Read the story of John, who was a pupil at the Foundling Hospital, England's first dedicated children's charity. On 25 March 1741, the Foundling Hospital welcomed its first group of children to its temporary location in Hatton Garden. Among the 30 admitted was an infant later known as John Bowles, identified only as child number five at the time.

No note or personal item was left with him, so nothing is known about his original name or his mother’s circumstances. Approximately one month old, he wore a brown cloak and a piece of cloth marked with the initials ‘I’ and ‘A’—the only clues that would have been used to identify him if his mother had ever returned to claim him.