Born St Pancras. Enlisted St Pancras. Private. Killed in action, France and Flanders, 27/9/15. Pte Sayers has no known Commonwealth war grave and is commemorated on the Loos Memorial, Pas de Calais, France.
Our colleague Andrew Behan has researched this man: Private John Albert Powell Sayers was born in 1881 in Kentish Town, a son of Peter George Powell Sayers and his wife Emily Ann Powell Sayers, née Jay. His father was a Pianoforte Maker. The 1881 census, which was taken on the night of 3 April 1881 lists John Sayers as being 3 months old. It shows his parents and two older brothers and a sister living at 2a Ashdown Street, St Pancras.
In 1905 he married Lillian Daisy Harrison in St Pancras. It wasn't until the 1911 census that the family started to record their surname with a hyphen as Powell-Sayers and this shows him living at 39 Charrington Street, Oakley Square, Somers Town, London with his wife and two children Emily Doris Powell-Sayers and Thomas Cornelius Powell-Sayers. His occupation was listed as a Coal Porter. They had a further child, John Richard Powell-Sayers, who was born in 1913.
He joined the 7th (Service ) Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment, service number 14232, and his military records show his name without the hyphen. He entered France on 1 September 1915. He died, aged 35 years, on 27/9/1915 at the Battle of Loos and as he has no known grave he is commemorated on Panels 91-93 of the Loos Memorial at Loos-en-Goohelle, Departement of Pas-de-Calais, France. On 20 November 1915 his widow received his £2-10s-7d back pay and on 6 September 1919 a war gratuity of £3-10s-0d. He was posthumously awarded the 1915 Star, the 1914-1918 War Medal and the Victory Medal.
