South Staffordshire War Memorials

Dedicated to the memory of all the men and women of the South Staffordshire area who died during the two World Wars.

Private John William Millington

John William Millington was born at Bromstead (near Newport, Shropshire) in the third quarter of 1895. He was baptised at nearby Moreton church on 8th September, the son of John William Millington, labourer, and his wife Elizabeth. In 1901 the family lived at Tong Norton but by 1911 they had moved to Pattingham where the younger John worked as a farm waggoner.

John probably joined up towards the end of 1915. Initially he enlisted at Wolverhampton in the South Staffodshire Regiment, but he was transferred almost immediately to the 89th Company of the Machine Gun Corps (Infantry). He may have been with the 89th when they went to France in March 1916.

The 89th were present at the Battle of Albert - the opening phase of the Battle of The Somme. John was killed in action on 18th October, 1916, during the Battle of Transloy Ridges - a later stage of The Somme. The company war diary for the 18th October records:

3.40am 89th MGCoy in action in support of 21st Inf Bde attack. . . 8.00 am 'Message received that No 3 gun team (except for 1 man) i.e. 5 OR blown up. This was reported to Bde HQ.'

Private John William Millington, 7196 Machine Gun Corps (previously 20268 South Staffs Regt.) was buried in London Cemetery and Extension, Longueval. He was awarded the Victory and British War Medals.

John's younger brother, Richard (born about 1900), is named on the Roll of Honour in Pattingham Church.

This memorial has mostly been compiled from official sources. It would be good to be able to expand it with more personal material - memories, stories, photos, etc. If you have any suitable material or any corrections please contact Greg.