Owen Tuffnell was born in Dublin in Ireland on 5th October 1872. He came from a large family, 1 of 8 children born to William & Ann Maria.

In 1881 he is living at No 6 Windmill Street with his father, an army pensioner & mother a dressmaker. Also at the address are 4 of his siblings, Frederick William 11, Robert 7,Henry 9 months & 15 year old Emma Grace who is working as a straw hat machinist.

In 1901 William is 29 years old & working as a fish salesman & living at 15 York Street with his now widowed mother & 2 brothers, George is 16 & a chemists labourer & 14 year old Benjamin is a grocer's labourer.

Owen married Elizabeth Gayton in October 1915 in Bedford.

On 1st December 1914 Owen enlisted into the 5th Bedfordshire Regiment he was living in High Town & working as a hawker at this time, but within a few months on 29th April 1916 he was transferred to the Royal Defence Corps 51st Protection Company. On 1st September 1918 he was discharged from the army as physically unfit due to varicose veins in his right leg. They were swollen & painful preventing him from performing guard duties & were aggravated by military service.

Owen survived the war but died on 19th March 1919 just 4 months after the Armistice. He is buried in the cemetery on Crawley Green Road.