The life of John Gage seems destined to remain a mystery. His grave lies in a quiet corner of St Andrew’s Churchyard in West Hatch, Somerset. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission registration reads:

GAGE, Spr. John, 95027. “G” Depot Coy. Royal Engineers. 7th July 1919. Son of John Gage; husband of Lucy Gage, of Canal Cottage, Wrantage, Taunton. Born at Axminster, Devon.

There is no date of birth for John, and, while there is a possible census return for 1891, with a John Gage Sr and Jr living in the Axminster area, in isolation it is not concrete enough to connect to the man lying in St Andrew’s Churchyard.

The Army Register of Soldiers’ Effects confirms Lucy as John’s widow, but again no marriage documents remain to give a date for the nuptials or ages for the bride and groom. The document does confirm that Sapper Gage had been serving in the Royal Engineers for more than six months at the time of his passing, and that he died in a military hospital in Taunton.

There are no contemporary newspapers that report on John’s passing, which would indicate that is was nothing out of the ordinary, or connected directly to the war – through injury, for example. This might suggest, therefore, that John passed away though illness, although this cannot be confirmed either way.

Sapper John Gage’s life is set to be lost to time, therefore. He lies in the graveyard of St Andrew’s Church in West Hatch. Nearby is another grave, that of Lucy Gage, who died in 1942.

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