John Henry Gent
- Family History
- Military History
- Extra Information
- Photographs
John Henry Gent was born in Averham in 1894 and baptised at Averham St Michael & All Angels on 18 November 1894. The baptismal record gives his mother's name as Emma Gent. Emma Gent was the daughter of John and Mary Ann Gent. She was born in Averham in 1877 and baptised at St Michael & All Angels. In 1891 the family was living at Averham Park, Averham. Emma married John Thomas Jalland Walker in 1896. Her husband was born in Averham in 1871 and was the son of Elizabeth Walker. His mother married George Jallands in 1877 and in 1891 they and her son John (19), an agricultural worker, were living in Averham. In 1901 John Walker (29) and Emma (24) were living on Town Street, Averham, with their four children John (6), surname Walker and described as John's son, George J, Ellen J and Joseph J. The family was still living in Averham in 1911 but they were all recorded on the census with the surname Jallands. In the household on the night of the census were John and Emma and their five children John and George (13) who were both farm labourers, Ellen (12), Joseph (12) and Edith Jalland who had been born after the previous census. Also in the household was Emma's widowed father, John Gent, a retired roadman. According to information provided on the 1911 Census, John and Emma had had seven children of whom only five survived infancy. It is likely that the two children who had died young were Arthur Edward Walker birth registered 1901 d. 1901 and Walter Jalland Walker birth registered 1904 (J/F/M) d. 1904. John and Emma may have had two more children after 1911; Mary J Walker and Walter J Walker. John Henry married Annie Holmes in 1914 and they had two daughters, Annie May and Olive. The WW1 Pension Ledger record gives their address as Balderton, Newark. His widow and children have not yet been traced after the war. When the 1939 England & Wales Register was compiled, his parents, now using the surname 'Walker', were still living in Averham. John was an agricultural labourer and Emma a school caretaker. John died in 1942 and Emma probably died in 1958.
251st Bde Royal Field Artillery. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Soissons Memorial, Aisne, France. He qualified for the British War Medal and Victory Medal.
John Henry's cousin, George William Smith, the son of Elizabeth Smith nee Gent (older sister of his mother Emma), was also killed in the war:11934 Private George William Smith 1st Bn Sherwood Foresters, KIA 22 November 1914 (Le Touret Memorial). Registers of Soldiers' Effects: his widow, Annie, was his sole legatee and she received payments for herself and her two children. WW1 Pension Ledgers: names Annie and her two daughters, Annie May and Olive.
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