John Kipling was the only son of British author Rudyard Kipling. In the First World War his father used his influence to get him an army commission, despite his having been decisively rejected for poor eyesight. His death at the Battle of Loos caused his family immense grief, and placed a great strain on the marriage as Kipling's wife had strongly opposed his enlisting.
Kipling was 16 when the First World War broke out in August 1914. His father, a keen imperialist and patriot, was soon writing propaganda on behalf of the British government. Rudyard sought to get his son a commission, but John was rejected by the Royal Navy due to severe short-sightedness. He was also initially rejected by the army for the same reason. However, Rudyard Kipling was friends with Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts, a former Commander-in-Chief of the British Army, and Colonel of the Irish Guards, and through this influence, John Kipling was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the 2nd Battalion, Irish Guards on 15 August 1914, at not quite 17. After reports of the Rape of Belgium and the sinking of the RMS Lusitania in 1915, Rudyard Kipling came to see the war as a crusade for civilisation against barbarism, and was even more keen that his son should see active service. After completing his training John Kipling was sent to France in August along with the rest of the battalion, which was part of the 2nd Guards Brigade of the Guards Division. His father was already there on a visit, serving as a war correspondent.
Death
Kipling was reported injured and missing in actionin September 1915 during the Battle of Loos. There remains no definite evidence relating to the cause of his death but credible reporting indicates he was last seen attacking a German position, possibly with a head injury. With fighting continuing, his body was not identified. His parents searched vainly for him in field hospitals and interviewed comrades to try to identify what had happened. A notice was published in The Times on 7 October 1915 confirming the known facts that he was "wounded and missing". The death of John inspired Rudyard Kipling to become involved with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and write a wartime history of the Irish Guards. However, contrary to popular belief, the poem My Boy Jack does not allude to the wartime loss of his son, rather it was written about the death of Jack Cornwell, the youngest sailor killed at the Battle of Jutland. He also wrote the short verse: "'My son died laughing at some jest, I would I knew / What it were, and it might serve me at a time when jests are few."
Grave
The grave of Kipling was reportedly identified in 1992, and he is officially listed as buried in St Mary's ADS Cemetery in Haisnes. In 2002 research by military historians Tonie and Valmai Holt suggested that this grave was that of another officer, Arthur Jacob of the London Irish Rifles. In January 2016, however, further research by Graham Parker and Joanna Legg demonstrated that the original identification of the grave was correct. A spokesman for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission stated that it "welcomed the latest research which supports the identification of the grave of John Kipling". George Harrison's grandfather, Henry Harrison, is also buried in St Mary's ADS Cemetery.
