John Condon (British Army soldier)

John Condon (5 October 1897 – 24 May 1915) was an Irish soldier born in Waterford, long believed to have been the youngest Allied soldier killed during the First World War, at the age of 14 years, as shown on his gravestone.

John Condon
Gravestone of John Condon at the Poelcapelle British Cemetery
Born	5 October 1897 Waterford City, Ireland
Died	24 May 1915 (aged 14) Ypres, Belgium
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1913-1915
Rank	Private
Unit	Third Battalion, The Royal Irish Regiment (1684)
Battles/wars	World War I Western Front Second Battle of Ypres  †

It is now believed from a birth certificate, census, war diaries and other records that John Condon was 18 years old at the recorded date of his death and that the wrong individual is named on the grave. The headstone in Poelkapelle Cemetery and the CWGC record continue to assert the challenged data.[1][2][3][4]

It is asserted[1] and documented that

• The body in the unmarked grave was misidentified as Condon based on an ambiguous boot stamping 6322 4/R.I.R. found at exhumation.
• The stamp was interpreted by the Imperial War Graves Commission as being Regimental Number 6322 of the 4th Battalion Royal Irish Regiment.
• Condon was not in the 4th but the 3rd battalion
• The same stamping could denote 6322 Rifleman Patrick Fitzsimmons, 2nd Bn. Royal Irish Rifles, KIA 16 June 1915, who had been in the 4th battalion Royal Irish Rifles.
• While the 2nd R.I. Rifles fought at the location of the exhumation, the 3rd R.I. Regiment did not.
• No body was ever identified as 6322 Rifleman Patrick Fitzsimmons. He is listed on the Menin Gate memorial.[5]

References

1. Campaign for War Grave Commemorations Analysis of Commonwealth War Graves Commission error
2. Waterford News (2007) Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
3. Waterford News (2003) Archived 20 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine
4. Reading Room Manchester (24 May 1915). "Commonwealth War Graves Commission database record for John Condon". Cwgc.org. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
5. Reading Room Manchester (16 June 1915). "Commonwealth War Graves Commission database record for Patrick Fitzsimmons". Cwgc.org. Retrieved 12 April 2014.

Further reading

• Condon evidence
• Spillebeen, Geert (2010). Age 14 - An Irish Boy Soldier. The Collins Press. ISBN 978-1848890565.