Private 14594 John William Favell - Lincolnshire Regiment

John died on or about Tuesday 14^th March 1916 at the age of 38.  Husband of Sarah E Kitchen (formerly Favell) of Beck Bridge,  Boston, Lincolnshire, his grave is in the Churchyard of St Mary's, Swineshead.  John was born in Swineshead, Lincolnshire, on April 25^th 1877 . He married Sarah Anne Swinn and they had a family of five children. John worked as a farm labourer until he enlisted in the Lincolnshire regiment at the outbreak of the Great War.  He was a relatively old man to be serving at the time, being at least 20 years senior to many new recruits.  John was found drowned in the Hammond Beck at Swineshead and the local coroners court recorded a verdict of suicide due to being of unsound mind.  It is said that he was invalided home from active service after being caught in a mustard gas attack and the suicide was as a result of his experiences in France.  The 7th Battalion was a reserve Battalion and as such did not see overseas service, but recuperating soldiers were not discharged while there was a chance of them being returned to fight again and a reserve Battalion might be a convenient holding place.  If he drowned himself rather than return to France, censorship was certainly not going to allow it to be reported as such in the press.  We will never know his reasons, but suicides amongst gassed or shell shocked victims were not uncommon when men were faced with the hopelessness of being returned to France for an almost certain death.

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