Pte 22730 John Holland

• Age: 21
• From: Liverpool
• Regiment: The King's (Liverpool Regiment) 20th Btn
• K.I.A Sunday 30th July 1916
• Commemorated at: Guillemont Rd Cem
  Panel Ref: V.J.7

John Holland was born in Liverpool on 12th April 1895, the son of Edwin Holland and his wife Mary Ann (nee McMahon) who had been married in St Simon's Church, Liverpool in July 1894. John was baptised on 01st May 1895 in St. Anne's R.C. Church, Liverpool, his parents' residence given as Hawdon Street John was the eldest of five children.  He had siblings Mary Agnes born in 1898, Edwin, 1900, William 1902, and Susan, born in 1907.

Mary Ann, who was 31, and her children, John aged 5, Mary aged 2 and Edwin junior aged 1 were living at 77 Hawden Street in Edge Hill at the time of the 1901 census. Edwin senior is recorded as a boarder in a small village called Ashton in Northamptonshire. Edwin is a plasterer’s labourer, and the census shows that many men in various building trades were boarding with families in the village. Further research shows that the village of Ashton is in fact an estate belonging to the Rothschild family. Charles Rothschild had a house built for himself as well as houses for estate workers, work which started in 1900. Even further investigation shows that a few houses away from Edwin were a couple of other boarders from Liverpool – a foreman plasterer and his son a plasterer’s apprentice. So a plastering team from Liverpool working away on Rothschild’s estate. 

Sadly John’s young brother Edwin junior died aged just 2 in 1902.

His mother, Mary Ann, died in 1907, aged 37, when John was 12, and the youngest child Susan just months old. The family at that time lived at 77 Hawdon Street. She was buried on the 31st October at Ford Cemetery. 

At the time of the 1911 Census his widowed father, Edwin, was living at 84 Lovat Street, Edge Hill with 15 year old John who is working as a butchers shopboy, and his siblings Mary 13, William, 8, and Susan, 4.

John enlisted in the 20th Battalion of The King’s Liverpool Regiment as Private No 22730 on 10th November 1914. On his Attestation papers he is described as being 19 years and 7 months old and gives his occupation as  a plumber. He was 5ft 7ins tall, and weighed 124 lbs, 35” chest, with a fresh complexion, blue eyes and light brown hair. He gives his father at 84 Lovat Street as his next of kin and religion Roman Catholic. 

Formed in November 1914 the 20^th Battalion were originally billeted at Tournament Hall, Knotty Ash before on 29^th January 1915 they moved to the hutted accommodation purposely built at Lord Derby’s estate at Knowsley Hall. On 30th April 1915 the 20th Battalion alongside the other three Pals battalions left Liverpool via Prescot Station for further training at Belton Park, Grantham. They remained here until September 1915 when they reached Larkhill Camp on Salisbury Plain. 

John was missing from barracks for three days in early October 1915 and received 14 days confined to barracks and forfeited 3 days' pay as punishment. 

He was posted to France on 07th November 1915. 

John was killed in action on the 30th July 1916, aged 21, at the village of Guillemont, France, during the Somme Offensive.

The 20^th King’s Battalion Diary records:

“At 4.45am prompt the attack was launched. Unfortunately, a thick mist prevailed and it was impossible to see more than 10 yards ahead. This continued until about 6 o’clock when it lifted slightly, but it was still too hazy and impossible to see what was happening 100 yards ahead. This being so, it was not surprising to find that the attacking waves were experiencing great difficulty in maintaining connection.”

At 6am, Lt. RE Melly, No.1 Company, reported that his men had taken the German Maltz Horn trench.

At 6.30am, 2/Lt. CP Moore reported that he had 150 men, 4 Stokes Mortars and 2 Lewis Guns, but he was the only officer. He also said that due to the fog, both his “flanks were in the air” i.e. he was not in contact with neighbouring troops.

At 9.10am, Moore was still not in contact at his flanks, and now he had only 75 men, he had sent out 2 patrols and neither not returned. Later Moore established communication with the French on his right.

Around 10.00am, 2/Lt Musker reported that he had just over a company with him, but his left flank was suffering from German machine gun fire. Later he reported that he had over 30 casualties from the machine gun fire. His flanks were also “in the air”. No contact was made with this party until the remnants returned around 9.30pm, all runners sent were killed or missing. The War Diary states that this group had: ”held the ground won all day, and this permitted the consolidation of the ground won on the Maltz Horn ridge with little interference from the enemy”.

Relief for 20/Kings had been planned for 11.00pm, but it was 5.00am on the 31st July before it took place, ending a tragic day for the Liverpool Pals.

Casualties for 20^th Battalion were 16 Officers and 357 Other Ranks

When darkness fell on the battlefield the 30^th Division held a line from the railway on the eastern side of Trones Wood , southwards and including Arrow Head Copse, to east of Maltz Horn Farm. On this line the division was relieved by the 55^th Division during the early hours of the 31^st July. 

The events of 30^th July 1916 were regarded at the time as Liverpool’s blackest day. There follows an extract from The History of the 89^th Brigade written by Brigadier General Ferdinand Stanley which gives an indication of the events of the day.

Guillemont

Well the hour to advance came, and of all bad luck in the world it was a thick fog; so thick that you couldn’t see more than about ten yards. It was next to impossible to delay the attack – it was much too big an operation- so forward they had to go. It will give some idea when I say that on one flank we had to go 1,750 yards over big rolling country. Everyone knows what it is like to cross enclosed country which you know really well in a fog and how easy it is to lose your way. Therefore, imagine these rolling hills, with no landmarks and absolutely unknown to anyone. Is it surprising that people lost their way and lost touch with those next to them? As a matter of fact, it was wonderful the way in which many men found their way right to the place we wanted to get to. But as a connected attack it was impossible.

The fog was intense it was practically impossible to keep direction and parties got split up. Owing to the heavy shelling all the Bosches had left their main trenches and were lying out in the open with snipers and machine guns in shell holes, so of course our fellows were the most easy prey.

It is so awfully sad now going about and finding so many splendid fellows gone.

John was initially declared Missing and his death later presumed by the Army Council on or shortly after 30th July 1916, having been killed in action or died of wounds.

He was buried close to where he fell and after the war, when graves were concentrated, his body was removed and reinterred in Guillemont Road Cemetery where he now rests. 

Guillemont was an important point in the German defences at the beginning of the Battle of the Somme in July 1916. It was taken by the 2nd Royal Scots Fusiliers on 30 July but the battalion was obliged to fall back, and it was again entered for a short time by the 55th (West Lancashire) Division on 8 August. On 18 August, the village was reached by the 2nd Division, and on 3 September (in the Battle of Guillemont) it was captured and cleared by the 20th (Light) and part of the 16th (Irish) Divisions. It was lost in March 1918 during the German advance, but retaken on 29 August by the 18th and 38th (Welsh) Divisions.

The cemetery was begun by fighting units (mainly of the Guards Division) and field ambulances after the Battle of Guillemont, and was closed in March 1917, when it contained 121 burials. It was greatly increased after the Armistice when graves (almost all of July-September 1916) were brought in from the battlefields immediately surrounding the village and certain smaller cemeteries, including:-

HARDECOURT FRENCH MILITARY CEMETERY. The village of Hardecourt-au-Bois was captured by French troops on the 8th July 1916, and again by the 58th (London) and 12th (Eastern) Divisions on 28 August 1918. Five British Artillerymen were buried by their unit in the French Military Cemetery, in the middle of the village, in September 1916; and in 1918 the 12th Division buried in the same cemetery 14 men of the 9th Royal Fusiliers and two of the 7th Royal Sussex.

Guillemont Road Cemetery now contains 2,263 Commonwealth burials and commemorations of the First World War. 1,523 of the burials are unidentified but there are special memorials to eight casualties known or believed to be buried among them.

The cemetery was designed by Sir Herbert Baker.

His name was published in the Liverpool Daily Post on 14th September 1916. 

Missing. 

King’s (Liverpools) - Holland, 22730, J.; 

John is also commemorated in the Hall of Remembrance in Liverpool Town Hall at Panel 56.

His father Edwin received his Army pay and a War Gratuity of £7-10s.  No pension card has been found.

His father remarried to widow Annie Huntingdon on the 10th June 1916 at St Simon’s, Liverpool. Edwin was a 39 year old plasterers labourer, father Edwin deceased, whilst was Annie was aged 43, a charwoman of 12 Hotham St, father John Carroll deceased. 

His father suffered further loss when eldest daughter Mary died in February 1919 aged 20. In May that year his father was still at 84 Lovat Street with his second wife Annie (he had married in June 1916), William, 16, and Susan, 13. 

His father, Edwin, received John’s service medals in June 1920 and December 1922.

In 1939 his father was still in Lovat Street with wife Annie.  He was 72, and still working as a plasterer's labourer. He died in 1949 at the age of 81 and was buried on the 17th December at Yew Tree Cemetery.