Kerron, John - Private

(No soldier photo available)

5th. Battalion,

Manchester Regiment 

Died 31 May 1940

Age 21

On 16 May 1940 the British Expeditionary Force started to fall back towards Dunkirk under heavy pressure from vastly superior German forces. On that day the Battalion was near Tournai, Belgium. By 27 May, as the Battalion neared Dunkirk on the coast road from the Belgian frontier, the Germans strove to prevent the disembarkation of troops from the town of De Panne. They reached De Panne on 31 May and after much heavy fighting, they had occupies the town by about nine a.m. on 1 June. Private John Kerron lost his life during this heavy fighting. He was posted 'missing' when the remnants of the Battalion arrived in England from Dunkirk on 2 June.

John was the son of John and Margaret Kerron. He was aged 21. He attended St.Mary's R.C. Church and School. In February 1941, his mother advertised in the 'Haslingden Observer' for anyone who had information about him to contact her.

John lies in De Panne Communal Cemetery, Belgium. The Commonwealth plot in the cemetery was constructed by the local authority in August 1940. More than 200 graves were moved by the Belgians from battlefield burials on the roads and beaches in the area. There are 259 burials, of which 79 are unidentified. John is in Plot 1, Row A, Grave 16.