19-year-old Private John Henry Cooper died of wounds on 12th June 1916 whilst serving with the 1st/6th Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment. A gas fitter by trade, he was born in Small Heath but spent part of his childhood in Knowle, where his parents lived from at least 1900 until at least 1903, and where his father, John, had been born.
By 1911, the family had moved to Balsall Heath, Birmingham where John Henry’s father was working as a caster with Birmingham Corporation. Soldiers Died in the Great War indicates that John Henry was living in Sparkbrook when he enlisted in the Army. He was not entitled to a 1914 or 1914/15 Star, indicating that he didn’t serve overseas during 1914 or 1915.
John Henry Cooper is buried at Couin British Cemetery, France. He is also commemorated locally at Knowle, which suggests that the family still had a connection with the village, despite having moved away when John Henry was a small child.
If you have any more information about the family and the connection with Knowle, please let us know.
Tracey
Heritage & Local Studies Librarian
tel.: 0121 704 6934
email: heritage@solihull.gov.uk
Solihull Life 
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