Name
John Henry Stuart Simons
26 Jun 1896
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
10/07/1917
21
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Second Lieutenant
Northamptonshire Regiment
3rd Bn. attd. 1st Bn.
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
British War and Victory medals
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
NIEUPORT MEMORIAL
Belgium
Headstone Inscription
No Report
UK & Other Memorials
Harpenden Town Memorial, Church of St Nicholas Memorial, Harpenden, Individual plaque, Church of St Nicholas, Harpenden, Not on the Markyate memorials, Not on the Kinsbourne Green memorial Old Boys of Dunstable Grammar School, Dunstable Beds.,
Pre War
John Henry Stuart was born in Markyate on 26 Jun 1896 to Henry Edgar Simons, farmer, and Agnes Loiusa (nee Jones) of Turners Hall.
On the 1901 Census the family were living on High Street, Markyate. By the 1911 Census they were living at Cele Farm, Markyate. John was a student at Dunstable Grammar School.
Wartime Service
According to John’s Medal Card he was a Corporal (1238 and later 30364) in the Bedfordshire Yeomanry, possibly 'C' Squadron which was based at Dunstable.
John was commissioned from Officer Cadet Training Unit on 28 Mar 1917 as 2nd Lieutenant in the Special Reserve. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, Northants Regiment and then attached to 1st Battalion Northants who had been deployed to the Dunkirk area in preparation for Operation Hush, intended to turn the German flank in Holland.
On 10 July the German Marinekorps Flanders had detected the deployment of troops on the south banks of the Yser river and launched an attack, preceded by an artillery barrage. In this barrage John was killed. His remains were not recovered and he is remembered on the Neiuport Memorial. Captain Hayes of the RAMC later reported "Simons was killed, we found a man on the way who was in the dugout when Simons was hit by a bomb."
Local newspapers were still reporting as missing on the 29th September 1917
Additional Information
War gratuity of £15 10s and arrears of £38 12s 6d paid to father.
His brother Second Lieutenant Gerald Simons was in the Royal Flying Corps and was badly burned when his aeroplane caught fire (reported 29/9/1917).
Acknowledgments
Neil Cooper
Jonty Wild, Mary Skinner, Harpenden & District Local History Society (www.harpenden-history.org.uk)
