John Samuel Channing was born in Axminster, Devon, in 1884, the oldest of four children to John and Elizabeth. John Sr was a bricklayer’s labourer, and, when Elizabeth died in the late 1890s, he struggled to look after the whole family.

The 1901 census found John Sr and his two youngest children living with his widowed mother, while John Jr and his sister Sarah were sent to live with their maternal grandmother, widow Mary Telford. Both were of age to leave school, and both were employed: Sarah as a lace mender, John Jr as a nail brush finisher.

John Jr married a woman called Elizabeth in 1910. There is little additional information available about her, but by the time of the following year’s census, the young couple were boarding with an Eliza Banks in Silver Street, close to the centre of the town. John was employed as a toilet brush maker, adding that they were bone nailbrushes. Within the year, Elizabeth gave birth to their only child, son Leslie.

In addition to his brushwork, John had also enlisted in the local militia. He joined the Devonshire Regiment on 1st April 1908, although his service details are lost to time. Private Channing’s unit – the 4th Battalion – were based around Exeter, but, when war was declared, they moved to India. There is no evidence, however, that John went with them: promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal, it is likely that his experience was better used on the Home Front, training new recruits.

John’s wartime experience was not to be a lengthy one, however. By 1st April 1915, he had been medically discharged from service, having contracted tuberculosis. At this point, Lance Corporal Channing’s trail goes cold, but it is likely that he returned home to Elizabeth and Leslie.

The next record for John is that of his passing. He died from tuberculosis at home on 29th December 1918: he was 34 years of age.

John Samuel Channing was laid to rest in Axminster Cemetery, a short walk from where his widow and son still lived.

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