Enlistment 05/01/1910 Next of kin address 123 Mersey Street Warrington, Lancashire England Mother Susan Birks More info Commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial. Previous occupation: Glazier of street lamps. His family name was originally Jefford. His father deserted from the army when he returned from India in 1902 and to avoid detection (until early 1914) he changed the family surname to Birks. The family later changed their name back to Jefford, but John had already joined the Navy by then as Birks.