LEATHERHEAD WAR MEMORIALS - WWI
Lieutenant John Samuel Harding
11th Bn. Northumberland Fusiliers
Town Memorial P4.R1.C2.
Taken, Not Given
LieutJohn S Harding
11th Northumberland Fusiliers
Armentières
Nov 8 1915
About the time the mother of Private Leonard Skilton was receiving the sad news of the loss of her son, so were the parents of John Harding, because the same newspaper issue carried both items of despair.
It was widely believed in England during the 1914-18 War that a Subaltern's life expectancy on the Western Front was about six weeks. John Harding was only allowed the average lifespan.
On 20 November 1915 the Leatherhead Advertiser (1) carried the following paragraph: –
"During the weekend information was
received from the War Office that Lieutenant J.S Harding of the 11th
Northumberland Fusiliers was killed in Flanders on November 8th.
Deceased was the eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. S.A. Harding of Brackenwood,
Oxshott Road, Leatherhead. He received his Commission in September 1914
and was promoted to Lieutenant last June."
The War Diary of the 11th Northumberland Fusiliers shows that the battalion disembarked at Boulogne on 25 August 1915, and was in the trenches on 10 September. (2)
On 1 November 1915 the battalion was in the 'Bois Grenier' line.
The entry for 8 November simply states “Lt. J.S. Harding, 'B' Coy shot at 6.45 a.m. in trench 'T' I26.2. He was probably observed by enemy sniper leaning over parapet".
He had been in the trenches 59 days – seven weeks.
Notes on sources
1. Press cutting (Leatherhead Advertiser of 20 November 1915) in Leatherhead and District Local History Society archives. Reference LX622.
2. File WO95/2182 – War Diary of 11th Northumberland Fusiliers in Public Record Office, Kew, Richmond.
Further research
LieutenantHARDING, JOHN SAMUEL (JACK)
Died 08/11/1915
Aged 20
11th Bn. Northumberland Fusiliers
Son of Samuel Alfred and Edith Frances Harding, of Brackenwood, Leatherhead.
INSCRIPTION
IN CHRISTO FRATRES
Buried at BREWERY ORCHARD CEMETERY, BOIS-GRENIER
Location: Nord, France
Cemetery/memorial reference: I. B. 8.
Dorking and Leatherhead Advertiser
Saturday 20 November 1915
LEATHERHEAD & THE WAR
LOCAL OFFICER KILLED
During the week-end information was received from the War Office that Lieut. J. S. Harding, of the 11th Northumberland Fusiliers, was killed in Flanders on November 8th. Deceased, who was the eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. S. A. Harding, of Brackenwood, Oxshott-road, Leatherhead, received his commission in September, 1914, and was promoted to Lieutenant last June.
LOCAL OFFICER KILLED
During the week-end information was received from the War Office that Lieut. J. S. Harding, of the 11th Northumberland Fusiliers, was killed in Flanders on November 8th. Deceased, who was the eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. S. A. Harding, of Brackenwood, Oxshott-road, Leatherhead, received his commission in September, 1914, and was promoted to Lieutenant last June.
Surrey Mirror
Friday 31 December 1915
ROLL OF HONOUR.
BRAVE SURREY MEN FALLEN IN THE WAR.
LEATHERHEAD AND DISTRICT.
Lieut. J. S. Harding, 11th Northumberland Fusiliers, killed in action in France on Nov. 8th. Son of Mr. and Mrs. Harding, of Brackenwood, Oxshott-road, Leatherhead.
BRAVE SURREY MEN FALLEN IN THE WAR.
LEATHERHEAD AND DISTRICT.
Lieut. J. S. Harding, 11th Northumberland Fusiliers, killed in action in France on Nov. 8th. Son of Mr. and Mrs. Harding, of Brackenwood, Oxshott-road, Leatherhead.
The 1915 issues of the Leatherhead Parish Magazine recorded in July and October that J Harding was with the 5th East Surrey (Reserve) Battalion and in December:
The following have laid down their
lives for their Country.
Nov 8 1915 John Samuel Harding, Lt., 11th Northumberland F, killed in action in Flanders
Nov 8 1915 John Samuel Harding, Lt., 11th Northumberland F, killed in action in Flanders
His death was also recorded in one of the 1918 issues of the St Mary’s, Stoke D’Abernon, and St Andrew’s, Oxshott, Parish Magazine.
De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour, 1914-1919
This data collection contains biographies of over 26,000 casualties of the Great War. Casualties include men (both officers and ranks) from the British Army, Navy, and Air Force. 7,000 of the biographies include photographs.
This Roll of Honour was originally compiled into 5 volumes by the 9th Marquis of Ruvigny and Raineval who was very interested in genealogical research. The amount of information available for each entry varies according to sources used. At the very least, generally the man’s regiment, and place and date of death are provided. However, if the family of a casualty provided further background and additional details, then this information was included in the biography as well, sometimes resulting in very detailed biographies. Fortunately John Samuel Harding's entry was one of the detailed ones:
| HARDING,
JOHN SAMUEL, Lieut., 11th (Service) Battn. The
Northumberland Fusiliers. eldest son of Samuel Alfred Harding,
of Brackenwood, Leatherhead, by his wife, Edith Frances,
daughter of John Manby, of Paris; b. at Hampstead, N.W., 15 Oct.
1895; educ. Tonbridge (Park House 1909-13), where he was a
member of the O.T.C., becoming an N.C.O. in September 1912, and
was a School Praeposter in his last year. On leaving school he
went to Switzerland and then to France, to improve his knowledge
of French; returned to England and joined his father in
business. but on the outbreak of war offered his services; was
gazetted 2nd Lieut. Northumberland Fusiliers, 22 Sept. 1914, and
promoted Lieut. 10 June, 1915; went to France Sept. 1915, and
was killed in action near Armentières 8th November following. In a letter dated 15 October 1915, he wrote to his twin brother: ”We. went into the fire trenches on 4 Oct., and came out on the 12th, and we go in again tomorrow, but only to the support. In the trenches we are worked very hard both day and night, always making the defence stronger, such as the parapet and parados. We get bricks from wherever we can and pave the passages and also in some places put wood down. We build new and stronger dugouts and all such things as that, and an officer has to be on duty all day long from daybreak till 11 p.m. At night we have working parties out in front, and we mend and repair our wire and also the parapet, always making everything stronger in case of attack. |
 |
We send out patrols composed of four men and either an officer or N.C.O. I went out on two of these patrols, and will tell you about them briefly.
The first night, in the trenches I said I
would go out in front and take four men with me, but I eventually only
took one - a bomber. I may add that the German trenches were 300 yards
away. We left our trenches at 12 midnight and got out beyond our
wire, and then started crawling. It was a very dark night and a mist was
hanging about. We had crawled for one and a half hours and hadn't struck
the German wire, and we wondered where we had got to.
My companion was very tired with crawling,
because he had a great number of bombs on him, and crawling is very
tiring work. So I said: 'Well, I haven't come out for nothing. I’m going
on.' and told him to stop and go back if be wanted to. Well, I went on,
and in about half an hour I got to their wire and cut a piece off, and
then started crawling back, and had been going for about a quarter of an
hour and had done about fifty yards, when I suddenly saw someone
crawling about in front of me. I crawled very slowly up to him with my
revolver levelled, and said, 'Halt! Who’s that?' and much to my relief
it was my bomber, who had continued on.
About this time I was tired of crawling,
so got up and risked it and started walking, when my companion said,
'Sir, you arc going in the wrong direction'. Still we went on till we
got to some wire. Then I turned round and said to the bomber, 'If you
don’t think these are our trenches, you stop here, and I’ll go on and
find out. If they are the German trenches, you'll have to hop it and
I’ll do the best I can.’
So I walked right through the wire and struck the very place we had gone out from. Now I was pretty certain I was right, because I had taken my bearings by some tall trees, but the bomber said the Germans also had some behind their trenches. Still, that shows one the importance of looking back when you are going out, because you haven't the slightest idea where you are when you are crawling or in what direction. I got back at 2.30 a.m. that time.
The second time I went, out was just before dawn, at 3.45 a.m., to see if I could catch a German sniper, who had been bothering us most of the night, on his way back to the trenches. I took three men with me and crawled along a ditch, which has trees along it about fifteen yards apart, and the German sniper had been up one of these during the night, because I had seen the flash of his rifle.
So I walked right through the wire and struck the very place we had gone out from. Now I was pretty certain I was right, because I had taken my bearings by some tall trees, but the bomber said the Germans also had some behind their trenches. Still, that shows one the importance of looking back when you are going out, because you haven't the slightest idea where you are when you are crawling or in what direction. I got back at 2.30 a.m. that time.
The second time I went, out was just before dawn, at 3.45 a.m., to see if I could catch a German sniper, who had been bothering us most of the night, on his way back to the trenches. I took three men with me and crawled along a ditch, which has trees along it about fifteen yards apart, and the German sniper had been up one of these during the night, because I had seen the flash of his rifle.
Well, we went right along this ditch to
within fifty yards of their wire, when for some unknown reason my three
men stopped. I went right up to their wire, thinking all the time my men
were with me. I was having a thorough look at their wire, because by now
it was quite light enough, when I suddenly looked up and saw two Germans
in one of their listening posts not twenty yards from me. My revolver
was in my pocket, so I ducked down into the ditch, which was only one
and a half feet deep, because I saw one of them going to aim at me, and
I was none too soon, the bullet striking the ground just over the top of
me.
Naturally l thought my three men would
fire, but they never did. So I looked round and found they weren’t
there. So I crawled back and found them lying down, not taking the
smallest heed as to what was going on in front. So I took one of their
rifles and crawled back towards our trench, and then got up a tree and
fired several rounds into their listening posts, but as far as I could
tell nothing happened. They never even fired back. Suddenly several
shots came whizzing past, and I realized I had been spotted from one of
the flanks. So I quickly got down, and we all crawled back to our
trenches and got in at 6.30 a.m.”
His Colonel wrote: " I deeply regret to report that Jack was killed at 6.45 this morning, He was shot through the heart while on the parapet arranging his advanced snipers for the day and locating enemy sniper positions; he died without pain almost immediately. He will be buried in a Military Cemetery in the demolished small town Bois Grenier, which lies two and a half miles south of the town of Armentières and one mile west of the firing line. Jack was my battalion scouting and sniping officer, my dearest friend and comrade - in fact, my most valuable right-hand man as regards information of the enemy. He was fearless, resolute and offensive to a degree in his hazardous work on patrols and sniping. As an officer and comrade he cannot be replaced.
His Colonel wrote: " I deeply regret to report that Jack was killed at 6.45 this morning, He was shot through the heart while on the parapet arranging his advanced snipers for the day and locating enemy sniper positions; he died without pain almost immediately. He will be buried in a Military Cemetery in the demolished small town Bois Grenier, which lies two and a half miles south of the town of Armentières and one mile west of the firing line. Jack was my battalion scouting and sniping officer, my dearest friend and comrade - in fact, my most valuable right-hand man as regards information of the enemy. He was fearless, resolute and offensive to a degree in his hazardous work on patrols and sniping. As an officer and comrade he cannot be replaced.
When we came here, the German snipers and
patrols used to wander about quite close to our wire: but Jack's
activity as patrol officer soon drove them all back to their trenches.
He frequently brought in articles from the German wire, and also
accounted for several Germans with the telescopic rifle I gave him. He
played the man with the utmost courage and indifference to his own
safety. I made up my mind some time ago to recommend Jack for the
Military Cross, for conspicuous service on several occasions,” and his
Company Commander: "To myself personally his loss is a grievous blow,
for I had known him long enough to appreciate his winning personality
and his fine qualities. In him the battalion loses a fearless officer,
who would have made a great name for himself had he been spared, and his
brother officers mourn the loss of a dear comrade.”
Another officer also wrote: “ We all miss him very much, indeed, as he was always so cheery throughout all the discomforts which we naturally have out here. It is part of my duty to censor the men’s letters, and I may say that one and all of his platoon have written to their homes lamenting the loss of their officer,” and the Chaplain: ”I have been Chaplain to the 68th Brigade for well on a year, and I knew your son well - such a good fellow, and we all loved him much."
He was a good all-round athlete, being a very useful fast forward, when he played for his School XV of 1912-13. In 1913 he won the athletics Points Cup with firsts in the High Jump (five feet two inches). Hurdles and Weight: seconds in the Half Mile, Broad Jump and Hammer and a third in the Cross-country. He was also a keen and promising golfer.
Another officer also wrote: “ We all miss him very much, indeed, as he was always so cheery throughout all the discomforts which we naturally have out here. It is part of my duty to censor the men’s letters, and I may say that one and all of his platoon have written to their homes lamenting the loss of their officer,” and the Chaplain: ”I have been Chaplain to the 68th Brigade for well on a year, and I knew your son well - such a good fellow, and we all loved him much."
He was a good all-round athlete, being a very useful fast forward, when he played for his School XV of 1912-13. In 1913 he won the athletics Points Cup with firsts in the High Jump (five feet two inches). Hurdles and Weight: seconds in the Half Mile, Broad Jump and Hammer and a third in the Cross-country. He was also a keen and promising golfer.
His life
He was born on 15 October 1895 in Hampstead, London.His father was Samuel Alfred Harding born 5 March 1868 at Reigate Surrey, a son of Charles Davis Harding (1827-1892) born Wootton Under Edge, Gloucestershire and Mary Jameson Waterlow (1839-1891) born City of London. Samuel died on 15 July 1940 in Sussex. He had been a Paper Merchant and became Chairman of S C & P Harding Ltd.
His mother was Edith Frances Manby born 30 November 1868 in Paris, a British subject by parentage (her parents have not so far been identified).
In the 1871 Census she was at 73 Berners Street, Ipswich, with her 9 month-old sister Alice in the care of a nurse and servant ("Head" away). She died in 1946.
In the 1891 Census, aged 22 and living on her own means, she was visiting the Great Doods, Reigate, household of Isabella Waterlow, the 75 year-old maternal grandmother of Samuel, her husband to be. She lived on her own means.
Samuel was head of the household of another property in Great Doods which included his brothers Bernard and Harry.
Samuel and Edith married 'by contract' in 1891.
John's siblings were: Margaret Florence (1897-1988) registered at Hampstead; Bernard Paul Harding b 1900 at Ewell, Surrey; George Basil (1904-1987) at Reigate; Edith Mary b 1905 at Ewell; and Barbara Susan (1914-2013) at Epsom.
From an incomplete tracking in the Electoral Registers and bearing in mind John was born in 1895, his parents lived at: