Albert John Rew, who was commonly known as John, was the son of Sydney (sometimes recorded as Sidney) John Rew and Annie Rew, born in 1860 and 1870 respectively. Sydney, himself born in Great Torrington, had moved to Southwark, London, by the 1891 census. By this time he had married his wife, who had been born in Chelmsford, and they had a son, also named Sydney, born in 1873. Their son’s place of birth is listed as Finsbury, Middlesex. At the time, Sydney was pursuing a career as a “leather dresser”.

 

By 1901, the family had moved to Great Torrington and the household was now seven strong with four new children. Their address is listed as 8 Castle Street. The birthplaces of the children give us a good clue to their movements between the census periods. Gertrude and Florence, dates of birth 1892 and 1894, were born in Bermondsey, Surrey, whilst May and Albert (John) were born in 1896 and 1899, both in Great Torrington. The head of the household, Sidney, still has his occupation as a leather dresser, while the older children are of school age. In 1905”John” Rew was enrolled in Great Torrington Blue Coat School, his parent’s name is recorded as “Sidney Rew”.

 

The 1911 census still sees the family mostly comprising of the same members, albeit the son, Sidney, has moved out and a new addition to the household is noted, Ernest Gerald, age 5. The family have also moved to 91 Well Street, Great Torrington. Sidney continues his role as a leather dresser, Gertrude and Florence as glove makers, (Annie) May as a domestic servant and the two youngest children, (Albert) John and Ernest still in school. In November 1911, Sidney passed away unexpectedly. It was written that he was well respected in the town holding a number of positions such as being in the town band, the Torrington Fire Brigade and lease of the Cattle Market. In addition, he was also the chief marksman at the Rifle Range and was a fine shot. It was recalled at the inquest that Sidney had pricked his finger on a long black thorn whilst out rabbit hunting at Darracott Farm on October 23rd. Although efforts of applying poultices, removing the thorn with a needle and lancing were all tried, he remained in great pain. By November 6th the blood poisoning had moved to his liver causing inflammation, which he would die of. A verdict of “accidental death” was passed [1]    

 

From this point onwards, little is known of his life. According to his service records he was a resident of Wealdstone, Middlesex at the time of enlisting. His enlistment place is Harrow, Middlesex. We also know that he was drafted to the Devonshire Regiment’s 1st Battalion where he would have served in France and Flanders, his service number was 51446.

 

As the Great War drew on through 1918, the dynamics of the types of engagement began to change dramatically. Whilst beforehand trench warfare had ground operations to a virtual halt and led to every metre of ground advanced on seemingly costing countless lives, the latter stages of the war saw greater and faster movement on troops, predominately to the advantage of the British and French forces. The greatest test left would be the assault against the Hindenburg Line. This was a defensive position built by the Germans through 1916 to 1917 and located behind the active front and seen as a fall-back position should the tide of the war turn against them.