Matthews, J (John)

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Private John Matthews was the son of James and Martha Matthews of Shuttle Hill, Coleraine. He passed away 2 years after the war during April 2020, from pulmonary phthisis.[1] His brother Samuel (who was by his beside when John died,) had also served during the war in the 6th Battalion of the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment,) under service number 266472. He was also discharged after being shot in the arm and contracting pulmonary phthisis at the front.
John Matthews had been on the front line until being removed during October 1916 after suffering from shell shock. He was transferred to the 12th Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. Many soldiers of the original 10th Battalion suffered this fate, especially those that survived the Great Offensive at the Somme.
Private Matthews war began when he originally landed in Boulogne,[2] France on the 6th of October 1915 at 1:30am along with the 10th Inniskilling Fusiliers. There were 1029 men, all ranks.
At 14.00 they went on a route march with a band from Boulogne, arriving at 10.00 the following day at Gare Central Station[3] where they entrained and travelled to Coisy[4] and were billeted. At this point they started training and improving where they slept. Soon they were on the move again. Training continues, and they were eventually attached to other battalions at Hebuterne[5] to help them gain some experience in trench warfare.
During March 1916, they went to Forceville[6] and the trenches at Thiepval Woods[7] where they relieved the 9th Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers and started receiving their first casualties. This continued into April and up until May when they moved to Léalvillers[8] The battalion remained here until mid-June when they moved back to Forceville and the Thiepval Woods area.
On the evening of the 30th of June 1916, the battalion moved forward to take up their positions at Thiepval Woods. Whilst walking through Aveluy Woods[9] towards the trenches the 10th Inniskillings commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Ross Smyth slipped and sprained his leg and was evacuated. A bad omen of things to come.
With the 9th and 11th Inniskilling Fusiliers on their right and 14th Royal Irish Rifles with them they waited in crowded trenches on the 1st of July for the bombardment of the German lines to finish. The men were all issued a portion of rum as they paused before putting their training into place and entering “No man’s land,” playing their part on the day of the “Great attack.”[10]
The battalions got mixed up as they advanced causing some confusement and even worse advancing too quickly. This caused heavy casualties from friendly fire. Within 100 yards of the enemy’s trench, they lay down awaiting the moment to attack. The company bugle calls soon followed announcing their orders to advance again.
All-in-all 764 men left the trenches, only 346 returned. The battalion eventually left the front line on the 2nd of July to regroup and rest, but only until August when they were redeployed at Ploegsteert Woods.[11]
Time passed by whilst the battalion continued to receive casualties and new recruits, raid German trenches, man trenches, bomb, be bombed and repeat. This continued until the end of October when they went to the village of Dranoutre,[12] to rest, bathe and be reissued uniform.
It is at this time that John is removed from the front line. It is unknown if he returned or when he joined the 12th Battalion, but he survived the war only to die a few years later from his illness.
John was awarded the 1914/15 Star, the British War and Victory Medals.
Date of Death: 29/04/1920 (Aged 25)
Service: Private, 10th and 12th Battalions, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
Service Number: 15725
Burial Location: Near North boundary.
[1] Pulmonary phthisis or tuberculosis (TB) is an infection of the lung, which leads to wasting away of the body.
[2] Boulogne or Boulogne-sur-Mer is a coastal town in northwest France.
[3] Gare Central station is around 16 miles south of Boulogne.
[4] Coisy is around 60 miles, southeast of Gare Central Station.
[5] Hebuterne is an area in France around 20 miles northeast of Coisy.
[6] Forceville in an area in France in between Thiepval Woods and Léalvillers.
[7] Thiepval Woods is around 6 miles south of Hebuterne.
[8] Léalvillers is an area in France around 7 miles east of Thiepval.
[9] Woods just west of Thiepval Woods.
[10] Great attack, later called the Battle of the Somme.
[11] Ploegsteert Woods is in southern Belgium about 60 miles north of Thiepval Woods.
[12] Dranoutre is a small village in Belgium around 6 miles west of Ploegsteert Woods.