Private John Thomas Oldfield
6261 1/4th Loyal North Lancashire Regiment
Died of Wounds 20th September 1916, Aged 20
Lived at 4 Aquaduct Street
Buried in Dartmoor Cemetery, France -II.C.33
Commemorated on Burnley Lads Club Memorial
Pickup Croft Memorial
St Peters Memorial, Burnley
Burnley Express 4th November 1916

Burnleys' Great War Centenary

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John Thomas Oldfield was born in Burnley in November 1895, the son of Thomas and Ellen Oldfield, he had an elder brother named Samuel, who was about 2 years old at the time of John’s birth. The story behind his parent’s is curious, from the age of about 5, John appears to have been brought up by his aunt – Isabella Bassnett (former wife of John’s uncle, Wilson Oldfield), at 4 Aqueduct Street Burnley. What happened to his parents is unclear; by 1919 their whereabouts were described as ‘unknown’.
He enlisted in the 1/5th East Lancashire Regiment (Territorials), on the 30th December 1914 and so became one of the “Saturday night soldiers” and received the regimental number 3371. Possibly he enlisted for the extra money, to supplement his income, working in John Watts waste warehouse, in the Sandygate district of Burnley, or possibly he saw the war as a chance to seek some adventure. After 20 months home service, during which time he was appointed as a Drummer, this chance came to him on the 7th of August 1916 when he embarked from Folkestone to Boulogne as part of the British Expeditionary Force. After spending just over a week at Etaples (the home of the famous ‘Bullring’) he was posted to his Regiment. His time with the East Lancashire’s’ was very short lived, however, as he was transferred to the 55 Div. R.E. Tunnellers on the 23rd of August. This was even a shorter stay because on the 6th of September he had been transferred again, this time to the 1/4th Loyal North Lancashire Regiment and allocated the new regimental number 6261.
He joined his new regiment as a part of a draft of 219 non commissioned officers and men from the East Lancashire and Manchester Regiments whilst they were in billets at Millencourt, forming part of the 164th Brigade, 55th (West Lancashire) Division. He was given no time to settle, as the following day the Brigade was recalled to the front and the Battalion marched to Montauban. At this point the front line extended from the eastern edge of Delville wood in the direction of Ginchy, the battalion occupied the trenches along with the 2/5th Lancashire Fusiliers.
The enemy still held a very small section of the southeast corner of Delville Wood and orders were received from XIV corps that this would be attacked on the afternoon of the 9th September. The 164th Brigade was to take a line of trenches running approximately from the outskirts of Ginchy to the east corner of Delville wood and to capture Hop and Ale alley. At 4pm a barrage by the British artillery started and at 5.25 the Battalion went over and succeeded in taking Hop alley, but the capture of Ale alley was unsuccessful, and the position in Hop alley became untenable due to intense machine-gun fire the remnants of B and C companies withdrew and fell back to their original lines. The casualties amounted to 24 officers and men killed, 133 wounded and 79 missing.
John Thomas Oldfield is included in these statistics, he was taken to No. ??? Casualty Clearing Station at Becordel-Becourt (approx 1 mile east of Arras) where he died of his wounds on the 20th September 1916, barely a month after arriving in France.The mystery surrounding his parents continued after his death, his obituary in the Burnley Express and Advertiser of the 4th November 1916 describes him as the son of Sgt. Oldfield of 4 Aqueduct Street, who is described as being in the East Lancashire Regiment and the Gordon Highlanders (along with John’s brother Samuel) in the same article. However when his personal effects were returned home in February 1917 they were sent to his aunt Isabella, in Aqueduct Street.

Burnley Express In Memoriam for Sept 22nd 1917 from aunt and uncle 77 Piccadilly Road.
November 2001- John Oldfield – 4th Loyal N. Lancs - a white cross in memory placed for Remembrance Sunday outside the Thompson Centre.