WW1 Casualty: Private 21144 John Mason - Private 21144 John Mason
Prescot Reporter 17/03/1916
| Unit/Regiment |
11th Bn., South Lancashire Regiment |
| Date of Death |
28/01/1916 |
Age at Death |
46 |
Burial/Memorial
& Reference |
Heath Cemetery
VIII J 16 |
| Census Details |
1891 - 22 years old 'Coal Miner' John is living at 25 Beach Road, Huyton with Roby with wife Harriett (22).
Boarding at the address are Richard Hickson (30) with his wife Ellen Hickson (30) and their son Thomas Hickson (2).
1901 - Not found. (Military?)
Wife Harriet Mason (33) and daughter Margaret Mason (9) are boarding with the Carmichael family in Huyton.
1911 - Sees 42 years old 'Coal Miner - Hewer' John living at 3 Mines Avenue, Prescot with wife Harriet (43) and three children: Margaret (19), Edith (8), Hilda (3). |
| Birth/Marriage/Death Registrations |
Marriage:
26/05/1890 John Mason to Harriet Entwistle at St Annes Church, West Derby, Lancashire.
Vol 8b - Page 811. |
| SDGW - Where Born |
Prescot, Lancs |
| Enlisted |
Sutton, Lancs |
| How Died |
Killed in Action |
Theatre of War |
France & Flanders |
| Research Ref. No. |
P194 |
Service DetailsThe 11th (Service) Battalion of the South Lancashire Regiment was formed in September 1914 from the third contingent of volunteers called for by Lord Kitchener.
Initial training took place on Salisbury Plain and in early 1915, the Battalion became a 'Pioneer' Battalion with the 30th Division. It had been decided that each of the New Army divisions should have an extra battalion included in its establishment to carry out road-making and other semi-technical work frequently called for in the field. The 11th Battalion was known as the 'St Helens Pioneers' in honour of the fact that the majority of the men came from St Helens.
The Battalion finally left for France in November 1915, disembarking at Le Havre on the 7th. The Battalion strength was 30 officers and 1,007 other ranks.
They served for the remainder of 1915 in the Somme Valley, carrying out work in the trenches. They suffered a few casualties, mainly to German snipers, but otherwise their first few weeks in the field proved uneventful. On 21st January 1916, the Battalion moved to Froissy, which was a popular target for German artillery.
It seems likely that Private Mason was a victim of this shelling. He now rests in Heath Cemetery, which is a 'concentration cemetery' created just after the Armistice in November 1918. Bodies were brought in to the cemetery from several smaller local cemeteries.
The item below appeared in the Prescot Reporter shortly after Pte Mason's death
Private Mason is also commemorated on the St Helens Rolls of Honour
John Mason's Medal Index Card
Private Mason's grave at Heath Cemetery, next to an unknown soldier 'Known Unto God'
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