Queensferry.  Probate was granted to his father, John Rees, iron worker, effects £144 1s 6d.

John Morgan Rees is also commemorated on the following memorials -

Hall of Remembrance,  Liverpool Town Hall, Panel 45

St. Ethelwold’s Church, Shotton, Memorial Screen

Hawarden County School Roll of Honour.

His father died, aged 76, on the 31st January 1936 in Whitchurch he was buried with his first wife Clara at Holbeck Cemetery, Leeds. 

We currently have no further information on John Morgan Rees, If you have or know someone who may be able to add to the history of this soldier, please contact us.