236176 BQM Sgt. John Henry Rayner British Army 210 Brigade, B Bty. Royal Field Artillery from:Blackburn John Henry Rayner was my grandfather. He served in WW1 and saw action in Gallipoli, Egypt and France. He was wounded by being heavily gassed at Passchendaele with his unit in 1917. His white horse in the war was called Dolly. John sadly died when I was only 1 year old in 1971. I never got to talk to him but got some stories from my mum and dad.
He finished his service in 1920 and was the BQM Sergeant for the unit towards the end of the war. Some stories came to me - one being that he was given a commission on the battlefield, probably like many men, but he turned it down as he didn't want to leave his men. Lucky in many ways as he survived the war. He served for eight years enlisting in 1912.
John was born in Salford but eventually moved to Blackburn and married Nellie Binns in Blackburn in 1920. He worked at the Aerospace Facility in Samlesbury, Preston New Road for most of the remainder of his life. John has always been very dear to my heart even though I didn't get to know him.
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