Jean Longstaff has submitted the following:-

Young John was born on 8th February 1894 to Maria Hope, wife of John George Marshall, a public house manager living in Sunderland. The 1901 census shows the family living in West Trimdon Street, Deptford and once he was old enough 1910 John found work as a boilermaker. On 25th November 1910 he, his mother and three siblings. Hannah, Christopher and Stanley, sailed for Canada on board the SS Empress of Ireland, making for Vancouver to join his father who was already working there as a miner.

The family settled in south Vancouver and John again found work as a boilermaker, and also joined the local militia group, the 6th Regiment Duke of Connaught’s Own Rifles. On 19th September 1914, five weeks after the initial call had gone out for volunteers, John arrived at the new training camp at Valcartier and became Private 16332 attached to the 7th Battalion. Within five weeks the battalion had arrived in England, sailing on the SS Virginian in a flotilla of 31 troop ships flanked by British warships, and then marching from Plymouth to a newly created camp on Salisbury Plain.

By February 1915 the Battalion was in France fighting as part of the 1st Canadian Division, and after eight months in the trenches John was granted two weeks leave in England. Obviously not too keen to return to France he was fined three days pay for being drunk and using obscene language in Folkestone Harbour on 7th October 1915.

On 15th April 1916 whilst the battalion was fighting in the trenches around Mount Sorrel, Private 16332 was killed and buried five days later.

John Marshall is remembered in Sunderland on S140.048 part 9 page 201

He is also remembered in Canada on their Virtual War Memorial and in their Book of Remembrance.

Canadian Book of Remembrance
Canadian Virtual War Memorial
The CWGC entry for Private Marshall