Background
He was born at "The Elms" at Rottingdean in Sussex, which was the Kiplings" home between 1897 and 1902. His father, a keen imperialist and patriot, was soon writing propaganda on behalf of the British government.
He was born at "The Elms" at Rottingdean in Sussex, which was the Kiplings" home between 1897 and 1902. His father, a keen imperialist and patriot, was soon writing propaganda on behalf of the British government.
He was educated at Wellington College, Berkshire.
He was killed in September 1915 at the Battle of Loos while serving with the British Army during the First World War, nearly six weeks after his eighteenth birthday. He is a central character in the 1997 play and its 2007 film adaptation. Kipling was 16 when the First World War broke out in August 1914.
He was also initially rejected by the army for similar reasons.
After reports of the Rape of Belgium and the sinking of the Rated Maximum Sinusoidal Lusitania in 1915, Rudyard Kipling came to see the war as a crusade for civilization against barbarism. After completing his training, John Kipling was promoted to lieutenant on 7 June 1915, and 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. The casualty rate amongst junior officers (or subalterns) in the trenches was extremely high, much higher than NCO"s or other ranks.
On average, a junior officer leading from the front survived six weeks before becoming a casualty - either killed or injured.
Death
Kipling was reported injured and missing in action in September 1915 during the Battle of Loos. A shell blast had apparently ripped off his face. With fighting continuing, his body was not identified.
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 s Commission and write a wartime history of the Irish Guards. The poem also alludes to the wartime loss of a son, although its themes are rather nautical.
The grave of Kipling was reportedly identified in 1992, and he is officially listed as buried in Street Mary"s ADS Cemetery in Haisnes. In 2002, research by military historians Tonie and Valmai Holt suggested that this grave may be 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 in fact correct.
In a statement, a spokesman for the Commonwealth War s Commission stated that it "welcomed the latest research which supports the identification of the grave of John Kipling". The play was written in 1997 by David Haig. In 2007, it was adapted into a film of the same name, with Daniel Radcliffe as John Kipling.