Private, JOHN WILLIAM HERBERT BRYAN, 29770. Born at Hull, in November 1898, John was the second of two children and only son of Herbert and Emma Bryan, of 16, James Reckitt Avenue, Hull. he was a Reckitt’s Box shop worker (1911 Census) and an Export Printer by trade. He was described as 5’5″ tall, 34,5″chest, 110lbs weight, fair physical development.
He enlisted a few days shy of his 18th birthday, originally joining as Trooper, 29992, in the East Riding Yeomanry. He was called-up on February 28th 1917 and spent the next ten months training. Shipping to France on 18th December, he was transferred to the 11th Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment upon his arrival. John was killed in action on 27th March 1918 in what was his first taste of the ‘Great Adventure’, a desperate rear guard action attempting to stem the tide of the German Spring Offensive. His body was never recovered and his name is commemorated on the Arras Memorial; little more than a boy at 19, and someone’s only son. His name is also recorded on the Reckitts, WW1 Boys Club Roll of Honour, Hull. His death was reported in the Hull Daily Mail, on 18/05/1918.
