Name
John Scotcher
1897
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
15/04/1917
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Private
13991
Hertfordshire Yeomanry
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
British War and Victory medals
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
CHATBY MEMORIAL
Egypt
Headstone Inscription
N/A
UK & Other Memorials
Bishop's Stortford Town Memorial, All Saints Church Memorial(s), Hockerill, Not listed on the Hertfordshire Yeomanry Memorial, St Albans Cathedral
Pre War
John Scotcher was born in Bishop's Stortford in 1897 to Robert Scotcher, railway servant, and Clara Sarah (nee Pechey).
On the 1901 Census John was living with his widowed mother, Latimer, a laundry carman (born 1880), Agatha Moss, a dressmaker (born 1882), Eva, a nursery maid (born 1886), William (born 1890) Robert (born 1893), (born 1897) at Grove Cottages, New Town Road, Bishop's Stortford.
His father died in 1900 and his mother in 1904.
By 1911 he was living with his older brother Latimer and his wife Charlotte, and brother Robert, at 34 Elm Grove Road, Bishop's Stortford and working as an errand boy for a provision merchant.
Wartime Service
Also served under service nos 3505 & GS/13991.
No Service Record were found for John (apart from his early service). John enlisted at Bishop's Stortford on 13 Oct 1914 as Territorial Force Private 3505 in the Hertfordshire Regiment and served at Home until 14 Mar 1916. He may have transferred to the Hertfordshire Yeomanry as Private 13991 (Brother Robert was Private 13992).. He was drowned at sea on 15 Apr 1917 on SS Cameronia which was serving as a troopship when en-route from Marseille, France to Alexandria, Egypt when she was torpedoed by the Germany U-boat U-33.
There were approximately 2,650 soldiers on board. The ship sank in 40 minutes, 150 miles east of Malta, taking 210 lives. Most of the crew and soldiers were picked up by escorting destroyers HMS Nemesis and HMS Rifleman. The remainder of the survivors got into lifeboats and were picked up the following day by boats from Malta.
Additional Information
A War Gratuity of £12 10s and arrears of £3 8s 8d was split between his brothers and sisters. Brother to William James Scotcher of the Australian Heavy Artillery, who died on 23 April 1917 and is buried at St Nicolas British Cemetery in France. Brother Robert served with Hertfordshire Yeomanry as Private 13992 and later as 14879 in Corps of Dragoons, surviving the Great War
Acknowledgments
Brenda Palmer, Neil Cooper
Jonty Wild
