John Henry Collins

A Private with the 3rd Battalion, John died on 30th of November 1917 at the age of 19.

John was born at Saint Leonards, Sussex, on 3 May 1898, a son of George and Ann Elizabeth Burgess. He was baptised at Saint Emmanual’s Church, Hastings, on 12 June 1898 and his family lived at 4 Plynlimmon Road, Hastings. In 1901 his family lived at 212 Melbourne Road, Leicester. By 1911 they had moved to Lowestoft and lived at 30 Sussex Road. Later his parents lived at 15 Grove Road. 

John attended London Road School before, on 12 September 1911, becoming a pupil at Lowestoft School of Science. By 1916 he was living at Waddington, Lincolnshire (his mother was from Bracebridge), and working as a clerk. 

John attested for the Army at Ipswich on 12 March 1916. He joined the Coldstream Guards, service number 18257. He was posted to France on 9 November 1916 to join the 3rd Battalion. 

On 28 November 1917 the 3rd Battalion marched to billets at Metz en Couture. On 30 November, in conjunction with the 2nd Battalion Coldstream Guards and the 1st Battalion Irish Guards, they counter-attacked the enemy and retook Gouzeancourt and were able to consolidated a line near the village. 

The battalion’s casualties for 30 November were:
Officers: nine wounded
Other ranks: six killed, three missing, 83 wounded

John was killed in action at Gouzeancourt.