De Ruvigny Roll of Honour Vol 1 page 140
Menin Gate Memorial
John Thomas Foster was born the 15th July 1886, at Southwick-on-Wear, Sunderland, the eldest son of Robert Foster, of 28 Wear Street, Southwick, Shipwright, and his wife Dorothy Ann, daughter of John Rames. John was educated at the National School in Sunderland, and was employed in a shipyard in Sunderland.
John had enlisted at Sunderland on the 10th August 1914, and was trained in Surrey.
He went to the front in May and was killed in action on the 31st July 1915. He was buried in Sanctuary Wood near to the Dressing station. He was unmarried.
10th (Service) Battalion, Durham Light Infantry was raised at Newcastle on the 22nd of August 1914 as part of Kitchener's First New Army and joined 43rd Brigade, 14th (Light) Division. They trained at Woking, moved to Aldershot, then to Witley in November 1914 for the winter and returned to Aldershot in February 1915 for final training. They proceeded to France on the 21st of May 1915, landing at Boulogne. They fought in the the Action of Hooge, being the first division to be attacked by flamethrowers. They were in action in The Second Attack on Bellewaarde. In 1916 they were on the Somme seeing action in The Battle of Delville Wood and The Battle of Flers-Courcelette. In 1917 they fought in The German retreat to the Hindenburg Line, The First and Third Battle of the Scarpe at Arras, The Battle of Langemark and The First and Second Battle of Passchendaele. On the 12th of February 1918 the 10th DLI were disbanded in France when the army was reorganised.
De Ruvigny Roll of Honour
He is remembered in Southwick's ROH book, compiled by Peter Gibson
