234117 Pte. John Almond British Army 2nd Coy. Machine Gun Corps from:81 Norfolk Rd, Islington, London (d.19th Aug 1916) On the 31st May 1915, when the first Zeppelin bombs were dropped in London only half a mile from his home, John Almond, aged 17 and his brother Alfred aged 20, travelled to Holborn, London and enlisted as volunteers with the Hampshire Regiment. The brothers were given consecutive service numbers 18143 & 18144. John was clever, good at mathematics, and quickly selected for training for the regiment's machine gun team. The Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was created by Royal Warrant on14th October 1915, by Army Order. Later that same year, John was informed he was to be compulsorily transferred to the new unit, thus separated from his elder brother. On 26th January 1916, he joined his new Regiment at the highly secretive MGC Training Centre in Belton Park, Grantham, where he was issued with a new service number MGC 26764. Here, he undertook 6 months of specialist training on Maxim and the newly introduced Vickers Machine Guns. After leaving Folkestone on 13th July, John crossed the Channel to Boulogne, France and joined 2nd Company MGC, in the field, on 18th July. On 14th August, the 2nd Company War Diary records the following: They were in front at Mametz Wood, Somme and on 18th August, the 2nd Coy moved up to the Intermediate Trench to the west edge of High Wood in support of 2nd Infantry Brigade. During a series of attacks on the afternoon of 18th August by The Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, The Kings 4th Liverpool and 4th Suffolk, John was in a forward machine gun position. With increasing casualties and orders to retire, the machine-gun section was also ordered to pull back to the support line, which was done under fire, their guns mounted to cover the edge of the wood so as to give some protection to the retreating wounded. John was seriously wounded sometime during the actions of that day at the west edge of High Wood, and was reported dead on 19th August 1916, aged 18. John Almond was listed as missing and would have remained, as such, except that when his remains were, eventually, found he had on him a spoon, a shaving brush and razor that were engraved with his Hampshire service number, HTS 18144. These items, together with his MGC cap badge and buttons, were enough to identify him. John's remains are buried in a named grave at the High Wood Cemetery, London Extension, Longueval, Somme, France.
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