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“Everyone deserves to have their story told,\u201d says Mike Christopher. What an incredible tale he has found. Mike\u2019s wife Pauline didn\u2019t know that she had a great uncle<\/a> James until Mike began exploring the family tree. Not only was James a brave gunner in the early days of the air force \u2013 he also had an astonishing link to the Red Baron.<\/p> \u201cI began researching our family history in 2009. Pauline\u2019s family comes from Pontypool in Monmouthshire, Wales, and her maternal grandmother was called Annie Wynn. We found out by word of mouth that there was someone named Wynn on the War Memorial Gates in Pontypool. This was JH Wynn, listed under the Royal Flying Corps as a 2nd AM, or air mechanic.\u201d<\/p> Mike began his quest at Gwent Archives, where he discovered an article published in the Pontypool Free Press<\/em> in May 1917. \u201cThere was a faint reproduction of a photograph showing a young man in uniform and a notice from Mr and Mrs Henry Wynn, who were Pauline\u2019s great grandparents. The young man was their eldest son James Henry Wynn, who died in France at the age of 23.\u201d<\/p> Mike says, \u201cI was astonished to read this. The notice also revealed that James had volunteered to fight in 1914, joining the 2nd Monmouthshire Regiment. We were determined to find out more about this tragic young man.\u201d\u00a0<\/p> James was born in 1893 in Pontypool and in the 1911 census records<\/a> was listed as a hewer \u2013 a miner who cuts coal from a seam. His Army record<\/a>, like millions more, was destroyed in the War Office fire in 1940. However, a book called A History of the 2nd Battalion the Monmouthshire Regiment<\/em>, written by Captain GA Brett and first published in 1933, includes chilling accounts of the regiment\u2019s First World War <\/a>service.\u00a0<\/p> \u201cJames and his comrades fought in many horrific campaigns, including Ypres, St Julien and the Somme,\u201d says Mike. \u201cThey lived in appalling conditions. The winter of 1916\/17 was intensely cold, with temperatures falling to \u201320\u00baC. Even their eyelids froze.\u201d<\/p> To escape the trenches, many volunteered for the Royal Flying Corps or the Royal Navy<\/a>. \u201cThe risks were just as extreme in the RFC. James became an observer\/gunner on an outdated FE2b biplane. This involved standing at the front of the aircraft, exposed to fire from the knees up so that he could operate the guns.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>