John Edward Liles was born on 7 March 1898. He appears to have emigrated to the United States of America with Catherine, his mother, and his siblings, living there between 1908 and circa 1910. As of the 1911 census, however, he was living in the household of greengrocer George Dracup and wife Catherine, aged 13 and described as George’s son (although it appears that he was the son of William John Liles, who as of 1915 was reported as living apart from Catherine), employed as a barber. John Liles joined-up underage, circa 20 October 1914, and served as a Private in the 2/6th and 1/6th Battalions of the West Yorkshire Regiment, initially under the regimental number 2826. An attempt to have him discharged as underage in September 1915 having not succeeded, he was retained in the army until of an age to be sent overseas – presumably some time in early 1917. In March 1917 he was renumbered as part of the general Territorial Force renumbering and given the new six-digit number 240793. Under the latter number he was captured (initially reported as missing) circa April or May 1918. He was first listed as missing in War Office Daily List No.5599 of 22 June 1918. This list gave his next of kin address as Bradford. As Liles, John Edward of the 1/6th West Yorkshire Regiment, D Company, on 7 October 1918 he was recorded as being incarcerated in Prison Camp at Friedrichsfeld, having been captured, unwounded, at Kemmel on 25 April 1918, during the Second Battle of Kemmel, part of the Battle of the Lys, the German 1918 Spring Offensive in Flanders. This record confirmed his Service Number as 240793 and gave his date of birth as 7 April 1898, with his next of kin being given as Mrs Liles of 84 Tennant Street, East Bowling, Bradford. War Office Daily List No.5777 of 21 January 1919 listed him as Released Prisoner of War from Germany, arrived in England. He was formally discharged on 31 March 1920. For his service he was entitled to the British War Medal and Victory Medal, which he would have received some time in 1922.
When he was aged 23, John Edward Liles married Amy Cullington on 10 September 1921 at St Stephen’s Church, West Bowling, Yorkshire. The marriage register records him as the son of John William Liles. At this time John Edward (like his father) was a dyer’s labourer and living at 132 Tennant Street.
He rejoined the West Yorkshire Regiment (6th Battalion) as a territorial in 1931, presumably under the service number 4534444, serving for four years until 1935. Aged 33, at this time he was employed as a wool comber.
John joined the Post Office in October 1937. The 1939 Register shows John and Amy as living at 136 Tennant Street, Bradford and describes John as “underground telephone cable jointer, GPO, skilled man”. (The previous owner indicated that John, at the start of WW2, joined the Royal Engineers (Postal Section) and Home Guard, presumably thereby earning the associated Defence Medal: however I have not been able to verify this.) He appears to have been in the employ of the Post Office, as a Technician, in 1956. His death was registered in the Wharfedale registration district in the third quarter of 1962.
