Military

John Besford was born in 1890, the son of Thomas Besford and Elizabeth Besford (née Train). He enlisted as a Private in the Northumberland Hussars and served in France in the First World War.

The village of La Boisselle was the subject of heavy fighting during the First World War. George Besford (1893–1966) was wounded here in the Battle of the Somme on 1st July 1916.

Percy Robert Smith Besford was Mentioned in Despatches in the 1944 King’s Birthday Honours.