Arthur Henry Lane was born in the summer of 1895, the third of eight children to Henry and Ada Lane. The family were initially born and raised in Templecombe, Somerset, before moving to Bath in the early 1900s.

Henry was employed as an engine driver for Great Western Railways and, after initially finding work as a jobbing gardener, Arthur moved in with relatives in Highbridge in 1911. He found work as an engine cleaner for the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway Company, and was there for nearly three years.

When war broke out, Arthur was one of the first to enlist. He joined the 3rd Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry at the barracks in Taunton. Private Lane was then sent to Devon for further training, but he quickly fell ill.

Admitted to Devonport Hospital with appendicitis, he suffered complications following the operation, dying just five days later. He was only 19 years of age, and had been in the army for less than a month.

Arthur Henry Lane’s body was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in Bath’s Twerton Cemetery.

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