John (Jarvis or James) Phillips was born in 1889 at Oswestry. He was an only child. His father, John, was a maltster – a significant industry in Oswestry and there were malthouses on Salop Road, Willow Street and Oswald Road. He died in November 1894. At that time they lived at 1 Gate Street but by 1901 his widowed mother, Margaret, had started up a grocery business and shop. They lived at 23 Gate Street; he worked as a joiner and carpenter for a local builder. In 1913 he married Sarah E Richards; they went to live at Rhosymedre running the Plough Hotel. They would have  a boy child.

John enlisted at Rhosymedre in 1915 joining RWF and then spent two years at Kinmel Park Camp where he was a training cadet. Kinmel was a training camp for 12 Reserve and Training Battalion RWF. He was posted to 9 Bn RWF and had gone over to France only three weeks before his death. John is listed as KIA on 23 October 1918. Between 19-23 the 9 Bn RWF were in action near to Saulzoir during the Battle of the River Selle, it was the first time he had been in action. The battalion were engaged in crossing the river and capturing the high ground atop a railway embankment on the east bank. John was buried in Canonne Farm British Cemetery, Sommaing. His headstone reads ‘Always in our Thoughts, wife & son’. He is also commemorated on the war memorial at Holy Trinity Church, Oswestry

John’s wife, Sarah, nee Richards, prior to their marriage worked as a domestic servant at Deytheur School. See Captain Audley AD (Andrew Dowell) Lee, 9 Bn Leicestershire Regiment. KIA 1 October 1917, Tyne Cot (unknown).

Acknowledgements.

References and Sources

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