PRIVATE JOHN PAUL
SOUTH AFRICAN INFANTRY
18TH JULY 1916 AGE 36
BURIED: LONDON CEMETERY AND EXTENSION, LONGUEVILLE, FRANCE
Private Paul's wife asks an unusually direct question: "Did he die in vain?". Whilst she doesn't actually assert that he did, the mere raising of the question casts doubt on her belief in the cause for which her husband died.
Paul, serving with the South African Infantry, was killed at Delville Wood. 3,150 men of the South African Brigade entered the wood on 14 July 1916 and when they were finally relieved on the 20 July there were only 750 of them left, the rest were casualties - killed, wounded, missing.
Paul was initially one of the missing. It was not until February 1935 that his body was located at map reference 57c.S.18.s.45.90. He was buried at London Road Cemetery and Extension, Longueville, where 3,114 of the 3,873 burials are unidentified. Paul, originally one of the unidentified, was later identified by his knife and fork, which were all marked J. Paul, and by his General Service tunic, kilt and boots.
His kilt - John Paul, born in Scotland, had emigrated to South Africa from where he volunteered to serve with 4th Regiment the South African Infantry, the South African Scottish. Raised from the Transvaal Scottish and Cape Town Highlanders, they wore kilts of the Atholl Murray tartan.
Interestingly, it's the long delay between Private Paul's death and the discovery of his body that may explain the suggested negativity of his inscription. The economic depression, unemployment, the deteriorating situation in Europe and the publication of Sassoon, Graves and other anti-war memoirs had by now caused some to question the cause for which their menfolk had died. It looks like Mrs Florence Paul was among them.