Private John Parr was killed in a skirmish with German troops in Belgium on August 21, 1914, when he was just 17.
The bench has been installed by Barnet Council at the edge of Lodge Lane car park in North Finchley — close to where John grew up and where he lived before enlisting in the British Army.
A Tommy silhouette sculpture had been installed previously — but was uprooted by thieves in 2024.
“It was deeply saddening to hear about the theft of the Tommy sculpture,” said Barnet mayor Cllr Danny Rich. “It’s important at this time of year to remember all those that made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.
“But we hope this bench will be a fitting tribute to Private Parr for many years to come.”
John Parr was one of 111 men recruited in the Great War who lived in the 114 terraced cottages and houses along Lodge Lane and neighbouring Albert Street and William Street — where the car park is today. At least nine of these servicemen were killed.
Martin Russell, the King’s representative Deputy Lieutenant of the London Borough of Barnet, said: “John Parr was the first of many local lads to die in the Great War.
“The centenary of his death was marked with a stone let into the pavement outside number 52 Lodge Lane, where his family lived, and subsequently by an information board next to the silhouette of a Tommy on the site of his original home.
“Regrettably this silhouette was damaged and illegally removed last year.”
The new bench bears a plaque saying: “Remembering Private John Parr and other local dead of the Great War. There, but not there.”
The council arranged to install the bench with the Barnet War Memorials Association in the run-up to this year’s Armistice Day on November 11 marking the end of the Great War in 1918 — when the guns fell silent at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.
