John Edmonds was born on 12th November 1871 in Bath, Somerset. The oldest of five children, his parents were market gardener Albert Edmonds and his wife, Ellen.

When he finished his schooling, John found work as a miner. He sought a more adventurous career, however, and, on 8th November 1894 he enlisted in the army. Assigned to the Royal Artillery, Gunner Edmonds’ service records noted that he was 5ft 8ins (1.73m) tall and weighed 149lbs (67.6kg). He had brown hair, grey eyes and a sallow complexion, with a couple of marks above and below his left eye.

Gunner Edmonds was assigned to the 4th Mountain Battery and spent most of the next year training on home soil. On 17th September 1895, however, he was transferred to the 5th Mountain Battery, and shipped off to India, where he was to spend the next nearly nineteen years. During his time on the Asian sub continent, John was awarded the India Medal, with clasps for the Punjab Frontier and Tirah (both 1897-98). He was also awarded the Delhi Durbar Medal in 1911.

When war came to Europe in August 1914, John was recalled to British shores. He was not to remain on home soil for long, however as, on 9th December he was sent to France as part of the Royal Garrison Artillery. He spent just over a year on the Western Front before his troop was dispatched to Salonika, Greece, in December 1915.

Gunner Edmonds was to remain in the Eastern Mediterranean for a little over three years. During this time he had a short period in hospital, having contracted malaria, but saw the war out in Greece, returning home in March 1919. John was formally stood down from military service on 25th April 1919, having completed 24 years 169 days in the army.

Returning to Bath, John’s health had started to suffer. He had developed cancer, and passed away from the condition on 4th October 1919. He was 47 years of age.

John Edmonds’ body was laid to rest in the military section of Bath’s Locksbrook Cemetery.

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