John (usually known as "Jack") was born in 1897 in Wetheral, Cumberland where his parents ran the Crown Hotel. His father, John, was from Aberdeenshire and had worked in domestic service in London, and then in Cumberland as butler at nearby Warwick Hall, before taking on the licence of The Crown in the 1890s. His mother Lydia Hall came from Kent and had also been in domestic service in London where they met and married. Afer John senior died aged just 51 in 1902, his widow took the two children back to London. She returned to domestic service but could not support both children, so Jack was put into Maitland Park Orphan Working School in Hampstead, London, while his mother and older sister May lived nearby on Haverstock Hill. He received a good education, including learning French. He was there until at least 1911 and would have been apprenticed or found a position by the School on leaving aged 14 or 15. He enlisted on 10 May 1915, a week before his 18th birthday.

On demobilisation in 1919, Jack returned to London. His mother had sadly died in 1917 while he was serving in France. In 1924, he married Maud Taylor, whose father and brothers ran various public houses in London, including the King William IV in Pimlico, the Earls Court Tavern and the Holland Arms in Kensington. They had two sons, John and Eric. Jack spent his working career in motor vehicle sales, in Kensington, in the City and later in Romford, Essex with Capital Motors who were Vauxhall dealers. Jack and Maud lived in various rented homes in London until in 1930 they bought a new house in Rush Green Road, Romford where they lived very happily until Maud's death from cancer in 1964. During the 2nd World War, Jack continued to commute to the City every day and served as an Air Raid Warden and then in the Home Guard. In retirement, Jack remained very active, playing bowls and continuing to drive his Vauxhall Viva well into his late eighties. He was always proud of his Scottish roots on his father's side. He moved to live with his son John and daughter-in-law Janet in Brentwood, Essex in the early 1970s. He died aged 90 in May 1987.

Jack very rarely talked to his family about his 1st World War service but John and Eric remembered him getting rather cross when they criticised his bicycle puncture-mending technique, pointing out that he'd done it many times under fire!