Private John Charles Shults
| Date of Birth | 12/12/1886 |
|---|---|
| Age at Death | 28 |
| Date of Death | 18 March 1916 |
| Service Number | 9354 |
| Military Service | 7th Battalion East Surrey Regiment |
| Merton Address | |
| Local Memorial | Christ Church, Colliers Wood |
Additional Information
John Charles Shults was born on the 12th December 1886 to John and Sarah Shults. The 1911 Census reveals that John aged 48 years had been married to Sarah, who was 49 years old. The couple had been married for 27 years and had a total of 9 children of whom 5 children had survived while 4 of the children had died young. The family lived at Waterfall cottages with their 5 children and 3 grandchildren.
John Charles was the second eldest child of John and Sarah. School records reveal that he attended Fircroft Road School in 1896. 0n September 1st 1907, he married Ellen Beadle, a 21 year old spinster at Christ Church in Mitcham. Ellen Beadle had lived with her parents at 14 Robinson Lane in Tooting. By the outbreak of war, the couple had a total of 3 children.
John Charles enlisted at the age of 28 years and 5 months in the army at Lambeth in May 1915, his service record reveals that he was 5ft and 6 inches tall and was employed as a handyman. John Charles was killed in action on 18th March 1916. He was buried in Row D at Quarry Cemetery Vermelles.
His widow Mary Ellen was awarded a pension of 20s and 6d to bring up their 3 surviving children, on the 3rd 0ctober 1916. Their fourth child, Mary May who was born after the death of private Shults having died at the age of 4 months of marasmus (undernourishment) at the Royal Waterloo hospital on the 28th April 1916.