John Denson Baron was born in the Sculcoates district of Hull in December 1883.  The first son of Joseph and Sarah Baron, he married Mary Cottingham in December 1908.  Their first child, William, was born in July 1910, followed by John Denson Jr in December 1911 and Sidney in December 1913.

Following the outbreak of war, John enlisted in November 1914.

Their first daughter, Lillian, was born in May the following year but sadly died in October.  The death certificate shows that John was at home at the time and registered the death himself.

Having rejoined his unit, he was wounded in August 1916 and admitted to hospital, being discharged and returned to active service in October.

By the end of December he had been posted to the 12th Battallion of the East Yorkshire Regiment.

John was killed on 3rd May 1917.  His daughter Alice was born a few months later in September.  Losing their father was bad enough but, for the children, sadly, worse was to come, as their mother, Mary died early the following year, leaving the four of them orphans.

Things were no easier for John’s parents, Joseph and Sarah.  Their second son, Arthur, was killed on 28th October 1918 while serving with the Dorsetshire Regiment, just two weeks before the armistice.  Their youngest son, George was born in 1902 and died around the same time: I haven’t yet discovered whether his death was associated with the war.

Their only remaining son, Joseph Jackson Baron, was my grandfather.  Born in 1900, he died on Boxing Day 1936, leaving a widow and three young children.  It’s hard to imagine how one family managed to cope with so many tragic losses.

May they all rest in peace.

 

Stephen Reed