"A cheery bright member of the fighting forces was Corporal John Driesen, of 103, Salts Street, Shaw, who has been in the King's Own Royal Lancashire Regiment since September 3rd, 1914.
Driesen comes of a family with a proud military record. His father, now deceased, served with the colours for 21 years and his uncle is Major Fred Driesen, of the Army Service Corps, who has been in charge of the supply depot at Leeds, a soldier who rose from the ranks to his present position and was living in retirement at Southport at the outbreak of war, when he undertook further service.
A brother of the deceased corporal, Private Robert Driesen, of the King's Own Royal Lancaster Regiment is a prisoner of war in Bulgaria, and his brother-in-law, Private John Robert Sutcliffe, a reservist of the Manchester Regiment, was in the early fighting and was reported missing after the retreat from Mons, He is now presumed dead.
Corporal Driesen was 36 years of age, and married but has no family. He was a stripper and grinder at the Beal Mill for 11 years before enlisting and has been at the front just twelve months. He was over on furlough in March. A letter from Sergeant Fane, of the same platoon as Driesen, received yesterday morning is as follows:-
Dear Mrs Driesen, - I am sorry to have to write these few sad lines to you to tell you that your husband, John Driesen, was killed on the afternoon of July 4th by a sniper, just after we had fought for a position and taken it. He and all the boys were digging trenches and laying barbed wire to make our position a bit secure, and it was while doing this that he was hit with a bullet, and I must tell you that he died a painless death, for as soon as the bullet hit him he fell and not a word did he speak to anyone. It is better, I think, to die like that than linger for days and then go off. I must tell you that your great loss is a great loss to us, for a better soldier could not be found, for he was always happy and willing to do anything that he could, and he died a soldier's death for King and country. Please accept my sincere sympathy in your bereavement and may you be able to bear the sudden blow I have to break to you."
