John James Blair – East Lancashire Regiment, 6th Battalion

Acting Sergeant John James Blair – East Lancashire Regiment, 6^th Battalion

Limited Surviving Information

John James Blair

Some of the men commemorated on the Mumbles War Memorial are difficult to trace, and only limited information survives about their lives. One such case is John James Blair.

Birth and Family Background

John James Blair was born in 1895 in Oldham. He was the son of Alice Blair, who, according to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, was later living at 5 George Bank, Southend.

Military Service

John served with the 6^th Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment, eventually attaining the rank of Acting Sergeant.

Death and Commemoration

Army Register of Soldiers’ Effects

The Army Register of Soldiers’ Effects records that John died on 5^th April 1916 while serving in Mesopotamia. At this time, the 6^th Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment was deeply involved in the desperate attempts to relieve the Siege of Kut, where British and Indian troops had been besieged by Ottoman forces since December 1915. The battalion, part of the 38^th Brigade, 13^th (Western) Division, was positioned along the Tigris Front, operating in the flooded and dangerous ground around Hanna, Falahiyah, and the Sannaiyat defensive lines. Although no major attack occurred on that exact day, the battalion was under constant threat from Ottoman artillery, machine-gun fire, snipers, and disease, all of which caused heavy casualties during this phase of the campaign. It was amid these harsh and unrelenting conditions that Acting Sergeant John James Blair lost his life.

John has no known grave and is commemorated on the Basra Memorial, which honours Commonwealth soldiers who fell in Mesopotamia and have no known resting place.