| Description | Work completed by volunteer includes the following information:
John Forth was born 7 Sep 1871, at Aike and baptised 5 Nov 1871, at Beverley Minster. He was the tenth of 13 children of David Forth, of Hutton Cranswick, an agricultural labourer, and his wife Sarah, nee Sowersby. His mother's family were lifelong residents at Pry Cottages, Sledmere and at the time of the 1881 census; the Forth family lived there with Sarah's widowed father, Edward Sowersby.
In April 1891, John was lodging at his brother's house in Lurk Lane, Beverley. He was a tanner's labourer employed at Richard Hodgson and Sons Limited. He married his first wife, Annie Jordan Hakney, daughter of Edward Hakney, also a tanners labourer, in 1894. John and Annie had five children. Annie died, aged thirty-one, Nov 1906. John married his second wife, Gertrude May Pudsey, daughter of Robert Pudsey, 3 Feb 1908 at Beverley Minster. By 1914 John and Gertrude's further extended family lived at 4 Spencer Street, Beverley.
Before the Great War, John served in the Army Reserve and on 15 Sep 1914 he was called to the colours. At Beverley he joined the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment based at Hedon on Garrison duty. In December John was posted to Hampshire to join the 2nd Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment which had just returned from service in India.
The 2nd Battalion East Yorkshires formed part of the 83rd Brigade of the 28th Division. His Majesty King George V inspected the 28th Division at Fawley Down then three days later, on 15 Jan 1915, the 2nd East Yorkshires embarked at Southampton for Le Havre and the Western Front. On 1 February the Battalion arrived in the Ypres area and took over trenches previously held by the French near Verbrandon-Molen. John was reported missing, and later presumed killed, during the fighting there on 6 Feb 1915. He was 43 years old.
John Forth's body was never found. His name is inscribed on Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing, Ypres. He is remembered on Beverley War Memorial, Hengate; the East Yorkshire Regiment Memorial in Beverley Minster; also the Great War Memorial in St Mary's Church, Beverley and the Richard Hodgson and Sons Limited Memorial, now in the Memorial Garden, Hengate, Beverley
Includes photograph, information taken from census, military records, Commonwealth War Graves, newspapers |