Youth
In his youth, John Bates had been a calm lad. Always preferring to stay at home and read while his mother sewed, rather than run around with the rowdy village children. His brooding, quiet nature meant he dealt with a good deal of bullying at school, but he brushed it off.
As John got older, he was pulled into Vera's lively group of friends along with the unsteadiness of war. Forcing him out of his comfort zone and into a life of shear turmoil which followed him until he found himself nervously riding an early morning milk train to his new job.
The moment he stepped into Downton he felt at home, and the moment he shook the hand of the beautiful, young housemaid his youth had begun the process of being restored.