John Benjamin Welch was born in Eton, Berkshire, on 16th October 1899. The second of five children, his parents were Frank and Annie Welch. Frank was a house porter at Eton College, and the family lived at 4 Willow Place in the village, before moving to 8 Eton Square by the time of the 1911 census.

When he completed his schooling, John (who was known as Jack) found work in a local foundry. He sought a life of adventure, however, and, on 25th July 1916, he joined the Royal Navy. His service records show that he was just 5ft 3.5ins (1.6m) tall, with brown hair , blue eyes and a fresh complexion.

Being below the age to formally enlist, John was given the rank of Boy 2nd Class, and sent to the cruiser HMS Powerful to be trained on the job. Tragically for John, however, he contracted pneumonia, and the condition would take his life. He passed away on 14th November 1916: he was just 17 years of age.

The body of John Benjamin Welch was taken back to Berkshire for burial. He was laid to rest in the peaceful graveyard of St John’s Church, Eton.

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John’s older brother, Frank, had also spent time serving his country. Enlisting in the Royal Field Artillery, and was attached to the 145th Brigade.

Gunner Welch served at Ypres and at Loos, and, by the spring of 1917, his unit was fighting in Salonika. He was wounded, and died of his injuries on 8th May that year: he was eighteen years of age.

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By this point, through war and illness, Annie had lost a daughter, and three of her sons. The impact must have been unbearable: she died in the autumn of 1919, aged 43 years old.