206994 Capt. John William Griffin MC.British Army Royal Warwickshire Regiment from:Denver, Norfolk John William Griffin was a regular solder and initially joined the Royal Dragoons in 1907 as a trooper, and served time in Britain, India and South Africa. This was where his unit was in 1914 when his Regiment was recalled to England where he reached Tidworth in Hampshire in early September. His unit reached France in October and fought through the 1st Battle of Ypres. He progressed through the ranks and at some point was given a wartime commission and was transferred to the Royal Warwickshire Regiment.
In April 1918 he organised the defence of his section of the line under severe pressure and being greatly outnumbered. For this he was awarded the Military Cross. But was captured by the Germans afterwards. He spent the rest of the war in a prision camp in Germany, now in what is modern day Poland. As an officer he was allowed to visit the local town to obtain a few extra rations, and we have a number of postcards purchased there, along with his prisoner of war identity pass.
In 1919 on discharge he trained as a veterinary surgeon in Edinburgh. This was a reaction to the suffering of animals in wartime, he lived in South London and then Sussex until his death in 1952.
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