Pte 36759 John Wilfred Webster

 

On the 1901 Census his parents, with John, aged 4, and William, aged 2, are living at 14 Tattersall Road, Litherland. His father is aged 33, and is a bricklayer, his mother, Elizabeth, is aged 27. 

On the 1911 Census the family have moved to 2 Cunard Road, Litherland. His father, is aged 43, and is a bricklayer, his, mother, is 38. They advised that they had been married for 14 years, and have had 4 children. John, is aged 14, William, is aged 12, Doris, is aged 9, and Charles, is aged 7, are at school.

John enlisted at Seaforth and was serving with the 20^th Battalion, The King’s Liverpool Regiment as Private No 36759 when he was killed in action on the 14^th March 1917. Based on the amount of the War Gratuity, John served for at most one year before he was killed.

In February 1917 the 20th Battalion was near Halloy and on the 4th marched to Warluzel, then to Monchiet and arrived at Agny on the 06th. On the 07th they relieved the 19th K.L.R. in G.1 Left Sub-Sector.  On the 10th took over front and support lines from the 2nd Yorkshires, and returned to Monchiet on the 12th, providing working parties unloading stores and shells.  The Diary shows Training from the 19th until marching to Agny on the 24th.

 

Four-Officer patrols were sent out each night to ascertain whether enemy saps and line were held; sounds were heard but no enemy patrols encountered.  During the day the battalion worked clearing out front line and communication trenches, and cleaning, deepening and revetting (reinforcing) front and support lines.

 

No patrols were sent out on 05th/06th March owing to brightness of moon and fall of snow. The 07th shows vigorous patrolling during the night to reconnoitre the Racecourse. A very high wind made it impossible to hear what was going on in the enemy trenches. Very bright moon. On the 08th they marched to Arras, and from 09th to 13th provided large working parties constructing gun positions, laying cable and carrying bombs for Trench Mortar Batteries in the line at Agny.  

 

 

John was the man referred to in the diary entry. He was 19 or 20 years old. Although the battalion War Diary records only one man killed, L/Cpl 29287 H.J. Makinson was also killed in action on this date.

John now rests at Agny New Military Cemetery, France.

Agny New Military Cemetery was begun by French troops, and used by Commonwealth units and field ambulances from March 1916 to June 1917. Two further burials were made in April 1918, and in 1923-24, 137 graves were brought in from the battlefields east of Arras. The 40 French graves have been removed. Agny Military Cemetery contains 408 Commonwealth burials of the First World War, 118 of them unidentified, and five German graves. The cemetery was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens. 

His mother had died, in June 1916, at the age of 43.

After losing his wife, and his son in 1917, his father suffered further loss when his youngest son Charles died in March 1920 at the age of 16.  

John is commemorated on the following Memorials:

Litherland Civic Memorial

St Philip’s C of E Church Lad’s Brigade Memorial, Litherland.