John Thomas Colley was the eldest o f five c hildren o f George Coll ey a bricklayer an d his wife Sarah Elizabeth. John was baptised at St Mary’s church Moreton on 13 th September 1896. I n 1901 the family were living a t Great Chatwell but had moved to B rineton b y 191 1 when J ohn then aged 14 was a shown o n the census a s a farm labourer . J ohn was 1 8 years old when the Great War began i n A ugu st 1914 and h e was one that answered t he call f or military service late in 1914 o r early 1915 wh en h e volu ntarily joined the T erritorial army a t Shrewsbury . H e enlisted into the King’s Shropshire Light Infantry (KSLI). A t the ti me o f his enlistment his r esidence was given a s Shif nal , bu t was more likely Brineton a s in the 191 1 census . Following his training h e was posted to the 6 th battalion KSL I and arrived in France on 24 th July 1915. The 6 t h KSLI saw acti on a t Loos in Sept ember 1915, t he Somme in 1916, Langemarck in Augu st 1917, Meni n Road Ridge in September 1917, Cambrai in November 1917, S t Quentin i n March 1918. Battle of St. Quentin 1918 Durin g Febr uar y an d March 1918 6/ KLS I w orked o n Bri tish defences in the Ham area o f the Somme in anticipation o f the coming German offensive. A t 1.30 p m o n 22 nd Marc h the G ermans attack ed and drove back British units holding the line in front o f 6/KLSI. A stand was made b y 6/KLSI a t Hap pen court with the enemy o n both flanks. Des pite i nflictin g heavy casualties o n t he G erman infa ntry wit h Lewis Gun fire b y 1 1 p.m. the Germans had cut off most o f B Com pan y t aking many pris one rs. From that poin t the retiring companies o f 6/KLSI bec ame s eparate d u ntil 24 th March . O n 29 th Marc h 6 /KLSI was aga i n at tacked a t Rifle Wood n ear Meziers where t he t hen commanding offic er Lieutenant-Colonel Welch was killed b y shrapnel. The fighting contin ued until 2 nd April when 6/KLSI was reliev ed. The Commonwealth W ar Graves Commission and “Soldiers Died” show that h e was killed in action o n Monday , 1st April, 1918; whilst his m edal card records his dea th to have occurred on 21 s t March 1918 . I suspect that this is incorrect. Corporal John Thomas Colley is buried in Moreuil Communal Cemetery Allied Extension, Somme, Franc e

John Thomas Colley

Corpora l 12980 - 6 th Bn King' s Shrop shire Ligh t Infan try Ki lled in Ac tion - 1 A pril 1918 – ag e d 22 Buried in Moreuil Communal Cemetery Allied Extension , Somme, Fran ce

Moreuil Communal Cemetery Allied Extension His tory Information The village and Moreuil W ood were the scene of desperate fighting in March and April 1918 in which Commonwealth and French infantry , and the Canadian Cavalry Brigade, took part. The village was lost to the Germans, but was retaken on 8 August by the French XXXI Cor ps. The extension was made after the Armistice when graves were brought in from the neighbourin g battlefi elds. The extension contai ns 189 Commonwealt h burials and commemor ations of t he First World W ar . 96 of the burials are unidentified but a special memorial commemorates one casualty believed to be buried among them.