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Pte. John Arthur March
British Army 1/6th Btn. Durham Light Infantry
from:Leicester
John Arthur March was my Great Grandfather. He passed away in 1987, when I was 4 years old and because of this I don't remember him, but I'm always interested in hearing about him.
Jack joined the Army on the 5th January 1916 at the Glen Parva Recruitment Office in Leicester. On the 12th February 1916 he enlisted in the Durham Light Infantry and was sent to France and fought, as you might expect, in the Trenches. Because of his time in the Trenches he developed Trench Feet. It became seriously infected and it required him to be sent to the Graylingwell War Hospital in Chichester, England for 8 days. He was admitted on the 24th April 1917 and discharged on the 2nd May 1917. After that period he was then transferred to the Convalescent Hospital in Eastbourne, England and stayed there for 48 days. He was admitted on the 2nd May 1917 and was discharged on the 19th June 1917 and was then deemed reasonably fit to return active service, but had to stay in England. In total he spent 1 year, 7 months in France and 1 year 6 months in England as, but was also transferred to the Northumberland Fusiliers at some point during the War. I'm trying to gather as much information about his time in the Northumberland Fusiliers as I can but it's proving to be tough to find out anything about it. During his time in the Trenches he would get bored at times and end up shooting the rats which may sound funny but this ended with him getting into trouble and he was called up on a Disciplinary, but he got off lightly and was cautioned. Whether he continued his assault on the rats I don't know.
John March (Benfield) and his son John Arthur March. John Arthur March c1916 just before he was sent to France with the Durham Light Infantry & John March just before he was to join the National Reserves in England
On the 4th April 1919, after the end of the War, he wasn't formally discharged. Instead he was transferred to the Royal Defence Corps as he was deemed too physically unfit to be able to be on the front line. Which I believe was due to developing Trench Foot. So, he survived the War and was able to return to his family and friends. Which I am extremely pleased about as it meant that I had a chance to meet my Great Grandfather. One strange thing is that both of his discharge dates are birthdays in my immediate family. Excluding the years, the 2nd May is my Mum's birthday and the 19th June is my brother's birthday.
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