8th December 2015 John was born in Stamford in 1896, in 1911 he was 15. He was living at 15 St Leonards Street with his parents John William and Hannah (nee King ) Middleton. They were both born in Stamford. His father was an iron moulder of oil engines. He had 4 brothers, Frank (27), a fitter of oil engines, was the eldest, Edward (22), a porter at a chemists , Charles (19), a servant at a doctor’s, Fredrick (17), a servant at a boot shop, and John (15) an errand boy, was the youngest. His only sister, Amy, a domestic servant, was 24. These were the surviving children, three had died. In 1901 the family had been living at 16 Gas Street. Fouquieres Churchyard Extension Private John Thomas Middleton (3139/200807) enlisted into the 4th Battalion in 1914 and later transferred to the 5th Battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment. His military service ended on 30th May, 1915 in France when he was killed in action, probably at Second Battle of Ypres, where the German Army used poison gas for the first time. At the time he died, he was still under age for serving abroad . His qualifying date was 18th August 1915. John was awarded the British War and Victory Medals and the 1914-15 Star. He is buried and commemorated in Fouquieres Churchyard Extension, Pas de Calais , France. His name also appears on the Stamford Memorial and St George’s Church Memorial.