Pte 51922 John Rainford

John Rainford was born in the March quarter of 1883, the son of William Rainford and Mary (née Ward). William was born in Standish, Wigan and Mary in Blackrod, Lancashire.  They married at St George's Church in Chorley in 1862 and had ten children:  Ann 1863 and Nelly 1867-67, both born in Wigan, Elizabeth 1870-72, William 1872, Ralph 1875, Elizabeth 78, James 1880, John 1883, Thomas 1886, and Samuel 1888-90, all born in Skelmersdale.

In 1891 the family, with the five younger boys, are living at 67 Sherratt Street, Skelmersdale. His father, 49, is a collier, his mother is 45, William, 18, and Ralph, 15, are colliery labourers, James 11, John, 8, and Thomas, 5, are at school.

His mother died in 1900 aged 54 when John was 17.

In 1901 his father and the three youngest are at 123 Sandy Lane. His father, 59 ‘stops at home’, James, 21, John, 18, and Thomas, 15, are all employed as coal miners/hewers.

John is still living at home with his father in 1911, in Sandy Lane.  His father William is 69, no occupation listed, John is 28, a coal miner/hewer for Blaguegate Coal Company. His father states that ten children were born, five of whom have since died.

When he was 31 John enlisted in Seaforth as Private 51922, 17th (Pals) Battalion of The King’s Liverpool Regiment.

John was declared Missing on 12th October and his death later presumed for official purposes as occurring on or since that date.

17^th Battalion War Diary:  Battle of Transloy Ridge –                                               

11-10-16 - Gird Trench/Gird Support – Battalion in front line and support trenches. British bombardment of enemy front line system commenced about midday.  Hostile shelling was intermittent throughout the day.

12-10-16  - Our bombardment continued. Enemy reply weak.  2.5 p.m. Zero hour. Attack on German front line system commenced.  Enemy wire was found to be uncut and attack was unsuccessful.  Hostile machine gun fire was very heavy and caused many casualties. Battalion H.Q. and Support Trench were heavily shelled throughout afternoon and evening. […] During this action all communication had to be carried out by runners and carrier pigeons as all wires were being continually cut by enemy shelling.

Casualties: 5 officers killed,  5 officers wounded, 38 OR killed, about 225 OR wounded/missing etc.

Graham Maddocks, in “Liverpool Pals” p.140, adds:

“As the whistle blew, the 17^th Battalion left its trenches to move forward.  […]  As soon as the attacking waves left their trenches the enemy artillery began to register on them, and at the same time, the defending infantry commenced a murderous rain of fire.  […]  Although their numbers had been depleted by the British bombardment, they were trained and experienced soldiers, well dug in on high ground, and for the most part, looking out on uncut wire.  As such, it was virtually impossible for them to miss the City Battalion men struggling to advance in the mud towards them.   The 17^th Battalion, on the left, was particularly badly hit, as its portion of No Man’s Land contained a slight rise in the ground, and as the troops emerged onto it they were silhouetted against the sky and became easy targets.  Those on the left of the attack, who managed to avoid the hail of bullets and make it to the German wire, then found that it was totally uncut, and thus trapped, they too became easy targets, to be picked off almost at the enemy’s will.  It was hardly surprising that, seeing the first waves being wiped out, some of the following waves turned back and made for their start lines. These lines were now packed with other waves of troops, however, and the fleeing men added to the congestion already there, and became easy prey for the German gunners.  There is some evidence also, to suggest that at this stage, the British trenches were also being hit by their own heavy artillery shells which were falling short.” 

John was reported Missing in the Ormskirk Advertiser on 02nd November under the heading:

‘Skelmersdale Soldier Missing’:

“Mr. Wm Rainford, of Sandy Lane, Skelmersdale, has received information from the War Office that his son, Private John Rainford, (51922) of the King’s Liverpool Regt., has been posted as missing after an engagement in France on October 11th.”

John’s name also appeared in the list of Missing in the Wigan Observer on 18th November 1916. It is not known when his family received definite news of his fate. John was the sixth of his father’s ten children to die.

His death was confirmed in the local press

Pte John Rainford (34)  K.L.R., son of Mr W. Rainford, Sandy Lane, Skelmersdale, has been killed in action, after being missing since October last. He formerly worked as a miner at the White Moss Colliery.

John now rests at Warlencourt British Cemetery, France.

Warlencourt Cemetery is entirely a concentration cemetery, begun late in 1919 when graves were brought in from small cemeteries and the battlefields of Warlencourt and Le Sars.  The Graves Registration form shows graves from “Le Sars 6/1, 6/2, Hexham Road, Seven Elms”.

Graves were brought in from the original cemeteries at Hexham Road (Le Sars), and Seven Elms (Flers), as well as over 3,000 British graves due to the fighting which took place around the Butte de Warlencourt from the autumn of 1916 to the spring of 1917, and again in the German advance and retreat of 1918.   The cemetery now contains 3,505 Commonwealth burials and commemorations of the First World War, 1,823 of which are unidentified. 

His father received John’s effects, and after his death in 1919 aged 77, his brother Thomas received the War Gratuity of £3.  No pension was received as his father died before the pension could be paid.

John is commemorated on the following memorials -

Skelmersdale Memorial and Garden

St. Paul’s Church, Skelmersdale