Pte 14812 John Thomas Rigby

• Age: 23
• From: Scarisbrick, Lancs
• Regiment: The King's (Liverpool Regiment) 17th Btn
• K.I.A Thursday 28th March 1918
• Commemorated at: Pozieres Memorial
  Panel Ref: P21-23

John Thomas Rigby was born in Scarisbrick on the 02^nd March 1895, the youngest child of Henry Rigby, a railway platelayer, and his wife Mary Alice (nee Halsall).

The family were originally from Martin Lane in Burscough but had moved to Hurlston Green by 1891.

John's mother died shortly after he was born, and his father died in 1906.

In 1911, John was a teamsman employed by Abraham Alexander Howard on Wyke Farm. It was reported in the Southport Visitor that Thomas one of the first to join the colours and was one of the motor car party that proceeded to Seaforth in September 1914.

He enlisted in Southport on the 01^st September, 1914, age 19 years 183 days, occupation farm labourer. He was described as being 5' 2 3/4" tall, weighed 129lbs, with a 34"chest, dark complexion, grey eyes and dark hair.He stated his religion as Church of England and gave his brother Henry Rigby, aged 39, 106A Norwood Road, Southport as his next of kin.

He was posted with the 12th Battalion King's Liverpool Regiment (KLR) at Seaforth, and a year later he embarked for France where he joined the 14th Battalion KLR. At the end of October 1915, John's battalion was moved to Salonica. He was hospitalised with malaria in September 1916, and then moved to Malta, where for about a month his condition was deemed "serious", however he improved and was invalided to England in December. Back in England, John remained in hospital until April 1917, first at Manchester then at Warrington, where he also struggled with melancholia. His service records show:

He made sufficient recovery to return to active service, and on 27 November 1917 he was drafted out to France where he was serving in the 17^th Battalion, The King’s Liverpool Regiment as Private No 14812.

John was killed in action between the 21^st and 28^th March, 1918, during the German Spring Offensive.

The Battalion diary gives an insight into the events of the day:

28^th March 1918

FOLIES – MEZIERES – ROUVREL

10.00am Enemy attacked our immediate front but was driven off – Half an hour later enemy was seen in large numbers through ROUVROY to WARVILLERS. About 11 am orders were received tha the Battalion would be relieved by 133^rd French Division. The relief was carried out shortly after noon, after a message had been received by telephone that the French were satisfied with the position and that we were to withdraw at once.  

4pm The enemy were then in BEAUFORT. The Battalion assembled at MEZIERES and marched to ROUVREL to billets arriving about 6.30pm.

He was reported missing in the Weekly Casualty List on the 28th May 1918:

- King's (Liverpool Regiment) Rigby 14812 J.T. (Southport);

John's body was not recovered or was subsequently lost as he has no known grave and is commemorated on the Pozieres Memorial.

The POZIERES MEMORIAL relates to the period of crisis in March and April 1918 when the Allied Fifth Army was driven back by overwhelming numbers across the former Somme battlefields, and the months that followed before the Advance to Victory, which began on 8 August 1918. The Memorial commemorates over 14,000 casualties of the United Kingdom and 300 of the South African Forces who have no known grave and who died on the Somme from 21 March to 7 August 1918.

The cemetery and memorial were designed by W.H. Cowlishaw, with sculpture by Laurence A. Turner. The memorial was unveiled by Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien on 4 August 1930.

Soldiers Effects to brothers Samuel and Henry, sister Cecily, no Pension record found 

John is commemorated on the Southport War Memorial

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