Ploegsteert Memorial
Ploegsteert Memorial
Derek Johnstone has provided the following:
John Dockerty, the son of John and Mary Dockerty, was born in 1897 at Cleator Moor, Cumberland. John’s parents, who were also from Cumberland, lived at White House Yard, Bedlington in 1911 when John was working in the mines at the age of 14 as a pony driver. Prior to enlisting John would have still been working in the coal mines. In the family home in 1911 were John’s three brothers Michael (19), Hugh (8) and William (1). At the time John enlisted at Bedlington, Northumberland he was living at the Sun Inn Yard in the same town. John served in France and Flanders and his memorial is in Belgium.
Bernadette Potts has submitted the following:
My grandmother was Mary Dockerty, who married William Wallace who also fought on the Western Front, thankfully he came home.
My mother lived in the Sun Inn yard as a child. She has passed away now, but told me her mother was John's sister. When he was killed his father died of a broken heart.
My husband and I went to the war graves and saw John's name where I placed a poppy. We live on the Isle of Wight and we have a lovely ceremony every 11th November and we always lay a poppy for him so he really has never been forgotten although, of course, I never met him.
I would love to know what he looked like - my mother had no photo of him.
Lovely to know these boys are remembered with so much respect.
In November 2017, Mrs. Potts sent a photo of a cross placed in memory of L/Cpl. Dockerty at Brighstone, Isle of Wight.
He is remembered at Bedlington onB15.01, B15.02, B15.06, B15.09 (where he is "J.C. Docherty"), B15.21 and B15.26 page 24
