Lives of the First World War

1918

John Brownhill Ashton was born in 1890 in Clayton West, the youngest of the three sons of Joseph Brownhill Ashton, an agricultural labourer, and his wife Elizabeth. In the 1911 census, he is 21 and working as a farm labourer for John Haigh at Ash House Farm, Almondbury, Huddersfield. In the report of his death in the local paper, it was stated that John ”was well-known over a wide area by reason of his close association with the agricultural life of the district.” The newspaper report listed other employers as Mr Herbert Wood of Kilnhouse Bank, Mr Joseph Wood of Hagg Farm and Mr Herbert Mellor, Mytholm Bridge. John Brownhill Ashton enlisted with the Territorials of 7 Bn Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regiment in Milnsbridge on 3 March 1913 at which time he was living at the Hill, Marsden. Having been discharged from the Territorials in March 1914 on completion of his contract, he enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery several months later in December 1914. He served for three years, being wounded twice, until 9 May 1918 when he was invalided out due to “Shock sickness” and awarded a Silver Badge no 363102. Following his discharge, he moved to Glasgow and had worked for the Glasgow Corporation for just three weeks when he died in Glasgow Royal Infirmary on 30 May 1918 following an attack of pneumonia. His connection with Hade Edge is not known.

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