Regimental cap badge
John Brough Regimental Sergeant Major 5210 -1st Bn North Stafford Killed in action on Thursday 21st March 1918 No known grave but is commemorated on the Pozieres Memorial, Somme, France John Brough, son of George and Ellen (of Audmore and Cowley), who had enlisted with the North Staffordshire’s (the ‘black knots’) in 1897 rose through the ranks to Regimental Sergeant Major. He served in South Africa from November 1900 to April 1902 (for which he received the King’s medal), was with the mounted infantry April-July 1906 was “very satisfactory all round in the orderly room work” and gradually increased his “further service with the colours” to 21 years. In 1905 he had married Agnes Catherine Clark (from Ross) in Ross, Herefordshire. In   1911   they   were   both   with   the   1 st    Bn.   North   Staffordshire   Regiment   at   Shorncliffe   Military Camp   in   Cheriton,   Folkestone   in   Kent.   They   had   no   children.   At   the   time,   John   was   Colour Sergeant (the colours are maroon, black and silver) to which rank he had been appointed in October 1907. In March 1913 he was promoted to Quarter Master Sergeant and in November 1914 to Regimental Sergeant Major (he disembarked in France on the 10 th  of that month). He did receive a further appointment, but relinquished it. John was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal ‘in the field’, which was reported in the London Gazette of 14 th  January 1916, and the silver Long Service Medal on the 1 st   April 1917. He was reported missing on the 21 st  March 1918. Later testament from sergeant F/J Harper, also of the North Staffordshire Regiment, who had been taken prisoner of war, stated that he had witnessed the shooting of Regimental Sergeant Major John Brough. On the 21 st  November 1918 John’s widow, Agnes Catherine Brough, then living at 53 Third Avenue, Small Heath, Birmingham, was informed that from the 25 th  of that month she was awarded a pension of 21/3d [£1 1s. 3d] a week. On the 12 th  May 1919 John’s silver Long Service medal and his D.C.M. were forwarded to her. John was also awarded the British War and Victory medals and, the 1914 Star. Also, initially, the clasp to go with the star, although this was cancelled. After some pressing of the War Office by the Stafford Infantry Records Officer, on behalf of Agnes, the clasp was issued in March 1920.