2nd Lieutenant, 4th Battalion Manchester Regiment, attached 18th Battalion.
Killed in action 30th July 1916, age 21.
Buried in Serre Road Cemetery No. 2, France.
Former member of the University Officer Training Corps.
John was born on 21st December 1894 at Eccles to John F. and Mary Ann Motler. He was educated at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic School, Eccles, and Salford Secondary School where he won three scholarships.
From February 6th 1915 until 23rd May 1915 John was a member of the University Officer Training Corps. He was confirmed in the rank of 2nd Lieutenant in November 1915 and went to France with his unit in May 1916. He was killed on 30th July 1916 during the Battle of the Somme at Guillemot. In a letter to John’s father the Adjutant said that he “met a true soldiers death while leading his men into action, and was hit by a shell, death being instantaneous. Three days before being hit he was called before the Colonel and personally complimented for bravery in the field.”