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John Arden Bott
Captain, 17th Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) (Territorial Force) attached 5th
Died of illness, 5 August 1917, aged 42
Buried at the Great Orme’s Head Cemetery, Llandudno
CWGC registered (Son of William and Emily Bott, of Somerset House, Derbyshire; husband of Alice Mary Bott, of 4, The Close, Sheringham, Norfolk)
John Arden Bott is not remembered on any of the Llandudno memorials but his grave is on the Great Orme within the Parish of Llandudno and within the then Llandudno Urban District.
John Arden Bott was born in 1875 at Somersal Herbert in Derbyshire, the son of Francis William Bott, who had interests in railways and banking, and his wife Emily Agnes Bott (née Werge). The Census for 1881 records Emily with three daughters, John, a governess and a nursemaid staying at 6 Royal Terrace, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset. Ten years later, John was recorded as a border at Chippenham Lodge, Bournemouth. He entered Trinity Hall College, Cambridge in 1893 and was an athletics “blue” in 1894. He was also a prominent oarsman.
When he left university, John married Alice Mary Bott in Kensington. Though the birth of their daughter Dorothy Alison Alicia was recorded in 1896 (she was baptised at St. John’s, West Chelsea on 22 November 1896, her parents’ address being the Langham Hotel) their marriage was not recorded until the following year. At about this time, John was noted as a railway contractor and engineer. The birth of another daughter, Phyllis Jeanette took place at Banstead, Surrey on 28 May 1898 – she was baptised at Banstead on 29 June 1898. A son Richard Edward Arden Bott was born in 1900 and baptised at Christ Church, Folkestone, Kent on 15 July 1900. A second son William John Arden Bott was born in St. Moritz in 1902 as was his brother Charles Arden Bott on 16 October 1904. This Swiss connection is not entirely unexpected for John Arden Bott, his sister May Bott and his wife Alice Mary Bott were prominent in winter sports. John was the Cresta Run skeleton bob champion five times. He is credited as being the inventor of the sliding toboggan seat.
In 1914, John Arden Bott joined the 17th (Service) Battalion (Empire) of the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment). This battalion had been formed in London on 31 August 1914 by the British Empire Committee. On 14 October 1914, John received a commission as a temporary second lieutenant. He was promoted to temporary lieutenant on 27 January 1915 and to temporary captain on 4 August 1915. The 17th RF landed in France on 17 November 1915. In July 1916, John was wounded in action and was evacuated to England in February 1917. Attached to the 5th (Reserve) Battalion which was based at Dover, he returned to duty in June 1917.
On 5 August 1917 John Arden Bott died of heart failure at the St. George’s Hotel, Llandudno aged 42. He was buried at the Great Orme’s Head Cemetery. According to the National Probate Calendar, his home address was 64 Church Street, Kensington. He left his effects of £240 18s 10d to his widow.
Alice Bott died in 1934. The same year, William John Arden Bott was a victim of manslaughter in London.
Known memorials:
- Trinity Hall, Cambridge Roll of Honour
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