John was born on 15th January 1878 in Holborn, London to parents William and Elizabeth (Buxton), even though all of his Navy papers state that he was born in 1879.
He joined as a Boy 2nd Class on 24th July 1895, he was first recorded as 5’3” tall but grew eventually to 5’5” with blue eyes, brown hair and had a scar on his forehead. He joined for a 12 year service and his record follows:-
ST VINCENT - 24/07/1895 - 17/06/1896, risin to Boy 1st Class on 28/03/1896
BOSCAWEN - 18/06/1896 - 03/11/1896
EAST OF INDIA - 16/01/1897 - 07/06/1897
JUPITER - 08/06/1897 - 18/01/1898
PEMBROKE - 19/01/1898 - 09/05/1898
ILLUSTRIOUS - 10/05/1898 - 09/10/1901, rising to Able Seaman on 01/06/1899 he was aboard during the 1901 census, stationed in the Mediterranean at Malta.
CAMBRIDGE - 15/02/1902 - 19/11/1902
PEMBROKE - 20/11/1902 - 25/118/1902
WILDFIRE - 26/11/1902 - 18/02/1903
PEMBROKE - 19/02/1903 - 09/04/1903
TORCH - 10/04/1903 - 31/12/1905, rising to Leading Seaman on 05/05/1905
KATOOMBA - 01/01/1906 - 01/05/1906
WILDFIRE - 02/05/1906 - 03/10/1906
PEMBROKE - 04/10/1906 - 13/11/1906
WILDFIRE - 14/11/1906 - 27/04/1908
BLENHEIM - 28/04/1908 - 02/06/1909 - it was during his posting here that John had some shore leave and married Blanche Vivian Hyde in June 1908 in Croydon. They had one son called Leonard John.
PEMBROKE - 03/06/1909 - 02/11/1909, rising to Petty Officer 1st Class
PERSEUS - 03/11/1909 - 18/12/1911, rising to Petty Officer; he was aboard during the 1911 census, the ship stationed in the East Indies.
PELORUS - 19/12/1911 - 31/01/1912
PEMBROKE I - 01/02/1912 - 29/11/1912
LONDON - 30/11/1912 - 01/11/1913
PEMBROKE I - 02/11/1913 - 30/03/1914
VANGUARD - 31/03/1914 - 09/07/1917
#272 - 356/843
Sources:
England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915 FreeBMD
1901 & 1911 England Census
CWGC Register
National Archives Admiralty: Naval Casualties, Indexes, War Grave Rolls and Statistics Book, First World War.; Class: ADM 242; Piece: Piece 008; (1914 - 1919
National Archives Admiralty and predecessors: Office of the Director General of the Medical Department of the Navy and predecessors: Service Registers and Registers of Deaths and Injuries. Registers of Reports of Deaths
Royal Navy and Royal Marine War Graves Roll, 1914-1919 TNA Series: ADM 242/8; Scan Number: 0726
Royal Navy Registers of Seamen's Services, 1848-1939 National Archives Royal Navy Registers of Seamen's Services; Class: ADM 188; Piece: 310
WWI Pension Ledgers and Index Cards, 1914-1923 Western Front Association; London, England; Pension Record Cards; Reference: 090/0401/HAL-HAM
Photo - Medicine Hat, Alberta