Sergeant John Regan was born in Penarth on 1 May 1882. He enlisted as a volunteer to fight in the First World War. At the time he was called away he was the father of a large family of four boys and a girl. His wife was also expecting another child, who was born on 6 May 1916 while John was preparing to cross over to France. Sadly, he never had the chance to meet his youngest daughter. He was killed in action on 31 July 1916. He was buried at Peronne Road Military Cemetery near Maricourt on the Somme, close to the spot where he died.
One of the items returned to John Regan's widow was the pocket dictionary he took to war with him. Inside the back cover he has written the names and birthdays of his children. Eileen's name, his youngest daughter that he never met, is squeezed in at the bottom of the page.