JOHN HOUSTON MUMFORD MC & BAR
29 June 1892 - 13 August 1917
At School 1901 - 1905
Lieut 110th Bde Royal Field Artillery
John was born in Heaton Moor, Stockport and in 1901, aged 8, was living at 64 Manley Road, Whalley Range, with father John, a Lace Agent and Merchant, mother Catherine, older sisters Ruth and Dorothy and one domestic servant. John left School in 1905 and moved to Manchester Grammar School. By 1911, the family had moved to 1, Wolseley Place, Circular Road, Withington and John was an Articled Clerk with a firm of Chartered Accountants. He also attended Victoria University of Manchester, gaining a

Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1914. At the age of 22 he was fully qualified and working with Messrs Jones, Crewdson & Youatt, Manchester.
In July 1915 he joined the Manchester University Officer Training Corps and in September obtained a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant, Royal Field Artillery, East Lancashire Brigade.
On 7 February 1916 John left for France and on the 8th joined the 110th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery. 110th Brigade comprised four Batteries, 3 being 18 pounder field guns an 1 being a 4.5" Howitzer Battery. An eighteen pounder Battery comprised 6 guns with a crew of 10 and an officer assigned to 2 guns. In action 6 men would operate the gun and 4 would be in reserve to bring up ammunition and replace casualties. The Brigade was part of the 25th Division and at that time was in billets in Lederzeele near St Omer, moving on the 16th to billets at Borre, near Hazebrouck. Here training was undertaken until mid March when the Brigade moved to the Arras area. On 31st March the Brigade was visited by Sir Douglas Haigh while doing battery gun drill at Tinques, some 12 km north west of Arras.

John was assigned to B Battery, firing 18 pounder field guns, and the Brigade was brought into action at the end of April, east of Mont St. Eloi, 9 km north west of Arras. The Germans had exploded two mines and occupied the craters and the Brigade was called upon to shell the craters intermittently, day and night, to hinder the Germans from consolidating on these craters.
On the 29th the Brigade fired in support of an assault by the infantry to take the craters however the attack failed. In early May the Germans exploded a further three mines and the month was spent in shelling and being shelled by the enemy, mainly gas shells, supporting attacks and counter attacks for the craters, responding to infantry SOS signals and calls for retaliation, and targeting the craters to prevent the enemy from consolidating. The Brigade was relieved at the end of May and, after a period of rest and training moved to the Thiepval area of the line being brought into action on 7 July in support of an attack by the 12th Division on Ovillers La Boiselle. Its task was to bring

fire to bear on a strip of land just north east of the village, (square X2 above); fire continued the whole day and the three 18 pdr batteries fired some 6,000 rounds between them. Over the next week the Infantry advanced steadily supported by the Brigade firing on the German trenches. On the 15th the Brigade moved south east of La Boisselle, (Square X20 above), in support of an attack on Pozieres. The War Diary reported that the guns were commencing to show signs of wear, having each fired about 2,000 rounds during the previous seven days. The Brigade was now engaged in wire cutting and on the night of the attack, 22 and 23 July, fired on designated map references to the north of Pozieres. The attack was successful and over the next few days the Brigade bombarded the German support trenches, roads and strongpoints as the advance continued. The Brigade was also under artillery fire from the enemy and on the night of the 30th B Battery received a direct hit on one of its gun pits, killing 3 men and wounding 4, and putting the gun out of action. Throughout August the Brigade continued to fire on the rear of the German lines in support of the advance until 8 September when they were relieved and retired to the wagon lines. This relief was short lived as on the 11th they were ordered back into action in support of an attack by the 32nd Infantry Brigade on the Wundwerk trench system south of Thiepval on the 14th. On the 23rd, B Battery moved to a new position (Square W12 above), in support of an attack on Thiepval and the Schwaben Redoubt, which again proved successful over the next few days, the Brigade firing some 3,500 rounds during the action. Throughout October the Brigade supported the advance northwards engaged in wire cutting on Regina Trench and Stuff Redoubt. targeting machine gun emplacements and firing barrages in support of infantry attacks.
In between attacks the Brigade was engaged in targeting enemy infantry massing, bombarding enemy trenches and occupied villages, working parties and counter attacks. The Brigade continued to also be under fire itself from German Artillery, suffering 2 men killed and 1 wounded in D Battery by a direct hit on the cook house on 2 November. This work continued to 21 November when the

Brigade was relieved. On 22 November the Brigade was inspected by the Corps Commander II Corps and congratulated for the work during the offensive, the Brigade having been in action (bar 3 days) since 5 July.
It was during these actions that John was awarded the Military Cross: "For conspicuous gallantry in action. He displayed an absolute disregard for his personal safety while superintending the firing of his battery, thereby encouraging the detachments and securing the efficiency of their fire."
The Brigade then moved to a sector of the line near Armentieres and from mid December through to the end of February 1917 was engaged in similar work as previously: wire cutting, bombardment of enemy lines targeting parapets and trench mortar positions, supporting trench raids and SOS calls from the infantry. Following a brief period of rest and training in March, the Brigade again found itself in support of the front line trenches for an assault on Messines, engaging in shelling train and transport behind the enemy lines. A further fortnight's respite ensued in May but then at the beginning of June the Brigade was brought into action near Wulverghem to support an attack on the Messines Ridge. Again there was a period of wire cutting,

support of trench raids. night firing on roads and barrages on front and reserve lines in preparation for the attack due on 7 June. On 4 June, the Commanding Officer of B Battery, Major C C Gordon was killed on his way to an observation post on Hill 63, just south of Square U7 above. The attack on the 7th was a success, the Brigade expending an average of 2,000 rounds per Battery, and advancing to Square N36 above in support of the advancing infantry. On 12 June the Brigade was ordered to move forward to the Messines Ridge, B Battery moving to Square O31 above with the task of barraging points in case of counter attacks. Over the next two days the Brigade fired protective barrages to assist the Infantry in establishing the line. The War Diary reported that on the evening of the 14th "8 enemy planes flew over the Brigade positions during the firing of the barrage and 1 descended to within 300 ft of the ground. A case for greater patrol by our airmen very strongly represented to the Division, who are "looking into the matter"." Inevitably, a few days later all Batteries were shelled heavily repeatedly through the day and night, B Battery losing 3 killed and 2 wounded on the 19th. The Batteries continued to be shelled intermittently, but kept up harassing fire on the enemy. The War Diary refers to hostile planes flying low using machine guns on tracks and trenches and again comments on the lack of aircraft defence.
At some time during the summer John was awarded a bar to his MC: "For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He rushed to the assistance of four signallers who had been buried in a dug-out under heavy shell fire, and aided by another officer, succeeded in rescuing one of them. The other three were killed. He has constantly shown an example of fearlessness, and his work as forward observation officer has been exceptionally valuable and reliable."
In July the Brigade moved to the Ypres area, in support of the advance known as the 3rd Battle of Ypres, the Battle of Passchendaele, which commenced on 31 July, and on 1 August reconnoitred positions in Square I17 below for the Batteries, while Brigade HQ was placed in the Ypres Ramparts, Square I14. The German Artillery had commenced shelling the roads and tracks, which, with the incessant rain, the heaviest for 30 years, made the going very heavy. On the 3rd, the Brigade's positions were shelled frequently during the day and night but kept up day and night harassing fire of 240 rounds per Battery, and responded to SOS signals from the infantry attempting to retain their newly won positions.

Such action continued over the next few days and on the 7th B Battery suffered one OR killed and 3 wounded from an enemy shell. On the 9th the Batteries worked out a barrage for an attack on the ungained part of Westhoek Ridge, which took place at 4.45 a.m. on the 10th. The barrage was put down by the Batteries according to 25 Divisional Order No. 170, after zero plus 41' bursts of fire only were maintained. At 8.00 a.m. the enemy counter attacked and the Batteries fired for 90 minutes in response to SOS calls. These continued throughout the day and the 18 pounder guns fired some 4,200 rounds. B Battery was shelled by a large calibre gun soon after commencement of the barrage for the attack, one gun being put out of action and two being buried, in a bombardment that lasted about 30 minutes. During the night of the 11th B Battery suffered further shelling, losing 3 ORs killed, 3 wounded and one gun destroyed. On the 12th all Batteries put down a barrage for an attack on ungained high ground at Glencorse Wood, south east of Westhoeke, for 60 minutes commencing at 4.25 a.m.

The 13th was described by the War Diary as a "quiet day", the ammunition establishment at the guns was increased to 750 rounds per 18 pounder, and a SOS call was responded to from 9.20 p.m. to 9.55 p.m. At some time during the night John and 2nd Lt J Irvine-Watson, also of B Battery were killed. The Ulula, magazine of Manchester Grammar School, states that John was killed in his sleep, and it is probable that following the SOS response John turned in for some well earned rest only to be the victim of an enemy shell, which also probably took the life of J Irvine-Watson.
John was buried in Brandhoek New Military Cemetery No. 3, 6.5 km west of Ypres, side by side with Irvine-Watson. Probate was granted on 31 October to John Mumford, lace commission agent, effects £145 14s.
THE HULMEIAN MAGAZINE - DECEMBER 1917
Lieutenant J H MUMFORD, M C, R F A, killed in action on August 13, was at School 1901 to 1905, and then went on to the Manchester Grammar School. His major wrote of him: “To us all he was the beau-ideal of a soldier, and, more, ‘a perfect gentleman’”.
We are indebted to Lieut W Fairley, R F A, for the following notice of his old friend, who was himself a contributor to our last number.
In the passing of this fine young man, his old School and his Regiment have lost a very valued friend and officer. I cannot remember when I first met John Mumford. It was about 20 years ago, and he celebrated his 25th birthday six weeks before his death, so I can write with a full knowledge of him who was my ideal of what a manly man should be. His major in France writes of him as a “very perfect gentleman,” and that was John Mumford every day and all days of his short useful life.
His School life was marked by one straight drive to the pinnacle of success, for he had but to put himself to any subject and he “worried” it so thoroughly and with such keen-ness that he extracted for his own information, in a remarkably short time, all that there was to know of it. But he was not selfish in his natural aptitude for grasping facts – no! he made it his greatest joy to pass on in his simple way what he had learned himself to others less brilliant in the uptake. And so with his inborn genius and his wonderful aptitude in sharing his knowledge with his friends – for this man had no enemies at school – he was essentially very popular. To his juniors he was a born leader, and I know many who spoke to me in our school days of the patience and kindliness of Mumford in his dealings with them. His greatest pleasure was to “give a hand” and if he knew it, none of his school-fellows would fail.
On the cricket and football field he was always a perfect gentleman, and a very fine type of British sportsman. The writer remembers well when John Mumford could hardly lift a cricket bat, but each summer term showed his progress in a wonderful way, and his development into one of these batsmen of the clean forceful off-drive variety, and in school cricket, especially when his side was losing, Mumford was the man to set his teeth and “stop the rot”.
And that was the soul of him, for he could not bear to see his side lose. The writer is firmly convinced that if Mumford had played more for himself (for he knew the game) he would have earned for himself as a first-class cricketer but it was not his nature to think of self-advancement. All he cared about was that his side should win, and he played the game accordingly.
Then there was another side of his life which was unobserved and silent except to those who knew him very well. He never paraded his religious beliefs nor did he speak of them; but underneath his quiet, thoughtful manner there was a true Christian spirit, and a strong unwavering faith in the simple teachings of his earl days. John Mumford believed the fundamental principles, which he learned at his mother’s knee, and he acted on them up to the day of his death.
At 22 years of age he was a fully qualified accountant and a B Com of Manchester University. When war broke out he was with Messrs Jones, Crewdson, & Youatt, Manchester, and the fact that his firm sent him on an important “audit” to America speaks of his capability.
Then came the greatest “game” of all – and he gave himself gladly to his country’s service. On his return from America he began his training, and in September, 1915, obtained his commission in the Royal Field Artillery. He went to France in February, 1916, and was promoted Lieutenant in July of this year. “He showed an absolute disregard for his own personal safety, thereby encouraging the detachments and securing the efficiency of their fire.” These words came in the official account of the action for which he was awarded the M C in December, 1916, and it was just what he would do. In May of this year he was awarded a bar to his M C.
He was an ideal type of “Gunner” Officer, and his loss is bound to be a great one to his battery He was in “B” Battery of his Brigade on service, and in his last letter to the writer he remarked, “Don’t you always think ‘B’ stands for BEST Battery!” – such was his “esprit de corps”.
Those of us who are left to “carry on” need do nothing more than follow the example set to us by this very gallant gentleman, who gave his all for the country he loved so well.