John Archer likeness

John Archer cap badgePrivate John Archer

2nd Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
Service No: 25147

John Archer grave

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Click here for a frameable A4 print
Personal details

Family Information

John was 1 of 10 children of James Archer and Mary McDade Archer of 68s Coats St, Coatbridge. Husband of Sarah Jamieson Cannon Archer. Father of 2 children, James born 21/05/1913 and Francis born 24/08/1914. From the 1901 Census - Address - 68s Coats St, Coatbridge - James Archer 45, Mary Archer 38, James Archer 21, Daniel Archer 17, Mary Archer 16, John Archer 10, Annie Archer 8, Thomas Archer 7, William Archer 5, Helen Archer 4, Patrick Archer 2, Philip Archer 10 months. John's Pension was awarded to his wife Sarah of 66 Coats St, Coatbridge on the 15/01/1917.

Born / Resided

Station Heights Cottages, Larkhall / 68s Coats St, Coatbridge.

Died

Killed in Action on the 03/07/1916 at the Battle of Albert (opening phase of the Battles of the Somme)

Enlisted

Baird Town Hall, Coatbridge 1914

Employed

Iron Worker in Waverley Ironworks, Coatbridge.

Age

25 / DOB - 04/12/1890

Buried / Remembered

Thiepval Memorial (Pier and Face 4 D and 5 B), Somme, France.

Cemetery / Memorial Information

The memorial commemorates more than 72,000 men of British and South African forces who died in the Somme sector before 20 March 1918 and have no known grave, the majority of whom died during the Somme offensive of 1916. On the high ground overlooking the Somme River in France, where some of the heaviest fighting of the First World War took place, stands the Thiepval Memorial. Towering over 45 metres in height, it dominates the landscape for miles around. It is the largest Commonwealth memorial to the missing in the world. On 1 July 1916, supported by a French attack to the south, 13 divisions of Commonwealth forces launched an offensive on a line from north of Gommecourt to Maricourt. Despite a preliminary bombardment lasting seven days, the German defences were barely touched and the attack met unexpectedly fierce resistance. Losses were catastrophic and with only minimal advances on the southern flank, the initial attack was a failure. In the following weeks, huge resources of manpower and equipment were deployed in an attempt to exploit the modest successes of the first day. However, the German Army resisted tenaciously and repeated attacks and counter attacks meant a major battle for every village, copse and farmhouse gained. At the end of September, Thiepval was finally captured. The village had been an original objective of 1 July.

Additional Information

The 2nd Battalion arrived at Le Havre on the 22/08/1914 and were part of the 96th Brigade, 32nd Division when John fell. John was killed as the Battalion attempted to capture the village of Thiepval two days into the Battle of Albert, 1st - 13th July 1916 : In this opening phase, the French and British assault broke into and gradually moved beyond the first of the German defensive systems. For the British, the attack on the 1st July proved to be the worst day in the nation's military history in terms of casualties sustained. It is the aspect of the Battle that is most remembered and most written about, and for good reason - but to concentrate on the failures is to entirely miss the point of the Somme and why the battle developed into an epic period of the Great War. On the first day, British forces at the southern end of the British line made an impressive advance alongside the French Sixth Army, capturing the villages of Montauban and Mametz and breaking through the enemy's defensive system. North of Mametz the attack was an almost unmitigated failure. The situation led to a redirection of effort, with the offensive north of the River Ancre effectively being closed down and all future focus being on the line south of Thiepval. There was a stiff fight for Trones Wood and costly, hastily planned and piecemeal attacks that eventually took La Boisselle, Contalmaison and Mametz Wood during the rest of the period up to the 13th July. This Battle was part of the Battles of the Somme, 1st July - 18th November 1916 : A Franco-British offensive that was undertaken after Allied strategic conferences in late 1915, but which changed its nature due to the German attack against the French in the epic Battle of Verdun, which lasted from late February to November. Huge British losses on the first day and a series of fiercely-contested steps that became attritional in nature. For all armies on the Western Front it was becoming what the Germans would call "materialschlacht": a war not of morale, will or even manpower, but of sheer industrial material might. The 15th September 1916 saw the first-ever use of tanks in the step known as the Battle of Flers-Courcelette. The British army in France is now approaching its maximum strength in numbers but is still developing in terms of tactics, technology, command and control. John's cousin Christopher McDade also fell. SEE PHOTOS x 9 FOR THE 2nd BATTALION WAR DIARY JUNE - JULY 1916. John is also remembered on the St. Patrick's Church Roll of Honour. See photos for John's Medal Index Card, his Newspaper clippings x 2, his Army Register of Soldiers Effects, his name on the Ireland Casualties WW1, his Memorial Plaque (Dead Man's Penny), his Service Medal and Award Rolls, his CWGC Grave Registration, his name on the Thiepval Memorial, John's family information, his name on the Thiepval Memorial Panel List, the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers Cap Badge, John's Pension Records x 2, the 32nd Division Order of Battle x 14 (the Division he was with when he died) and another photo of John's name on the Thiepval Memorial kindly donated by my friend in France, Thierry Dericbourg.

Photos
John Archer Medal Index CardJohn Archer newspaper clippingJohn Archer newspaper clippingJohn Archer newspaper clippingJohn Archer remembered at homeJohn Archer remembered at homeJohn Archer remembered at homeJohn Archer remembered at homeJohn Archer additional photoJohn Archer additional photoJohn Archer additional photoJohn Archer additional photoJohn Archer additional photoJohn Archer additional photoJohn Archer additional photoJohn Archer additional photoJohn Archer additional photoJohn Archer additional photoJohn Archer additional photoJohn Archer additional photoJohn Archer additional photoJohn Archer additional photoJohn Archer additional photoJohn Archer additional photoJohn Archer additional photoJohn Archer additional photoJohn Archer additional photoJohn Archer additional photoJohn Archer additional photoJohn Archer additional photoJohn Archer additional photoJohn Archer additional photoJohn Archer additional photoJohn Archer additional photoJohn Archer additional photoJohn Archer additional photoJohn Archer additional photoJohn Archer additional photo

War Diaries

The battalion War Diary is available on the National Archives website.

Creative Commons License

We have made this information and the images available under a Creative Commons BY-NC license. This means you may reuse it for non-commercial purposes only and must attribute it to us using the following statement: © coatbridgeandthegreatwar.com

Comments
Think this man was my father's uncle, also named John whose father also went to the Somme.
michael archer, Airdrie , 07/11/2022 5:46PM

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