John Gunter
Memorial: Olveston
Regiment: Machine Gun Corps
Medals: British War Medal, Next of Kin Memorial Plaque 1914 - 1921, Victory Medal
Rank and number: Private 9875
Parents: Henry and Mary Gunter
Home address: Hailsham, Sussex
Date of birth: 1891
Place of birth: Mark, Somerset
Date of death: 13/04/1916
Buried/Commemorated at: La Laiterie Military Cemetery (IV. A. 3.), West Vlaanderen, Belgium
Age: 25
Further information:
John was the eldest son of Henry and Mary Gunter and at one time the family lived in Mark, Somerset to the east of Highbridge, where his mother came from and where John was born. In the mid 1890s the family moved to Tockington, where Henry carried on the business of a wheelwright. They lived next to the Hicks family who owned a grocery shop in the village. At least four more children were born in Tockington, the three boys, Edwin, George and Harry, returning from service in the army when the armistice was signed
By 1914, when John Gunter enlisted, he was living and working in Hailsham, Sussex. His father had died and his widowed mother had moved to Primrose Cottage in Olveston. On being called up he was originally assigned to the Somerset Light Infantry, as was an Ernest Gunter from Barton Hill in Bristol, it is not known if they were related. However, John was subsequently reassigned to the 149th Company of the Machine Gun Corps, which was part of the 50th Division and was tasked to support the infantry. The role of the Machine Gun Corps and their exposure to incoming enemy fire was such that they earned the somewhat fatalistic nickname of ‘The Suicide Club’
In the spring of 1916 the 149th Company of the Machine Gun Corps was in the line south-west of Ypres at the heavily fortified Kemmel Hill, where they were integrated into the infantry units with which they served. On the 12th of April it is known that John Gunter’s Battalion was subjected to a particularly heavy bombardment and one team with their Vickers and Lewis guns was completely knocked out. On the day of his death on the 13th of April 1916 the War Diary records that the situation was normal although all leave was cancelled. At the age of 25, John Gunter was Killed in Action along with nine others, and he lies buried at the La Laiterie Military Cemetery at Kemmel near Ypres
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
Forces War Records and CWGC