John Henry Bennett

Memorial: Downend - Christ Church

Regiment: Gloucestershire Regiment

Medals: 1914–15 Star, British War Medal, Next of Kin Memorial Plaque 1914 - 1921, Victory Medal

Rank and number: Private 200404 (formerly 2196)

Parents: George and Louisa (nee Gulliford) Bennett

Marital status: Married

Home address: Home Address: 32 Kensington Road, Staple Hill, Bristol Lived: (1911 Census) – with parents at 7 Prospect Terrace, Staple Hill, Bristol

Pre-war occupation: Labourer on the Railways

Date of birth: 1886

Place of birth: Staple Hill, Bristol

Date of death: 01/11/1918

Buried/Commemorated at: Buried at Cross Roads Cemetery, Fontaine-Au-Bois, Nord, France and commemorated on Staple Hill Memorial

Age: 32

Further information:

John was born in Staple Hill, his father George was a coal miner and he died in 1894 age 40. John was one of 10 children with 3 older brothers and 3 older sisters. He also had 2 younger brothers and a younger sister who were non identical triplets. In 1901 at the age of 14 he was working as a stone breaker and living with his widowed mother and several siblings. The Census records show that Louisa continued bringing up their 10 children (in 1911, five of the children including John still lived with their mother). In 1913 he moved out and married Rosa Amelia Monk, they had one daughter Ruby born 12/12/1914.

John signed up to the 1st Battalion, Glosters on the outbreak of war and was killed on the first day of the 2-day Battle of Valenciennes which was part of the Hundred Days Offensive at the end of World War I. The town of Valenciennes was captured from the Germans by Canadian and British forces and WW1 ended just 10 days later.

John Bennett is commemorated on the Downend Christ Church Memorial, and the Staple Hill Page Park Memorial.

By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):

This information has been provided by Sarah Hands, Volunteer Researcher for the South Gloucestershire War Memorials Web Site.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
https://www.cwgc.org/
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/
https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/
Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Findmypast (Soldiers Died during the Great War, 1901 & 1911 Census etc), Researcher John Davis.