Today, 17 year olds from North Finchley have a wide array of opportunities for their day to day lives - in 1914, many of them would have gone to war on the continent .
At this time, more than any other time, we remember those who gave their lives for the future of our country, and all of those who live in our country .
The idea of people dying in the war may seem a long and distant event - after all, World War One started over 110 years ago - however, one of these people who died, in fact, the first one who died, lived a few streets from where I do now .
To be sure, it was a very different time, and even a different place .
John Parr - Early life and joining the military
Back when Jonathan Parr was born, in 1897, Finchley was part of the County of Middlesex, whereas now it is part of the London Borough of Barnet.
John lived most of his life at 52 Lodge Lane in Finchley, and while he was very young when he died, many of his siblings did not pass their fourth birthday .
Parr joined the 4th Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment at just 15 years old in 1912, but claimed to be 18 years and 1 month so that he would be accepted .
As with many young men at this time, the army was an attractive proposition - a chance to see the world, receive consistent meals and have a regular wage .
Parr became an infantry scout, who would cycle ahead of the main army to note the enemy army, how far away they were and how many soldiers they had .
Then they would ride back to inform their commanders .
John Parr - Start of World War 1 and death
When the war broke out in August 1914, the 4th Middlesex was quickly mobilised and sent to Bettignies, a village near the French border with Belgium.
On the 21st of August 1914, Parr and another cyclist were sent on a mission to Obourg, which is just across the border in Belgium, with the goal of locating where the Germans were stationed .
However, the mission went wrong, and John Parr and his fellow scout encountered an Uhlan patrol of German soldiers, and he remained to hold off the enemy they had encountered whilst his fellow scout returned to his army, to notify them of the position .
It is believed - though not confirmed - that the rifle fire that broke out claimed the first of the 880,000 deaths on the side of the British forces, a 17 year old from North Finchley with his whole life ahead of him .
A word on remembrance
While there are, unfortunately, countless tales of death in both wars, this particular one stands out for me .
It is always important to remember those who died in the dreadful wars of the 20th century , and at this moment - so near to Remembrance Day - these memories are more prevalent than ever .
This means that the words said at Remembrance Day services varies the country are even more poignant when we consider personal stories like this.
They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old : Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them .
Only by remembering the horrors of war, the lives it consumed and the world it devastated can we try to prevent something similar happening again .
For people of my generation, it can be hard to connect to such events in an emotional sense.
Older generations would have known people who fought in such conflicts, and witnessed first hand the destructive impact on British society .
Stories like this, of someone around my age, and from just a few streets away, help to connect events from over a hundred years ago to my present day experiences.
Therefore, it is of upmost importance that we do not let stories such as this, and the sacrifices of the wars, fade away into obscurity.
