RICHARDS, John Henry

John Richards was the son of John and Eliza Richards of ‘Richmond’, John Street, Wordsley. He volunteered for the South Staffords Territorials at a very young age and served in the 1/5th Battalion. They were with the 46th (North Midland) Division which went to the Western Front in March 1915. After short attachments to units in the front line they took on regular duties in the line at Messines. In June they moved to Ypres where they were in the trenches at Hill 60. There were no serious actions at this time but shelling was regular and patrolling in front of the trenches occasional. At some point Private John Richards was seriously wounded and taken to a Casualty Clearing Station where he died. He was 17 years of age and is buried in Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery (I D 2 A) and commemorated on the Wordsley Memorial.