REVEREND JOHN GWYNN
CHAPLAIN TO THE FORCES 1ST CLASS ATTACHED 1ST BTN IRISH GUARDS
12TH OCTOBER 1915 AGE 49
BURIED: BETHUNE TOWN CEMETERY, VLAMERTINGHE, FRANCE
Father Gwynn volunteered on the outbreak of war to serve as a chaplain at the front. He was attached to the Irish Guards and went with them wherever they went: living with them in the trenches, helping at the Field Dressing Station when they were in action, comforting them, administering the last rites and burying them. On 11 October a shell landed at the entrance to his dugout and a fragment pierced his lung. He died the next day at a Casualty Clearing Station. His inscription is based on words taken from his temporary grave marker, which continued:
This monument has been erected by all ranks of
The 1st Bat. Irish Guards in grateful
Remembrance of their Beloved Chaplain
Father Gwynn
Who was with them on active service for nearly 12 months
From Nov. 1914 until his death
And shared with unfailing devotion all their trials and hardships.