Biography of Private John Thomas William Wass (40898)
9th Battalion Leicestershire Regiment
Formerly 25385 North Staffords Regiment
Died 16th March 1917

Soldier

  • Name: John Thomas William Wass
  • Date of birth: 1895
  • Place of Birth: Toft nr Bourne, Lincolnshire, England
  • Date of Birth Registration: October – December 1895
  • Place of Birth Registration: Bourne, Lincolnshire, England

Father

  • Name: George Edward Wass
  • DOB: 16th August 1860
  • Place of Birth: Toft nr Bourne, Lincolnshire, England
  • Occupation: Farm Labourer

Mother

  • Name: Sisannah Sarah Fowler
  • DOB: 28th August 1860
  • Place Of Birth: Morton nr Bourne, Lincolnshire , England
  • Marriage: 12th December 1881 Morton nr Bourne, Lincolnshire, England

Siblings: (Name), (DOB), (POB)

  • Charles Henry Fowler, 1879, Morton nr Bourne (Half Brother)
  • George Edward Wass, 1882, Manthorpe nr Bourne
  • Rose Alice Wass, 1885, Manthorpe nr Bourne
  • Joseph Wass, 1888, Toft nr Bourne
  • Sarah Ann Wass, 1890, Toft nr Bourne
  • Kate Elizabeth Wass, 1893, Toft nr Bourne
  • John Thomas William Wass, 1895, Toft nr Bourne
  • Florence May Wass, 1899,  Dunsby nr Bourne

Census

  • 1901: John is living with his parents at Dunsby nr Bourne, Lincolnshire.
  • 1911: John is living with his parents at Dunsby nr Bourne, Lincolnshire. The census gives him an age of 15 and he is listed as a farm labourer.

Relatives in services

  • None found

Marriage

  • No marriage for John has been found and because of his age we can assume that he never had the opportunity to marry.

Newspaper Mentions

  • Grantham Journal Saturday 14th April
    MEMORIAL SERVICE. On Sunday, a memorial service for the late Pte. Wass, late of Dock Furrow Farm, Dyke, was held at the Wesleyan Church, Morton.  Deceased, who was a regular attendant at the Wesleyan services, was killed in action abroad. Mr. R. A. Collins, of Bourne, was the preacher, and in the course of his sermon made a sympathetic reference to deceased.  Special hymns were sung.  Mr H. Knott presiding at the organ. The rostrum was dreped.

 

  • Grantham Journal Saturday 21 April 1917
    ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.
    Mr. and Mrs. Wass, Dock Furrows, Bourne, wish to thank all friends for the kindness and sympathy shown in their great trouble.

 

  • Grantham Journal Saturday 28th April 1917
    Pte. JACK WASS. of Morton
    The many friends of Pte. Jack Wass, of Dock Furrows Farm, son of Mr. and Mrs. Geo. Wass, will learn with regret of his death in action on March 16th, is the result of being hit by a bomb.  The deceased soldier joined the Leicestershire Regiment on May 13th, 1916. His brother, George Wass, who is also serving, has been invalided to England, and is now in hospital in Sussex.

Military Records

Attestation Papers

  • Available

Soldier’s Died In The Great War

  • These records show that Private John Thomas William Wass, 40898, 9th Bn Leicestershire Regiment was killed in action on 16th March 1917 in the Western European Theatre in France and Flanders.

Pension Records

  • Available

Effects Left To

  • Mother Sarah

Medals

  • The British Medal
  • The Victory Medal

Memorials

  • UK:
  • None found

 

  • Commonwealth War Graves Commission:
  • In memory of Private John Thomas William Wass, 40898, 9th Bn., Leicestershire Regiment who died on 16 March 1917 Age 21
  • Son of George and Sarah Wass, of Frank’s Ward, Morton, Bourne, Lincs.
  • Remembered with honour, Loos Memorial
  • Panel 42 to 44

© Picture taken by South Lincolnshire War Memorials

© Picture taken by South Lincolnshire War Memorials

© BNA

Military Service Timeline

  • This is ongoing research and will be posted when completed

Sources

  • WW1 Soldier’s Records (www.ancestry.co.uk)
  • British Newspaper Archive.
  • Fold 3
  • Find My Past
  • Genealogist
  • Forces War Records
  • Red Cross POW Records
  • British Army Service Numbers
  • War Gratuity Calculator
  • War Graves Photography Project
  • Commonwealth War Graves Commission
  • National Archives – Battalion War Diaries
  • General Registry Office

Last Updated – 13th February 2026