Pte. John Condon (5 October 1900 – 24 May 1915) was an Irish soldier born in Waterford. He was believed to have been the youngest

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

soldier killed during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, at the age of 14 years; he lied about his age and he claimed to be 18 years old when he signed up to join the army in 1913. He was killed in action in a

gas attack Chemical warfare (CW) involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as Chemical weapon, weapons. This type of warfare is distinct from nuclear warfare, biological warfare and radiological warfare, which together make up CBRN defen ...

during the

Second Battle of Ypres During the First World War, the Second Battle of Ypres was fought from for control of the tactically important high ground to the east and south of the Flemish town of Ypres in western Belgium. The First Battle of Ypres had been fought the pre ...

in 1915 and his body was not recovered for another ten years; his family were unaware that Condon was in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

until they were contacted by the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and told that he was missing in action. In 1922, Condon was also posthumously awarded the

British War Medal The British War Medal is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom which was awarded to officers and men of British and Imperial forces for service in the First World War. Two versions of the medal were produced. About 6.5 million were struck in si ...

, the Victory Medal and the 1914-15 Star. It is now believed from a birth certificate, census, war diaries and other records that John Condon would have been 18 years old at the recorded date of his death and that the wrong individual is named on the grave. At the present time, the headstone in Poelkapelle Cemetery and the CWGC record continue to assert the challenged data.Campaign for War Grave Commemorations
Analysis of Commonwealth War Graves Commission error

In popular culture

Condon is the subject of the song of the same name by Mary Dillon, released in 2013 as a single from her debut album ''North''.

Gallery

File:Poelcapelle British Cem.07.JPG, Gravestone of John Condon at the

In popular culture

Gallery

References

Further reading