David John – Royal Marines, Royal Marine Division Engineers, Royal Naval Division

 Sapper David John – Royal Marines, Royal Marine Division Engineers, Royal Naval Division

Early Life and Family Background

David John and Margaret Ann Harris
marriage certificate
St. Peter’s Church, Cockett

David John was born in 1897 in Sketty, Swansea, the son of David John and Margaret Ann Harris, who married in 1894 at St. Peter’s Church, Cockett. He grew up in the skilled‑working communities of Sketty, where trades such as blacksmithing played an important local role in supporting industries and transport.

1901 Census

According to the 1901 Census, the John family were residing at 12 Roseland Terrace, Sketty. David (father), aged 28, was employed as a Blacksmith, while his wife Margaret A., aged 29, cared for their young family. The children were David, 4; Violet A., 3; and Evan W., 1. This early snapshot shows a small but steadily growing household typical of early‑20th‑century suburban Swansea.

1911 Census

By 1911, road name changes in the district meant the family address was recorded as 6 Kimberley Road, Sketty. David, now 39, worked as a Blacksmith Striker, and his wife Margaret Ann, also 39, managed the home and children. Their eldest son David, aged 14, was already apprenticed as a General Blacksmith, following his father’s trade. Violet A., 13; Evan W., 13; and John H., 8, were all in school. The family’s stability and the training of the eldest son in a skilled trade reflected a household preparing its children for secure working futures—until war intervened.

Military Service

As war progressed, David John enlisted in the Royal Marines, serving with the Royal Marine Division Engineers of the Royal Naval Division. As a Sapper, he was part of a specialist engineering unit responsible for essential construction and repair work on the Western Front—vital to the safety and effectiveness of the Division’s fighting units.

Royal Marine Division Engineers on 20^th October 1916

By 20^th October 1916, the Royal Marine Division Engineers were deeply engaged in operations on the Somme, supporting the Royal Naval Division during one of the most exhausting phases of the campaign. The trenches in this sector were in constant need of repair due to continuous shelling, autumn rains, and the heavy movement of troops.

Engineering units like David’s were tasked with maintaining and improving trenches, dugouts, communication routes, wiring, and forward supply lines. They also worked on strengthening captured positions, creating new defensive systems, and supporting infantry movements. These duties frequently brought them close to or even ahead of the front line, where they were exposed to artillery, snipers, and collapsing trench structures.

During this period, the RND was operating around the Ancre Heights, an area of fierce and unrelenting fighting. On and around 20^th October 1916, engineering parties were working under intense bombardment, often at night, conducting repairs in waterlogged, mud‑filled trenches. The danger was constant: sappers carried tools rather than rifles, and their movements in exposed or damaged areas made them especially vulnerable.

It was under these hazardous conditions that Sapper David John lost his life.

Death and Commemoration

British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records

According to the British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records, David John was killed on 20^th October 1916. He is buried at Englebelmer Communal Cemetery Extension, Somme, France, a burial ground used by frontline medical units during the Somme battles. His grave lies among those who served and died in service of the Royal Naval Division during some of the hardest fighting of the war