John James Lyon died of wounds on this day in 1915
John James Lyon was born on 8 November 1881, in Chorley, Lancashire. His father was Charles Lyon, colliery manager in Chorley. His mother was Lucy Ann (née Thurlby). He had an older sister Charlotte and, later on, 2 brothers and 4 more sisters.
He was educated at the local St. George’s School in Chorley.
In 1891, aged 9, he was living with his family at 240 Bolton Road in Chorley.
On 22 January 1901, John enlisted in the Army and, from 1906 to 1909, he served in Egypt. In June 1904, he married Catherine Donovan (from Bramley near Guildford) at St Edward’s Roman Catholic Church in London. In 1906, they had a son John Charles who died that same year. In 1909, they had another son James Wilfred Jeremiah who, sadly, died in 1911.
By 1911, he had left the army and, age 29, was working for Westminster City Council as a dustman. Times must have been hard for John and his family - wife Catherine and son James Wilfred Jeremiah - because they were living in 4 Z Block, Peabody Avenue, Ebury Bridge by the railway tracks near Waterloo Station.
The Peabody Trust was constituted by Act of Parliament, stipulating its objectives to work solely within London for the relief of poverty. This was to be expressed through the provision of model dwellings for the capital's poor.
In its early days, the Trust imposed strict rules to ensure that its tenants were of good moral character. Rents were to be paid weekly and punctually; there was a night-time curfew and a set of moral standards to be adhered to; and the dwellings could not be used for certain trades.
After the death of their second son in 1911, John and Catherine had two more children - a son Sydney Francis in 1912, and a daughter Kathleen Lucy in 1914. Both survived.
At the outbreak of war, John rejoined his regiment, the Coldstream Guards and, on 26 August 1914, he went to France with the 3rd Battalion. During the period August 1914 to October 1915, he took part in 11 engagements including the Battle of The Aisne.
In October 1915, the 3rd Battalion, Coldstream Guards, was heavily engaged in the Battle of Loos, a major offensive on the Western Front. They were part of the 1st Guards Brigade, Guards Division, and saw intense fighting, particularly around the village of Loos-en-Gohelle. The battalion suffered significant casualties.
In the advance on 8 October, John continued fighting even after being wounded in the shoulder and the back. Later, however, he was wounded in the head and never regained consciousness and he died on 16 October in No. 5 General Hospital in Rouen. He was buried with full military honours.
Note that, although the CWGC records him as a Private, his Medal Index Card refers to him as Lance Corporal, and the local newspaper heading as Corporal.
By 1919, Catherine had remarried and become Catherine Wilson (noted on the entry in his Soldier's Effects below) and, by 1921 was living with her husband (and presumably the two children) at North Regina Village, Regina, Saskatchewan in Canada.
John is buried in St. Sever Cemetery in Rouen.
4011 Private John James Lyon, 3rd Bn. Coldstream Guards