HEAD, John Edward

John Head was born in Halesowen and attended Cradley C of E School. In 1914 he was living in Shrewsbury and volunteered for the Shropshire Territorials. He went to the 1/4th Battalion who had been in India. They arrived on the Western Front in August 1917 to join the 63rd (Royal Naval) Division in Flanders. By October they were ready to take a place in the front line and were involved in the attack on the Passchendaele ridge. The mud and the weather were atrocious when they advanced on the 26th October and the losses over the next few days were considerable. They included Private John Head who was killed on the 31st October. He is commemorated on the Tyne Cot, Cradley, Halesowen and Cradley School Memorials.