7/21/2019 John Parr 21 August 1914
1/2
John Parr
(First British Army Soldier Killed In
Action)
PrivateJohn Parr(1898 21 August 1914) is believed to have been
the firstBritishsoldier
and the first soldier ofthe Commonwealthkilled inWorld War
I.
Early years
Born in 1898 inChurch End, Barnet,Parr lived most of his life at
52 Lodge Lane,North
Finchleyas the youngest son of Edward and Alice Parr. On leaving
school, he took a job as a
golf caddy.Then, like many other young men of the time, he was
attracted to the army as apotentially better way of life, and one
where he would at least get two meals a day and a
chance to see the world.[1]When Parr joined theMiddlesex
Regimenthe almost certainly
overstated his age in order to meet the minimum age
requirement.
Military activity
Parr specialised in becoming a reconnaissance cyclist - riding
ahead to uncover information,
then returning with all possible speed to update the commanding
officer. At the start ofWorld
War Iin August 1914 Private Parrs Battalion, the 4th Middlesex,
were shipped from
SouthamptontoBoulogne-sur-Mer,France.With theGermanarmy marching
intoBelgium,
Parr's unit took up positions near a village
calledBettignies,beside the canal running through
the town ofMons.On 21 August, Parr and another cyclist were sent
to the village ofObourg,
just north east of Mons, and slightly over the border in
Belgium, with a mission to locate the
enemy. It is believed that they encountered a cavalry patrol
from theGerman First Army,and
that Parr remained to hold off the enemy whilst his companion
returned to report. He was
killed in the ensuing rifle fire. However, some historians
dispute this version of events and
believe it likely that he was either shot by a Belgian civilian
who thought he was a German or
was not killed until the real fighting started two days
later.[2]
Fate
Since the British army retreated to a new position around
theMarneafter the firstbattle of
Mons,Parr's body was left behind. In the ensuing months, the
slow entrenchment of the war
meant that news of Parr's death was not recognised until much
later. After a while his mother
wrote to the regiment asking about her son, but they were unable
to tell her of his condition,and it may have been that they thought
that he had been captured. At the time, there were no
dog tagsto help with the identification of casualties.
Parr is buried in theSt Symphorien military cemetery,just
southeast ofMonsand his age is
given on thegravestoneas twenty, the army not knowing his true
age of sixteen.
Coincidentally, his grave faces that ofGeorge Edwin Ellison,the
last British soldier killed
during the Great War.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_%28rank%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_%28rank%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_of_Great_Britain_and_Irelandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_of_Great_Britain_and_Irelandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soldierhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soldierhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soldierhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_of_Nationshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_of_Nationshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_of_Nationshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_Ihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_Ihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_Ihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_End,_Barnethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_End,_Barnethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_End,_Barnethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Finchleyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Finchleyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Finchleyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Finchleyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caddyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caddyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Parr_%28British_Army_soldier%29%23cite_note-hertfordshire-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Parr_%28British_Army_soldier%29%23cite_note-hertfordshire-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Parr_%28British_Army_soldier%29%23cite_note-hertfordshire-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middlesex_Regimenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middlesex_Regimenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middlesex_Regimenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_Ihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_Ihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_Ihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_Ihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southamptonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southamptonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boulogne-sur-Merhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boulogne-sur-Merhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boulogne-sur-Merhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgiumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgiumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgiumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bettignieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bettignieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bettignieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obourghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obourghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obourghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Army_%28German_Empire%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Army_%28German_Empire%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Army_%28German_Empire%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Parr_%28British_Army_soldier%29%23cite_note-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Parr_%28British_Army_soldier%29%23cite_note-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Parr_%28British_Army_soldier%29%23cite_note-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marnehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marnehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marnehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Monshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Monshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Monshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Monshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_tag_%28identifier%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_tag_%28identifier%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Symphorien_Commonwealth_War_Graves_Commission_cemeteryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Symphorien_Commonwealth_War_Graves_Commission_cemeteryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Symphorien_Commonwealth_War_Graves_Commission_cemeteryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravestonehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravestonehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravestonehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Edwin_Ellisonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Edwin_Ellisonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Edwin_Ellisonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Edwin_Ellisonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravestonehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Symphorien_Commonwealth_War_Graves_Commission_cemeteryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_tag_%28identifier%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Monshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Monshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marnehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Parr_%28British_Army_soldier%29%23cite_note-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Army_%28German_Empire%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obourghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bettignieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgiumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boulogne-sur-Merhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southamptonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_Ihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_Ihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middlesex_Regimenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Parr_%28British_Army_soldier%29%23cite_note-hertfordshire-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caddyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Finchleyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Finchleyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_End,_Barnethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_Ihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_of_Nationshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soldierhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_of_Great_Britain_and_Irelandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_%28rank%29
