8 December 1917: Pte John Sugden

John Sugden was born in Silsden, Yorkshire in 1885.

 

Location of Silsden, Yorkshire  (cc OpenStreetMap)

His parents were William Sugden (linen draper) and Eleanor (née Booth) 

86 Bolton Road, Silsden

The five children, two boys and three girls grew up together and were still living at home well into their twenties. With a successful business they moved from a terraced house on Bolton Road, Silsden, to a larger detached house at the other end of the road and finally into Willow Grove, Silsden. 

John was employed in his father's successful family drapery business prior to his conscription into the army in March 1916.

Men of the 16th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles of the 36th (Ulster) Division moving to the front line 20 November 1917.The Battle of Cambrai, November-december 1917 IWM Q6291

After training, John was sent to the Western Front in February 1917 and saw action during the Battle of Arras, the Hindenburg Line operations and the Battle of Cambrai before being wounded in action near Cambrai.

Front lines before and after the battle (Schlaengel89 CC BY-SA 3.0)

Evacuated to 45 Casualty Clearing Station at Achiet-le-Grand, he was then moved further rearwards to a base hospital near Rouen.

St.Sever Cemetery, on the eastern edge of the southern Rouen suburbs of Le Grand Quevilly and Le Petit Quevilly (cc WikiTree)

John succumbed to his injuries in Rouen on 8 December 1917 and is now buried in St.Sever Cemetery Extension.

267063 Pte John William Sugden, 2/6th Bn Duke of Wellington's (W Riding) Regt

8 December 1917

Younger brother Francis served in the Royal Army Medical Corps and survived the war. 

Initial research by David O'Mara with additional research by Jonathan Vernon.

Sources: UK, Soldiers died in the Great War, England Census 1891, 1901, 1911; WikiTree.