Sgt 300283 John Hayes

• Age: 28
• From: Parr, St Helens
• Regiment: The King's (Liverpool Regiment) 18th Btn
• K.I.A Saturday 6th October 1917
• Commemorated at: Tyne Cot Memorial
  Panel Ref: Panel 31-34

John was born in the September quarter of 1889 in Parr, his birth registered at Prescot, the son of Ralph Hayes and his wife Annie (nee Johnson). His parents married on 28th Nov 1885 at the Congregational Church, Prescot.

By 1901 the family are living at 246 Crow Lane West, Newton in Makerfield and finds John aged 11 living with his parents and six siblings; Alice 14, Annie 13, Sarah 9, Henry 7, Edward 5 and James 3.  

His mother died shortly after the Census. She was buried on 30th July 1901. 

His father died in 1908.

The 1911 Census shows John as the head of the household living at 14 Clarence Street, Newton Le Willows. He is now 21 years of age and is employed as coal miners drawer below ground. He has four siblings living with him, Annie aged 23, Henry 17, Edward 15 and James 13.

John married Jessie Baston on 22nd March 1913 at Emmanuel Church, Newton-in-Makerfield, his father is named on the marriage certificate as Ralph and one of the witnesses is Alice Hayes (probably his sister) living at 142 Gartons Lane, Clock Face. Jessie was born 25^th July 1888 and they had a son John who was born 21^st September 1917. They resided at Jessie's mother's address. Jessie in the 1911 Census was a bookbinders assistant and lived with her widowed mother Margaret aged 61, born 1850 and her brother John William aged 29, born 1882 who was a crane driver.

John was working at the Clock Face Colliery when war broke out. He enlisted in Knowsley and was formerly 25004, Lancashire Hussars Yeomanry and was serving in the 18th Battalion, The King’s Liverpool Regiment as Sergeant No 300283 when he was killed in action on the 06th October, 1917 aged 28 during the Third Battle of Ypres.

18^th Battalion War Diary for 06^th October 1917

Enemy shelled heavily, all calibres and trench mortars on shell holes and Picquet Line. Direct hit on No.10 post. Retaliation shoot by our artillery with good results. 50 O.R. transferred to 17^th (Ser) Battn. King’s (Liverpool Regt).

Killed

300306 Sergt  Lowe W.J.

331166 Pte Aird J

300283 Sergt J Hayes

300409 Cpl Worthington T.E.

300190 Pte Bergin T   

John’s obituary published in the NEG on October 26th 1917 prints a letter from his Commanding Officer, Captain John S. Edwards, who stated that John:
“was killed instantaneously while on outpost duty in the front line. As an old Lancashire Hussar myself, I have known him for a long time – since the first days at Canterbury, in fact we buried him last night in a quiet spot some distance behind the lines with some of his colleagues who also fell with him.”

John's grave referred to by Captain Edwards must have been subsequently lost or damaged as he has no known grave and is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial, Belgium.

Those United Kingdom and New Zealand servicemen who died after August 16th 1917 are named on the Tyne Cot Memorial, a site which marks the furthest point reached by Commonwealth forces in Belgium until nearly the end of the war.

The Tyne Cot Memorial now bears the names of almost 35,000 officers and men whose graves are not known. The memorial, designed by Sir Herbert Baker with sculpture by Joseph Armitage and F.V. Blundstone, was unveiled by Sir Gilbert Dyett on 20 June 1927.

The memorial forms the north-eastern boundary of Tyne Cot Cemetery, which was established around a captured German blockhouse or pill-box used as an advanced dressing station.

John is commemorated on the following memorials:

Newton-Le-Willows and Earlestown Civic Memorial

Emmanuel C. of E. Church, Wargrave

St John the Baptist’s C. of E. Church, Earlestown.

We currently have no further information on John Hayes. If you have or know someone who may be able to add to the history of this soldier, please contact us.