John Francis was born in Romford, Essex in 1925 to Ivan Wright and his wife Edith Mary Harris. They were married in Poplar in 1923 and it is likely that his father was a police officer born in 1888 in Kirkcudbrightshire.
He was educated at Burford Grammar School and Matriculated in 1943.
He was an Officer Cadet with the Royal Corps of Signals when he died on 10 April 1944. His death is registered in Maidstone.
He is buried in the churchyard of St Mary’s church, Shipton-under-Wychwood where his parents were living.
His mother wrote to the college on 15 April 1944.