John Donovan was born in Merthyr in 1883, and worked as a collier before joining the army during the Boer War. He went to South Africa with the Somerset Light Infantry, though the fighting was over by the time he arrived; he was then posted to India and later moved to the Army Reserve, resuming his work as a collier. He was called back into service in 1914 and was wounded three times during the war, while serving with the Somerset Light Infantry, the Dorset Regiment and the Labour Corps. He was discharged in 1917 and afterwards worked as a stone-mason. Here are a collection of his badges from the First World War.