In Memory of

Private John Lloyd

11455
6th Battalion South Lancashire Regiment
Died 10th February 1917 Age 37

John was born in Flint but lived in Earlestown, working at the Viaduct Works. The Newton and Earlestown Guardian carried an obituary in its edition of March 9th 1917.

John is buried in Amara War Cemetery in Iraq. Although the obituary says he “fell in action” Amara was a hospital centre with seven general hospitals so John may have died of wounds. However, two thirds of the graves in the cemetery were brought in after the Armistice, so he may indeed have been killed in action. In 1933, all of the headstones were removed from this cemetery when it was discovered that salts in the soil were causing them to deteriorate. Instead a screen wall was erected with the names of those buried in the cemetery engraved upon it.

The Battalion War Diary and Whalley-Kelly both give accounts of the fighting in the first half of February 1917. Alfred Hughes, Albert Taylor and Richard Harrison were also killed at about this time.