2nd Garrison Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment
John Edward Cobb was born in Gloucester in 1879 and it is known that he was baptised on 19 August in that year. He was the son of Jesse (1837-1902) and Sarah Cobb (née Ruther; 1838-1893) and one of three children.
At the age of 18 he enlisted in the Army, on 29 November 1897, signing on for 12 years (an initial seven years with the Colours and five in the Reserve). At the time of enlistment he stated himself to be a labourer and noted previous service with the Gloucestershire Militia. He was posted to the 1st Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment and allocated the number 5155.
He saw training and service in the UK until 4 September 1899 and in South Africa from 5 September 1899 until 23 August 1900, thereby participating in the South African (or Boer) War. On 24 October 1899 he suffered a gun shot wound to his left side. After South Africa he spent the period 24 August 1900 to 5 January 1903 in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), after which he was in India from 6 January until 15 December 1905. Service back in the UK followed, up until the time he fulfilled his 12 year service commitment on 29 November 1909, having opted to spend the whole time on active service.
It would appear that he re-enlisted on 21 February 1910 but this may have been into the Reserve, as the 1911 census records him living with his brother-in-law and wife at 8 Goodyere Street, Gloucester; his occupation was described as a ‘tent labourer and worker’.
On 21 August 1909 John had married Fanny Alice Smith at All Saints Church in Gloucester: it would appear that there were no children from the marriage.
His commitment to the Army Reserve must have terminated prior to the outbreak of the Great War on 4 August 1914, as he did not sign attestation for military service papers until 9 December 1915. This was probably under the terms of the pre-compulsory conscription ‘Lord Derby’s Scheme’. He was placed in the Army Reserve and went back to his civilian occupation, now living at 22 Widden Street, until mobilised on 22 September 1916 and a posting to the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment, allocated the number 31052.
On 28 December 1916 he transferred to the 2nd Garrison Battalion of the Bedfordshire Regiment and was allocated a new number, 35183. On 9 February 1917 this battalion sailed for India.
John had suffered a number of medical issued during his initial army service, malaria and neuritis whilst in India in 1904/5 and a bout of nephritis (inflammation of the kidney) when back in the UK in 1908. On 27 May 1917 he was admitted to hospital in Karachi with chronic nephritis and on 8 August he was sent back to England, joining the 1st (Reserve) Garrison Battalion, Suffolk Regiment whilst posted sick. The nephritis gave rise to a number of problems with other parts of his body and on 15 September 1917 a medical board declared him ‘no longer fit for war service’ and recommended he be discharged on a full disability pension to run for an initial six months. Final discharge from the Army and the award of a Silver War Badge (denoting discharge from military service) followed on 29 October 1917.
John Edward Cobb died at home (87 Victoria Street, Gloucester) on 13 January 1920, aged 40. A death notice placed in the Gloucestershire Journal of 17 January stated he had died after a ‘long and painful’ illness. A recently released Pension Record Card states that the cause of death was ‘acute nephritis and heart failure’. His widow was awarded a £5 widow’s grant. He was buried in Gloucester Old Cemetery, his relatives choosing for his headstone a white marble cross on a raised plinth. It would appear that when his wife Alice died in February 1968, aged 90, she was buried with him. Oddly, John’s age is stated to be 42 years, which would have made his birth year either 1877 or 1878.
Researched by Graham Adams 1 November 2019