Private John Jobson

Private John Stevenson Jobson, 24th Battalion, ( 1st Tyneside Irish), Northumberland Fusiliers. He was killed in action in France on 1st July 1916 on the opening day of the Battle of the Somme, aged 19. He was the son of Johnson and Rachel Jobson of Heckley Fence, Alnwick and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, Thiepval, Somme, France. On that fateful day the Battalion advanced with its sister Battalions of the Tyneside Irish from the Tara-Usna line in the attempt to capture the heavily fortified village of Contalmaison. The attack failed with heavy losses. 5 Officers were killed and 13 were wounded. Of the Other Ranks 142 were killed and 474 were wounded. He is also commemorated on the Kirknewton Memorial. The contemporary photograph shows the Irish troops starting their advance at 7.30 a.m. in neatly spaced lines. The second photo gives an idea of the width of no mans land with very little cover. Total casualties for the four Tyneside Irish Battalions were at least 2,200 in killed and wounded. The colour photo shows a peaceful Somme landscape today with ” no gas, no barbed wire, no guns firing now”.

Scroll to Top