Introduction

John Slade overcame poverty and hardship to become a Colour Sergeant in the Army. Though he only lived briefly in Hardington, the community held him in high esteem, treating him as one of their own.

Childhood

John Slade was born in East Coker on 28 November 1864, the third son of John and Jane Slade. His father was a farm labourer, and his mother was the daughter of Samuel Woolmington, who was also a farm labourer.

John’s father died in 1879 when John was only 14 years old. By April 1881, his widowed mother lived at Barry Lane, Hardington, with John and his younger brother, George. Two of John’s siblings were dead, and two had left home. The sixteen-year-old John was a farm labourer.

Army career 1882-1899

In 1882, John joined the Dorset Regiment.[1] In 1885, while serving in India, he was transferred to the Wiltshire Regiment.[2] By August 1892, he was a sergeant in the second Wiltshire regiment stationed in St Albans.[3]

On 24 August 1892, John married Elizabeth Delamont at St Augustine’s, Highbury.[4] She was the daughter of Charles and Mercy Delamont of Hardington.

John and Elizabeth spent a short time in India, where their first child was born in 1893. By July 1895, they had returned to England and lived at Devizes, where John was stationed at Le Marchant barracks.

Life in Westbury

By September 1899, John and his family had moved to Westbury and lived in the Volunteer Drill Hall in Alfred Street.[5] John served as a Colour Sergeant Drill Instructor of Volunteers for ten years.

On 29 October 1908, John left the Royal Marines. By April 1911, he was a Club Steward.

Life in Trowbridge

From about 1914 until February 1936, John kept the Kitchener’s Arms, Trowbridge, a pub owned by the Frome United Breweries. Before the war, the pub was called the “King of Prussia,” a name that dated back to the Battle of Waterloo. However, in September 1914, the brewery changed its name in response to rising anti-German sentiment.[6]

In February 1915, Hardington’s Roll of Honour, as published by Western Gazette, included John’s sons, Charles and Frank, who were serving in the Royal Navy.[7] The following month, the newspaper featured photographs of John Slade and his three sons.[8]

Elizabeth died in October 1925, at the age of 61, after a long illness.[9]

In 1935, John was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for his long and distinguished Army career.[10]

In February 1936, John retired and handed over the pub to his son, Charles, who had left the Royal Navy after twenty-two years.[11] Sadly, Charles died just two months later.[12]

Retirement

In 1939, John was a widower living In Frith House, North Bradley. He died on 6 February 1951, at the age of 86, leaving an estate valued at £1,331-5s, which he bequeathed entirely to his daughter, Ethel, “in appreciation of her kindness and devotion to me.”[13] His body was interred at North Bradley.

Children

John and Elizabeth had three sons and three daughters.

References

[1] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 26 October 1935, p.3.

[2] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 26 October 1935, p.3.

[3] Marriage Register of St Augustine’s, Highbury, Islington.

[4] Marriage Register of St Augustine’s, Highbury, Islington.

[5] Westbury Baptism Register.

[6] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 26 September 1914, p.3.

[7] Western Gazette, 5 February 1915, p.6.

[8] Western Gazette, 26 March 1915, p.5.

[9] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 31 October 1925. p.3.

[10] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 26 October 1935, p.3.

[11] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 25 April 1936, p.3.

[12] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 25 April 1936, p.3.

[13] The will of John Slade, dated 13 October 1950, proved at Winchester on 28 March 1951.