PETER Dillingham, Landlord, Black Boy public house, Old Watford Road, Bricket Wood, Herts, asks: I wonder if readers could help piece together the story of John George Eggleton, a young man who left the Black Boy public house in Bricket Wood in 1917 to fight the Great War and was killed the following April. His sacrifice is marked by a stone plaque in the front wall of the pub in Old Watford Road. I took over as landlord of the pub earlier this year and am anxious to restore and embellish this part of the building's history.

John George Eggleton was, presumably, part of the family that ran the pub in the early part of the last century. All we have discovered is that he was a sapper in the Middlesex Company of the Royal Engineers, has no known grave, but is remembered on a war memorial near the Somme.

Regulars and I intend to travel to France to take pictures of the memorial as part of a permanent record of the exploits of John George Eggleton which will be displayed within the pub.

I was wondering if anyone knows of any direct descendants of this brave young man who might be able to provide more information about the Eggleton family?

Are any of them still living in southern Hertfordshire? Do they have any mementos of John George Eggleton?

The Black Boy pub, at more than 250 years old, is one of the oldest in the area.

I'm anxious to discover its past and wonder whether any local historians could provide any information.