John Cleaver Bishop was born in 1886 in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire. His parents were John Lane Bishop and Rebecca Bishop (née Cleaver - hence John’s unusual middle name).

John’s father was a Devon-born man, whilst his mother originated from Yelvertoft, a rural village in Northamptonshire; John was their only child.

Although born in the Black Country, John grew up in Kidderminster and the 1891 census shows the family living on Offmore Road, with John’s father working as a coach builder. At this time, five-year-old John was attending St. George’s school.

Ten years later, the 1901 census shows that the family had moved and were now living at number 18 George Street, a two-minute walk from their previous house.

Around this time, the coach building industry was undergoing a significant transformation, shifting from constructing horse-drawn carriages to manufacturing bodies for the new motor cars. This transition was a pivotal moment for workers like John’s father who simply had to adapt or find alternative work. As time passed by, less and less orders for traditional carriage work were forthcoming and it quickly became obvious that the motor car was the future. However, John senior was clearly adapting well, because when the results of the 1901 census were published, they showed that not only was he still coachbuilding, but he was also teaching his fifteen-year-old son the trade too!

Around this time the Bishop family moved home once again, but this house move was somewhat peculiar – they relocated just a few yards along the terrace, to number 2 George Street.

Having clearly adapted well to the changing trends in the coachbuilding trade, when the 1911 census was published, both John and his father were still working together, making coach and motor panels; John however, was now shown to be specialising in "coach and motor painting."

In 1916, with the Great War raging, John enlisted and was assigned to the 1/8th Battalion of the Worcestershire Regiment.

Shortly after taking the King’s shilling, he married his sweetheart, Florence Mathews. Florence was an Axminster carpet weaver from the Foley Park district of Kidderminster.

Whilst John was away, undergoing his basic training in a reserve battalion of the Worcesters, Florence was busy setting-up the marital home at number 14 Blount Terrace, just around the corner from the house where she’d grown up.

In June 1916, John was sent to France to join the main body of his new battalion which was deployed on the Western Front as part of the 144th Brigade, 48th (South Midland) Division.

When John caught up with them, they were involved in the lead-up to the Battle of the Somme, a major offensive that began the following month. Training and then more training was clearly the order of each day; the Battalion War Diary refers:-

“The Battalion was engaged daily in training, by Battalion (2 days), by Brigade and by Division (3 days) … the wet weather hampered operations considerably.”

“…during this period at COIGNEUX, preparations for the great offensive on the Fourth Army front were rapidly developed… Orders from the Higher Command were issued daily as to preparations to be made, and practice and training were engaged in by the whole Battalion with enthusiasm.”

 “…a new ‘fighting order’ was evolved, to which the men quickly became accustomed. Daily physical training, bayonet fighting and doubling in fighting order did much to produce quickness of movement… games too were instituted by way of varying monotony without losing continuance of physical training.”

Certain elements of the training being delivered would certainly have played on John’s mind and he would have hoped beyond hope that he’d never have to put the skills learned into practice; firing at an attacking enemy whilst under gas attack was nobody’s idea of fun, but despite any concerns, it appears that training for this nightmarish scenario actually went well:-

“… all companies fired the five rounds grouping practice in the anti-gas tube helmet with surprisingly creditable results…"

The Worcestershire Regiment had always enjoyed a fine reputation for musketry and marksmanship, and with the big-push fast approaching, training with the short magazine Lee Enfield .303 never let up:-

“…fire discipline, fire control, rapid loading etc. were all assiduously practised also… In all of this, the men showed a fine enthusiasm and esprit de corps.”

John’s 1/8th Battalion saw regular action throughout the Battle of the Somme in 1916, the first day of which started at Coigneux for John and his 1/8th Battalion pals, the War Diary tells the story:- 

“ It’s ‘Z’ Day of the great offensive of the Fourth Army… before 9am the Battalion was on the march with full transport… signs of the battle that was raging a few miles to the East of us were most distinctly visible and audible in the wounded returning on foot or in ambulances. Clouds of smoke from the smoke barrages on the flanks and intense artillery bombardments…”

Tragically, July the 1st 1916 would subsequently be recorded as the bloodiest day in the history of the British Army.  After a week-long bombardment, British and French forces attacked German lines, but the attack failed to break through. The British suffered an estimated 57,470 casualties, with 19,240 killed on that day alone.

After the initial push, John’s 1/8th Worcestershire continued to fight in other phases of the prolonged Somme offensive which lasted until November the 18th, 1916. John was in almost continual action, fighting in:

The Battle of Albert: where John’s 1/8th Battalion helped capture the strategically important town of Ovillers.

The Battle of Bazentin Ridge: the attack on the main German second line of defence began at dawn on July the 14th and John’s battalion was involved in severe fighting during the operation. Overall, casualties were heavy, with no gains of any significance being made.

The Battle of Pozières Ridge: John’s battalion participated in the Battle of Pozières involving intense fighting for the village and the ridge, which was a strategically important high point. The battalion endured heavy casualties during this prolonged and costly engagement.

The Battle of the Ancre Heights: Fought in the Ancre Valley area, the battle’s primary objective was to capture the high ground from the Germans. John’s battalion was involved in key actions to capture strongholds that guarded the high ground between Thiepval and the Ancre Valley.

The Battle of the Ancre: During the main phase of the Battle of the Ancre (13th to the 18th of November 1916), John’s battalion provided ongoing working parties in the rear area. Although not involved in the primary attack on November the 13th, they were later deployed to the front line as a support battalion.

So, after just six-months on the Western Front, John had already been involved in at least five individual phases of the Battle of the Somme. In between these actions he would also have been prone to artillery barrages and sniper fire, even when out of the front line. 

John and his 1/8th pals spent Christmas 1916 in the village of Fricourt, which was under British control following its capture in July 1916 during the Battle of the Somme. In the days leading up to Christmas Day, the War Diary confirms that working parties were the daily routine (working parties were groups of men carrying out essential, non-combat tasks such as trench repair, laying barbed wire, or recovering casualties, typically at night to avoid enemy fire).

On Christmas Day, the War Diary confirms:

“Working parties cancelled…except for party of 2 officers and 75 men who worked as usual”

It's not known whether or not John was one of the unlucky seventy-five! 

On Boxing Day, the whole battalion was sent straight back into the working party routine. There were no celebrations of note.

Situated two kilometres ahead of the tunnel section of the St-Quentin canal, Gillemont farm and its adjacent position "the Knoll" were outposts in the first line of the newly-built Hindenburg Line, the German defensive fortification that was built during the winter of 1916–1917.

In April 1917, it fell upon John’s 1/8th Battalion Worcestershire to attack the main outpost in preparation for a larger offensive. The book entitled “The Worcestershire Regiment in the Great War” written by Captain Henry FitzMaurice Stacke M.C. provides details of the attack:

“After forty-eight hours of rest, the 1/8th Worcestershire moved forward on the evening of April 23rd… In the small hours of the morning of April 24th the attacking companies moved forward to the line and deployed, ‘A’ Company on the right, then ‘C’ and ‘D’…

“At 3.45 a.m. under a heavy fire the attack commenced. Dashing forward with the bayonet, ‘D’ and ‘C’ Companies stormed the farm; but on the right, ‘A’ Company, checked by thick wire and without artillery support, could not take the copse. Daylight came on and after their leader, Lieut. L.R. Bomford, and many of his men had been hit, the survivors of ‘A’ Company fell back to their trenches. Away to the left, the 1/6th Gloucestershire had failed similarly to secure The Knoll, but in the centre, ‘C’ and ‘D’ Companies had cleared the spur and were endeavouring to entrench Gillemont Farm.

“As the light grew, the captured position on the narrow spur was bombarded from north, est and south by the enemy’s guns and was raked by machine-guns both from The Knoll and from the high ground to the south near Malakoff Farm. Under the hail, ‘C’ and ‘D’ Companies held their ground; but officers and men fell fast. Fortunately, there was no lack of brave leaders to inspire the defence…

 “At about 8.30 a.m. the enemy began a counterattack in force. Covered by an intense bombardment, strong columns of German infantry pressed up the valleys on either side and closed in on the farm… under a storm of fire, the survivors of the two companies fought their way back along the spur to their original position. The losses in the two companies had been very heavy – nearly 160 in all, including nine officers. Both the Company Commanders had been killed.”

“After dark, the 1/7th Worcestershire came up and took over the line, with orders to renew the attack that same night. The 1/8th Worcestershire moved back to the Templeux quarries…”

One of the 1/8th Battalion Worcestershire lads who wouldn’t be enjoying the safety of the Templeux quarries that night was John Cleaver Bishop; he was hit and had fallen whilst advancing to the objective. His wife was notified of his death the day after he’d fallen.

On Saturday May the 5th1917, John’s hometown newspaper, the Kidderminster Shuttle, shared the news of his death with its readership: 

“We regret to record the death of Private J.C. Bishop, only son of Mr. Bishop, coachbuilder of Coventry Street, which took place in action on April 24th. Previous to enlistment he assisted his father in the business of coachbuilder.

“Private Bishop, who joined the colours on 8th March 1916, left England for France in June. He was 31 years of age and married Miss Mathews of Foley Park. The last letter received from him was dated the 23rd.

“Many will regret the loss of so useful and promising a career. He was for many years associated with the Baptist choir and school, and a popular member of the Birmingham Road Wesleyan Tennis Club. The following letter has been received by his wife, from the officer commanding the company to which he was attached:

“It is with great regret I inform you of the death of your husband, on the morning of the 24th. He was hit whilst advancing with his platoon to the attack, and according to those with him, died at once. So far, his body has not been recovered, but I have every hope that he will be found so that we can give him a proper burial.

“I had a great opinion of your husband and feel his loss very keenly. I know he will be missed by his platoon and the whole company. The only consolation I can offer you is that he died a gallant soldier’s death and suffered no pain. Please accept my deepest sympathy.”

Sadly, John’s body wasn’t recovered by the lads of his company; in fact, it was only recovered post Armistice when an Imperial War Graves Commission team that was scouring the battlefields, searching for the bodies of the lost, came across his remains.

John was fortunate in this respect; the remains of the majority of his 1/8th Battalion pals who'd fallen alongside him in the attack on Gillemont Farm, were never found. Most of those brave Tommies are commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial. 

Once recovered, John’s remains were laid to rest in the Villers-Faucon Communal Cemetery Extension which sits outside of Villers-Faucon village in the Department of the Somme, around ten miles north-east of Peronne.

The Commonwealth graves in the communal cemetery are those of soldiers who died between February and August 1917, or (in the case of two who are buried in Row 'B') in September 1918. The communal cemetery contains 227 First World War Commonwealth burials, five of them remain unidentified.

The adjoining extension, where John rests, was begun in April 1917 and used until March 1918. It was then used by the Germans, with Commonwealth burials being resumed in September and October 1918. Further Commonwealth graves were brought in after the Armistice from a wide area round Villers-Faucon. The extension contains 459 Commonwealth burials and commemorations of the First World War. 144 of the burials are unidentified but there are special memorials to six casualties believed to be buried among them.

Back in Blighty, John Cleaver Bishop is commemorated on the Kidderminster War Memorial, which is situated to the front of St. Mary and All Saint’s Church. Below the names of the fallen on this memorial, the following epitaph is inscribed:

“THESE DIED THE NOBLEST DEATH A MAN MAY DIE ~ FIGHTING FOR GOOD AND RIGHT AND LIBERTY ~ AND SUCH A DEATH IS IMMORTALITY”

Rest In Peace John Cleaver Bishop ~ your bravery will never be forgotten ~ your brave sacrifice will be                                                                                remembered For Evermore.

Acknowledgements: This story could not have been told were it not for the wonderful team at the Kidderminster Museum of Carpet; most especially Geoff, Jill, Jean and Tom. Very many thanks to you all. www.museumofcarpet.org.uk