John was born in Throwleigh Devon in 1893 to father Edwin Harvey Endacott and Elizabeth Jane Endacott.

Little is known of John’s early life, but the 1911 census lists the family as living at Isaford farm in the Webbern valley north of Widecombe village.

The next mention of John Harvey Endacott is in a report in the Western Times dated 14th March 1916 when two farmers from Widecombe applied for exemption from military service for John on the grounds of his importance to the work of farming upon their individual farms. The tribunal hearing postponed judgement for six months. It is highly unlikely that the tribunal would have extended exemption after the six months and John Harvey would have had to enlist in late 1916.

It is known he joined the the 1st/5th Battalion Devonshire Regiment and assuming he was fully trained by early 1917 he would have seen service in Palestine before being transferred to the Western Front in May 1918 joining the 62nd Division.

The 1st/5th Devonshire regiment fought in the second battle of Marne in July 1918, (pictured left), in the attack on Vaulx-Vraucourt in August 1918.

In the following month (September) the Sixty Second division was ordered south to take part of the offensive push toward the enemy's "Hindenburg line" thus regaining ground lost earlier in 1918.

On September 12th 1918 the Battalion was involved in heavy fighting whilst seeking to capture the village of Havringcourt. The heavy hand to hand fighting lasted until the following day and it was on Friday 13th September 1918 that Lance Corporal John Harvey Endacott was "Killed in action".

For his action on 12th September Lance Corporal Endacott was mentioned in dispatches and was therefore entitled to wear an oak leaf on the ribbon of his British War Medal.

John Harvey Endacott is commemorated on the War Memorial in Widecombe Church and at the Common Wealth War Graves Cemetery at Flesquieres in France.

 

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