John bRoadway
1885-1918
Biography
John Broadway
Private 1099027 was born on July 25 1885 in New Jersey he was raised as a Roman Catholic. He immigrated to Peterborough and started a job working as a farm hand. He boarded on 225 Caddy St. near the Liftlock this is where he met his friend David Edwards who served alongside him in the 256th railway battalion. Broadway stood a skinny 5 foot 9 inches and weighed in at 135lbs with blue eyes, scruffy brown hair and a dark complexion. He had a thick scar under his left eye and another on the inner side of his left leg. He enlisted on January 27th 1917 in Peterborough just 4 days after David Edwards enlisted. Broadway was a single 39 year old with no prior military experience who didn’t yet know he would be dedicating his life to a country he wasn’t even born in. On May 21st of that same year, he was transferred to the 256th Railway Battalion and from there he was deployed overseas on June 19th 1917. When he arrived in France he spent two months training under Lieutenant Colonel W.A. McConnell. After training he spent a good amount of time in Bapaume; France a small town near the Belgium border. He and his battalion did brief stints in at Furnes in a small town called La Panne right beside Dunkirk the northern tip of France. The 10th Battalion then spent more than a year working on the railway line from Dunkirk-Ypres-Roulers-Courtrai-Brussels. While working somewhere in between Dunkirk and Ypres Broadway was stricken ill. He was diagnosed with Broncho Pnuemonia and after 15 days in a military hospital outside Haandenkot, Belgium. On, January 21st 1918 he succumbed to the illness. He is buried in Mendingham Military cemetery a peaceful resting place in the center of a farmer’s field. After his death his possessions and money were to be sent to his next of kin, David Edwards. However, Edwards was still in Belgium building the railway so he was never located to be given his new properties. His name is displayed on page 374 of the Memorial Chamber Peace Tower displayed on August 15 of each year.
MENDINGHEM MILITARY CEMETERY is located 17 Km north west of Ieper town centre on the N308 connecting Ieper to Poperinge and on to Oostcappel.
From Ieper town centre the Poperingseweg (N308), is reached via Elverdingsestraat then directly over two small roundabouts in the J. Capronstraat. The Poperingseweg is a continuation of the J. Capronstraat and begins after a prominent railway level crossing.
On reaching the ring road of Poperinge R33 Europalaan, the left hand clockwise route circles the town of Poperinge and rejoins the N308 towards Oost Cappel. 6.5 Km after joining the N308 lies the village of Proven.
The MENDINGHEM MILITARY CEMETERY is located 500 metres beyond the village of Proven on the left hand side of the road (which at this point is called Roesbruggestraat).
Visitors to this site should note a 200 metre gravelled access road to this site which is suitable for small vehicles
Mendingham Military Cemetary
10th Railway Troops cap badge
Page 374 on the War Memorial Book displayed on August 15th every year
hOMING PIGEONS during ww1
WORDPRESS
DRUPAL
WIX
75%
70%
95%
Sinking of the Lusitania
Homing pigeons were well used in ww1 on both sides of the war. The US army had 600 pigeons extensively used in France alone. The US Navy was also in on using pigeons and maintained 12 pigeon stations and had 1,508 pigeons in use by the end of the war. The Germans use was slightly different and as well as they would deliver messages they would also be equipped with an unmanned camera so the pigeons could also be used for reconnaissance. One US Army pigeon was even given a medal for their act of heroism. This pigeon named Cher Ami (Dear Friend in French) delivered 12 messages during the battle of Verdun. During her final message she took a bullet through her wing and one in the leg, despite this she still delivered the message which would lead to saving the lives of 194 members of the 77th infantry division who were going to be ambushed. The message was found in the capsule just dangling of her mangled leg and was millimeters from the leg being torn off and the message lost.
A German unmanned camera recognizance pigeon
On May 7th, 1915 a German U-boat struck the RMS Lusitania a British boat with over 1,900 passengers going from New York, USA to Liverpool, England. Of the 1,900 over 1,100 were never seen again including 120 American citizens who were not yet entered into the war. A major key in the turning of the public's opinion towards Germany in Germany as well as across the globe. At the time of the sinking the Americans were neutral and although they didn't join the allies right away it was no secret who they sided with. The public wanted blood for what the Germans did and they wanted blood for it. President Woodrow Wilson was facing a tough decision however he still put off joining the war. The killing of all the innocent American lives is a possible reason for John Broadway to enlist he could have been seeking revenge for the neighbor state of where he was born,
PHOTOSHOP
ILLUSTRATOR
JAVASCRIPT
HTML & CSS
85%
80%
85%
80%
The location where Broadway is buried
Broadways war
June 19 1917
France
Broadway was transferred to the 256th Railway Battalion. Under W.A McConnell Broadway trained in France for 2 months.
January 4 1918
Death
While working in Poperinge, Belgium Broadway got sick and after 18 days in a military hospital he secummbed to broncho pneumonia on January 21 1918.
Januarary 27 1917
Enlistment
On this day John Broadway enlisted for the war at the Peterborough armories.
August 20 1917-January 3 1918
​Dunkirk-Ypres-Roulers-Courtrai-Brussels
Fresh out of training Broadway and his new battalion the 10th Railway Battalion other than a few brief stints spent most there time building a large railway in Northern France into West France.
January 21 1918-present time
Mendingham military cemetary
John Broadway is buried in a cozy cemetery in a farmers field in Belgium which is suiting as before the war Broadway worked as a farm laborer.
Letters
