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240012 1st/5th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment
John French was born in Hackney, London around 1871. He was the youngest son of George and Mary Ann French and the family lived in Groombridge Road, Hackney. His father was employed as a ‘Clerk to a foreign banker’ and by 1891 was ‘living on his own means’.
John married Rose Ives in 1901; they lived in Sudbury at the Freemasons Hall. By 1911 they had moved to 4 King Street with Rosa’s sister Grace Ives where they ran a stationery and printing business.
John was a Territorial soldier with the 5th Battalion, the Suffolk Regiment serving alongside other Sudbury men including his Commanding Officer Lt. Col. William Armes. The battalion landed at Suvla Bay in early August 1915 and saw action against the Turks, advancing through heavy enemy fire without any artillery support from their own side to gain 1,300 yards. The battalion suffered 186 killed or wounded and a further 160 sick, the majority suffering with dysentery. The battalion was garrisoned at Hill 60 and had to endure disease, swarms of flies, heat, water shortage and lack of transport.
After the battalion had been evacuated from Gallipoli they were sent to defend the Suez Canal. They would spend the rest of the war in the Middle East fighting the Turks.
John died from dysentery aged 48 on 5 January 1919 and lies buried in Cairo War Memorial Cemetery, Egypt. He was well-known in the town and when news of his death was received by the Town Council the Mayor halted the Council meeting to offer the town’s sympathy to his wife and family.
John was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal. It was recorded in the original Roll of Honour that he was ‘Mentioned in Despatches’on three occasions. One of those was awarded for his actions in Gallipoli and was reported in the Suffolk and Essex on 19 July 1916. The announcement of John’s award of was made in the London Gazette Supplement on 22 October 1917. The citation for the award of the DCM, which appeared in the 26 January 1918 edition reads ‘For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty over an extended period of operations, and especially during two engagements, when he set a splendid example to his men by his coolness under fire and the ability with which he performed his duties.’
He was also awarded the 1914 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal. After the war his widow applied for his medals giving her address as Parmenters Lane, Great Waldingfield.
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