JOHN HILLIER BLOUNT
John is not remembered on the war memorial at Christchurch Park, Ipswich.
Born: 1899, St. Margaret’s, Ipswich.
Died: 6th July 1918; age: 19; died in hospital from internal injuries after his aircraft crashed, at Beverley aerodrome, Yorkshire.
Inquest held 8th July 1918 – a verdict of “Accidental death” was returned.
Granted a Second Lieutenant, a temporary Commission on the 30th April 1918.
Rank: Second Lieutenant.
Regiment: Royal Air Force.
Formerly Second Lieutenant for the Oxfordshire And Buckinghamshire Light Infantry.
Grave Reference:
Near east end of church,
St. Peter and St. Paul Churchyard,
Felixstowe,
Suffolk.
CENSUS
1901 ‘The Beeches’ Westerfield Road, Ipswich.
John was a year old and living with his widowed mother & siblings.
Mary Elizabeth Blount (nee Bell), 33, Living on her own Means, born Pocklington, East Riding of Yorkshire.
Aileen Maud Blount, 12, born Adel, Yorkshire.
Charles Hubert Boulby Blount, 7, born Kamptee, Maharashtra, India.
Catherine Mary Blount, 4, born Ipswich.
1 governess.
1 cook
2 housemaids
2 nurses.
1911 St. Andrew’s Preparatory School, Southborough, Kent.
John was 11 years old. He was a schoolboy and a Boarder at the independent boys’ school. Schoolmaster – 53 year old Reverend Reginald Alfred Bell, M.A., Clerk in Holy Orders.
Father: Charles Hubert Blount, born July 1855, Evesham, Worcestershire. A Major for the Royal Field Artillery, 20th Battery. Died 23rd February 1900, of Dysentery at Wynberg Hospital, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa, of the ‘The Beeches’ Westerfield Road, Ipswich.
John was educated at St. Andrew’s Preparatory School, Southborough, before moving up to Harrow School – Mr. E. Graham’s house, then later on to Sandhurst Military Academy.
Probate to Mary Elizabeth Blount – mother, of ‘Wadgate Cottage’ Felixstowe, Suffolk, and Edward Montagu Flint, a retired general for H.M. Army.
Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer – 9th July 1918.
A FLYING OFFICER KILLED IN YORKSHIRE
An inquest was held at a Yorkshire town yesterday on Sec.-Lieut. John Hillier Blount, R.A.F., aged 19, son of Mrs. Blount, of Wadgate Cottage, Felixstowe. While flying in the vicinity of an aerodrome his machine fell from a height of 150 feet. Though conscious after the accident, he made no statement in regard to it. The medical evidence showed that death was due to internal injuries twelve hours after admission to hospital. A fellow officer said the accident was due to the deceased attempting to turn when near the ground, without sufficient flying speed.
He showed much promise as a scout pilot.
John’s paternal uncle Godfrey Blount was an accomplished artist and craftsman. He was one of the main founders of the Peasant Art Movement, at Haslemere, Surrey, to revive rare and ancient peasant craftmanship, and the traditional country life. Godfrey also wrote several poems and pamphlets.
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