John Cecil Thurling

A Corporal with the 1/4th Battalion, John died on 1st of November 1916 at the age of 20. 

John was born at Lowestoft in 1897, a son of Stephen and Phoebe Thurling. His family lived at 2 Jacob’s Street and this was John’s home for all of his life. In 1911 he worked as an iron moulder’s labourer with a motor engineer.

Before the Forst World War he began working with the Great Eastern Railway at Lowestoft. He was, for a time, a labourer, and later an assistant horse-truck driver. 

John volunteered and enlisted in the 1/4th Battalion Suffolk Regiment on 2 April 1913. He had service number 1632 and served with E Company at Lowestoft. John was mobilized when the First World War began. However, he was found to be medically unfit and discharged on 25 November 1914.

John joined the Army for a second time and joined the Suffolk Regiment, service number 3095. In 1916 he was posted to the 1/4th Battalion in France.  

In late October 1916 the 1/4th Battalion moved into trenches east of Les Boeufs. On 1 November 1916 a party of A Company attacked the enemy position on the right of their front line, in conjunction with an attack made by their Brigade. An enemy machine-gun, that was not dealt with during the preliminary bombardment, caused several casualties and the party had to fall back.

One officer and five men, including John, were killed, and twelve men were wounded.