WILLETTS, John

John Willetts attended Hasbury C of E School and by 1914 was living at Whiteheath, Rowley. He enlisted in the Rifle Brigade and served in the 1st Battalion. In 1915 they were involved in the Second Battle of Ypres and in 1916 joined the later stages of the Battle of the Somme. They fought fiercely in front of the fortified village of Gueudecourt and gained control of the important Transloy ridges but Rifleman John Willetts was killed in action on the 19th October. He is commemorated on the Thiepval, Halesowen and Hasbury C of E School Memorials.