On 25th September 1915 behind a cloud of chlorine gas, British troops made their major assault of the summer across the Loos Battlefields on the Western Front. Over three days of fighting, tens of thousands of men would fall on both sides, many of them would remain amongst the ‘missing’ at the end of the war. In this video, we explore the fate of just one of those men, 18-year-old John Kipling, the son of renowned author Rudyard Kipling who was last seen advancing across-no-man’s-land at the head of his platoon. John’s ultimate fate would become one of the enduring mysteries of the First World War.

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Written References:
• J. Gordon-Smith, Photographing The Fallen (2020)
• R. Kipling, The Irish Guards in The Great War
• E. Gilbert, O Beloved Kids (1983)
• T. Holt & V. Holt, My Boy Jack? The Search for Kipling’s Only Son (2009)
• B.J. Gripper, Herts Regiment Unofficial History (c.1923)
• Various Record Sets, War Diaries of the Battalions (2018, Naval & Military Press)

Sources:
• Findmypast (FMP)
• Commonwealth War Graves Commission Archive (CWGC)
• Herts at War Archive (HAWA)
• US National Archives (NARA)
• National Library of Scotland Image Collection (NLS)
• War Diaries of the Battalions (NMP)
• The National Archives, Kew (TNA)
• Google Earth Pro & Web Versions
• Memory Maps, Trench Maps of the First World War
• Maptiler Pro (Desktop Version)

Credits:
• Research: Dan Hill
• Script & Narration: Dan Hill
• Editing: Shane Greer & Linus Klassen
• Thumbnail Design: Linus Klassen
• Image Colourisation: Doug Banks
• Voiceovers: Hugo Salter
• Music & Sound Effects: Epidemic Sounds