John Henry Forshaw was born at Felton's Farm, Dalton, near Skelmersdale, Lancashire, England on 6 September 1895 and in 1912 was articled to Thomas Myddelton Shallcross (1862-1919) in Liverpool.
From 1915 Forshaw served in the Army during World War One and was awarded the Military Cross for gallantry during the third battle of Ypres.
In 1919 he enrolled at University of Liverpool's School of Architecture and in Summer 1920 gained work experience in the office of Chambers & Flagg in New York City. He was awarded a B.Arch. in 1922 and a Certificate in Civil Design in 1924
After graduating he worked briefly in the office of the Birmingham architects Harrison & Cox, before moving to Ormskirk in Lancashire. He then enrolled for an MA in civic design at Liverpool University while working in the surveyor's department of Liverpool Corporation from 1923 to 1926
In 1926 Forshaw was appointed Chief Architect to the Miners' Welfare Commission (MWC), "the post that established his reputation" [Andrew Saint. Dictionary of National Biography]. During his tenure, the MWC provided facilities for at least 250,000 miners.
In 1939 Forshaw left the MWC and moved to London where he joined London County Council as deputy chief architect, with special responsibility for urban planning. He subsequently played a pivotal role in the post-war planning of London, working closely with Patrick Abercrombie who had been his tutor at the University of Liverpool. Forshaw was co-author, with Abercrombie, of the County of London Plan, prepared for the London County Council (1943).
Forshaw was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) in 1922 and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1935.
Following his retirement he moved to Little Garth, Skelwith, Ambleside, where he died on 16 September 1973
Allison, Georgina. ‘The Miners' Welfare Commission and Pithead Baths in Scotland’. Twentieth Century Architecture no. 1, 1994 pp. 55-64
‘Obituary’. Building 21 September 1973 p. 92
Sharples, Joseph, Powers, Alan and Shippobottom, Michael. Charles Reilly & the Liverpool School of Architecture 1904-1933. Catalogue of an exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, 25 October 1996 - 2 February 1997. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 1996 p. 170 [Contains other references to Forshaw, unfortunately, the catalogue is not indexed]