In a quiet spot in North Petherton Cemetery, Somerset, is a headstone dedicated to Private J Mahaffey of the Devonshire Regiment. He died on 5th February 1916, but there is little further information available for him.

Private Mahaffey’s service number leads you to one military record, his army pension ledger card. This confirms a little more information: his first name was John, he had two children noted (underage, and therefore eligible for part of his pension) – Elsie and Thomas – and a guardian is also given – Mrs Elizabeth Broom, who lived in Kentisbeare, Devon. The pension card also confirms the cause of John’s death: heart failure due to disease contracted on active service.

An unusual surname made searching contemporary newspapers easier, and a mystery was unveiled:

Private John Mahaffey, a native of Devonport.. was found dead in the Great Western Railway train at Durston on Saturday.

Deceased, who was in the Devon Regiment (86th Battalion Provisional Territorial Force), was 49 years of age, and had served twelve years in the Army. At the outbreak of war he re-enlisted, and latterly had been quartered at Blythe. It appears that he had been on a visit to his children at Devonport, and was upon his return journey when his death occurred. At Taunton he conversed with the guard of the train by while he travelled, and was then apparently in good health.

PS Hill, North Petherton, state that on Saturday, he… saw the body of the deceased… He examined the body, and found a bruise above the left eye and a scar on the nose. He found upon him his regimental pass and the return railway ticket. There was also money in his pockets.

George William Grinnett, a guard on the GWR, said… he was approached by deceased, who asked as to the train service to Newcastle. Witness understood that he had travelled from Exeter… He advised him to… change at Bristol. He then appeared to be all right, and in good health. On arrival at Durston [George] walked the train, and when passing the compartment that deceased entered at Taunton he noticed a man on the floor in the corridor. He went inside and found that the man was dead. He then communicated with three soldiers, who said they had not travelled with deceased. They had merely opened the door, and, seeing a man there, had walked away without telling anybody.

Dr William C Ghent… said her was called to see deceased. He was quite unable to form an opinion as to the cause of death. There was a good deal of blood on the face, and a slight wound on the nose. From a post-mortem examination he found that one of the valves of the heart was incompetent, and in his opinion death was due to heart failure. The blood on the nose might have been caused by a fall. There was no serious injury from the blow which would cause death.

Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser: Wednesday 9th February 1916

John’s previous twelve years in the army may relate to a Royal Marine Light Infantry service document for a John Mahaffoy. Born on 24th May 1864 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, he enlisted in Bristol as a Private on 24th April 1888. Primarily based out of Plymouth, he served until the summer of 1900, and was assigned to the Royal Fleet Reserve for a further seven years.

Further complexity is added to John’s story, with a marriage record for 6th April 1896. This confirms his wife’s name as Elizabeth Brown, the couple marrying in Devon. The 1901 census confirms two older children for the couple, Kathleen (mentioned in the newspaper report, who was born in 1897) and Margaret, who came along two years later.

The next census, however, shows a divided family. John was recorded as being one of 1200 patients in the Devon County Lunatic Asylum in Exminster. Elizabeth was living in Portsmouth, with their son, Thomas. She also had a boarder, Bertram Bound, an Able Seaman in the Merchant Navy. Kathleen was a patient in the Sanatorium for Devon and Cornwall Consumptive Patients in South Brent, Devon. Elsie, meanwhile, was recorded as living in Kentisbeare with her grandparents, Edmund and Elizabeth Broom.

This would suggest that John’s wife Elizabeth had died by the time of his death, and that guardianship of his children passed to his mother-in-law when he too passed away.

The last sad element of this tale is that John Mahaffey was not to be reunited with his children. There may have been a financial element, with the Brooms possibly unable to cover the cost of bringing him down to Devon. John was laid to rest in North Petherton Cemetery, a few miles from Durston Station, where his body had been discovered.