He was in an Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Corps in the first World War and was stationed in Brechin in about 1915 .and met his future wife there (at a dance).
John married Margaret George IVISON, daughter of Thomas James IVISON and Jean GEORGE, in 1918. (Margaret George IVISON was born on 28 Oct 1896 in Brechin, Angus Scotland and died in 1978 in Rhos-On-Sea.)
