John Thomas's Story.
EARLY LIFE
John Thomas Cartwright, sometimes known at Thomas, was born in Macclesfield in 1897, the son of Margaret and Thomas Cartwright, a shoemaker of 29 Sunderland Street, Macclesfield. In 1911, thirteen-year-old John was employed as a silk winder and living at the same address with his parents and siblings William (19), Alice (18) and Jessie (16).
MILITARY SERVICE
Thomas Cartwright was one of two hundred men named as new recruits in the Macclesfield Times on 30 April 1915.
Private Cartwright was listed as wounded in the War Office Casualty List on 12 September 1917, but must have recovered and returned to service in France. He was again reported wounded on 15 October 1918, and was reported to have died in the Casualty List dated 15 January 1919. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission states that he died of broncho-pneumonia on 3 December 1918.
COMMEMORATION
Private John Cartwright is buried at Etaples Military Cemetery, in grave ref. XLVII. A. 11. His mother asked for the inscription “REST IN PEACE” to be added to his headstone.
Locally, Private John Cartwright is commemorated on the Macclesfield Park Green and Town Hall war memorials.
NOTES
Brother of William Henry Cartwright, who served as Private 290374 with the 1st/7th Bn. Cheshire Regt. and was killed in action 23rd July 1918 in France, aged 26.
SOURCES
GRO (England & Wales) Index: Births
Census (England & Wales): 1911
WWI British Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects
Lives of the First World War website
Commonwealth War Graves Commission website
Macclesfield Times: 30 April 1915
Weekly Casualty Lists (Find My Past): 12 September 1917, 15 October 1918, 15 January 1919
Research by Rosie Rowley, Congleton.
Research by Rosie Rowley, Congleton.