JOHN HENRY SHANNON

Private 306781

2^nd./8^th Btn. Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby) Regt.

Died Thursday 7^th June. 1917 aged 23

Grave Ref. 1. C. 5 Metz-en-Couture Communal Cemetery, British Extension, Pas de Calais, France.
No photograph. Can you help?
John Shannon, (better known as ‘Jack’) was born in Cloneven, County Wexford, Ireland in 1893/1894, later moving to Jacksdale with his sister, Sarah Shannon. As far as we know, John did not marry but Sarah became the wife of Arthur Graney who was also killed in World War One.

A ‘Free Press’ newspaper obituary dated August 1917 states, “John Henry Shannon, Sherwood Foresters, aged 23. Enlisted on February 5th 1916 and went to France in February 1917. He was missing on the night of June 9th (1917) and his body was found a few days later and buried in the cemetery at Metz. Jack, as he is better known, attended St Mary’s Church. He was the brother of Mrs A Graney whose husband is also a soldier.” ( Arthur Graney 10th Btn, Sherwood Foresters was killed on 10th Sep 1918).

The Sherwood Foresters Roll of Honour shows that he enlisted at Eastwood, Notts. and states date of death as Thursday 7th June 1917 indicating that he was killed in action when serving at Havrincourt, France. He was 23 years old at time of death.

He was the son of the late John Shannon.

Buried at Metz-en-Coutre Communal Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France.
We have been informed that the serviceman in the photograph below is John Henry Shannon - better known as 'Jack' Shannon. However as the John Henry Shannon listed on the Jacksdale Memorial was a Private in the Sherwood Foresters, we believe that the gentleman in Naval Uniform, shown in the photograph could possibly be 'the late' John Shannon, father of John Henry Shannon, or pehaps even, a brother of John Henry Shannon. We would very much appreciate any information which would help us unravel this mystery.
Sherwood Foresters World War One Casualties – 11,298
Source:R. Capewell ‘Discovering Military Badges.’

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