John Burnaford Davey was born on 28th April 1887 in Cannington, Somerset. The youngest of nine children, his parents were farmers Thomas and Emma Davey. Emma died in 1899, and the next census, two years later, found John and two of his siblings living with their father at Beere Manor Farm on the outskirts of the village.

John’s trail goes cold at this point, and it seems that he may have emigrated to South Africa. When war broke out, he enlisted in the Natal Light Horse, and was awarded the 1915 Star in Pretoria for his involvement in fighting in Africa. Private Davey’s troop later moved to England, and it was here that he transferred to the Royal Field Artillery.

The move, in September 1915, included a promotion to Second Lieutenant. Within a couple of years his dedication meant that he advanced to the rank of Lieutenant. By this point, John was based in London, and it was here, on 16th July 1917, that he married Katherine Trayler, a tanner’s daughter from Bridgwater, who had gone on to become a teacher of gymnastics. The couple went on to have a daughter, Jean, who was born in November 1918.

Illness caught up with John and, with the Armistice signed, he was invalided out of service on 8th February 1919. The family were now living in Bridgwater, and this is where John returned. His time back with family was to be tragically short, however, as he passed away just weeks after leaving the army, on 2nd March 1919. He was 31 years of age.

John Burnaford Davey was laid to rest in the peaceful graveyard of St Mary’s Church in Holford, Somerset.

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