John William Green
- Family History
- Military History
- Extra Information
- Photographs
John William was the son of William and Elizabeth Frances Green (née Lawton). His father William was born in Colston Bassett, Nottinghamshire, in 1854, the son of John and Ann Green. His mother Elizabeth Frances was born in Burton on Trent, Staffordshire, in 1863, the daughter of George and Eliza Lawton. In 1881 Elizabeth was a domestic servant in the household of Rev. Joshua Brooke, the vicar of Colston Bassett. William and Elizabeth were married at Colston Bassett St John the Divine in September 1883 and had four children: Mary b. 1886, John William b. 1890 bap. St John 5 September 1890, Edward Henry Brook b. 1892 and Frances Olive Eleanor Sarah b. 1894. In 1891 William, described on the census as 'farmer's son', his wife and their two children, Mary and John William (7m), were living at the Martin's Arms, Colston Bassett, with William's widowed father, John, a farmer and publican. Also in the household was John's nephew William H Green, a lodger and three female domestic servants. William, a farmer, Elizabeth and their four children were still living with his father at the Martin's Arms in 1901. William H Green, a horseman on a farm, was still with the family. Also in the household were a boarder (a farm labourer) and three female domestic servants. John Green snr. died in 1903; he was still living at the Martin's Arms. His son William died five years later in 1908. The widowed Elizabeth was recorded in Colston Bassett on the 1911 Census; her occupation was publican and farmer, presumably at the Martin's Arms. All four children were still living at home: Mary and Frances whose occupations were given as 'general helps', John a cowman and Edward a wagoner (farm). The household included a boarder (kennel man), a farm hand, Amos Shaw, who was probably employed by Elizabeth, a female domestic servant, and Elizabeth's unmarried aunt, Mary Flear (91). Elizabeth died in 1929; probate was awarded to her married daughter Mary Wagstaff (m. Harry Wagstaff, 1917) and her son Edward. Mary, her husband and her brother Edward, a farm assistant, were still living at the Martin's Arms in 1939 when the England & Wales Register was compiled. Their sister Frances had married a farmer, William Wagstaff (probably Harry's brother), in 1922 and in 1939 they were living in Owthorpe, Nottinghamshire.
10th Bn Sherwood Foresters (Notts & Derby Regiment) The 10th Battalion was formed on 13 September 1914 in Derby, a battalion of Kitchener's Second New Army. Following training in the UK, the battalion was mobilised on 14 July 1915 for the Western Front where it remained for the remainder of the war. John William Green was killed in action on 23 April 1917, the first day of the Second Battle of the Scarpe (23-24 April). He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Arras Memorial, France (Bay 7). He was entitled to the British War Medal and Victory Medal. CWGC - History of the Arras Memorial (extract): The Memorial is in the Faubourg-d'Amiens Cemetery, Arras. 'The French handed over Arras to Commonwealth forces in the spring of 1916 and the system of tunnels upon which the town is built were used and developed in preparation for the major offensive planned for April 1917 ... The Arras Memorial commemorates almost 35,000 servicemen from the United Kingdom, South Africa and New Zealand who died in the Arras sector between the spring of 1916 and 7 August 1918, the eve of the Advance to Victory, and have no known grave. The most conspicuous events of this period were the Arras offensive of April-May 1917, and the German attack in the spring of 1918.' (www.cwgc.org)
CWGC: 'Son of Elizabeth Frances Green, of Colston Bassett, Bingham, Notts, and the late William Green.' British Red Cross Society & Order of St John Enquiry List (Wounded & Missing): enquiry date 20 July 1917, reported missing 23 April 1917. Registers of Soldiers' Effects: his mother was his legatee. Amos Shaw, the farm hand who was living with the family in 1911, served in the 17th Bn Sherwood Foresters (32217 Private) and was killed in action on 3 September 1916 (Thiepval Memorial). He is also commemorated on the Colston Bassett memorial.
