Gilbert Henry Condon

Gilbert Henry was the son of William and Mary Elizabeth Condon (née Hebb). William Condon was born in Silesby, Leicestershire, in 1861, the son of William and Ann Condon. Mary Elizabeth Hebb was born in Nottingham in 1863, the daughter of Joseph Hebb. William and Mary were married at Sneinton St Matthias in March 1892 and had eight children, two of whom died in childhood All the children were born in Nottingham: Mabel Nancy b. 1882 bap. Nottingham St Ann Nov. 1887; Ethel Judith b. 1883 bap. Nottingham St Patrick 1897; Charles William birth registered 1886 (J/F/M); Nellie/Nelly Mary b. 1887 bap. (1) St Ann Nov. 1887 (2) St Patrick 1897; Walter Bernard b. 1889 bap. (1) (Walter Thomas) Nottingham St Peter 1889 (2) (Walter) St Patrick 1897 d. 1899 (reg. William Bernard); Clarissa Elizabeth b. 1892 d. 1896; Gilbert Henry b. 1894 and Emily Jane b. 1896 bap. Bestwood Park Emmanuel 1896. William and Mary were living at 34 Cathcard Street, Nottingham, when their two eldest daughters were baptised in 1887 but were registered at Chapel Court, Byard Lane, Nottingham, on the 1891 Census: William, a machine cropper maker, Mary and their five children Mabel, Ethel, Charles, Nelly and Walter. Clarissa was born the following year but died in 1896 aged four, while their second son Walter died aged 10 in 1899 (buried August). William and Mary had separated by 1901 when William was living at 9 St John Square, Sneinton, with Ann Hartshorn, described on the census as his housekeeper, and their daughter May (Hartshorn, 1 month). William's wife Mary, head of household and working as a general dealer on her own account, was living at 20 Drury Hill, Nottingham, with her children Mabel and Ethel, both lace clippers, Charles, a post office messenger, and Nellie, Gilbert and Emily who were school age. The eldest son Charles William joined the Army on 30 May 1904 on a Short Service engagement (12 years - 3 years with the Colours, 9 years in the Reserve). He was 18 years 6 months old and employed as a miner. Notwithstanding that his parents had been living apart in 1901, Charles named both of them, his four sisters and his brother Gilbert, all of 51 Castle Gate, Nottingham, as his next of kin. Charles was posted to the Leicestershire Regiment (7352 Private) at the Depot on 2 June 1904, transferring to the 2nd Battalion on 15 October the same year. He served at home from 30 May 1904 to 20 September 1906 (2y 113d) and then in India from 21 September 1906 to 29 May 1910 (2y 251d), total 5 years 365 days (taken as 6 years. He had extended his service on 20 July 1906 to complete nine years with the Colours and was appointed unpaid lance-corporal on 24 July 1906 and to paid rank on 23 November the same year. He was promoted to corporal on 9 June 1908. However, he was discharged by purchase (£25) on 29 May 1910. Charles may have married in India, but he has not yet been traced after 1910. William and Ann Hartshorn, occupation housekeeper, and their children May, Arthur (8) and Elizabeth (6) were still living in Sneinton in 1911. Mary Condon, now described on the census as a general dealer (antiques, second-hand), was living at 2 Castle Road, Nottingham; only one of her children, Emily Jane, was still living at home. Mary employed a general domestic servant, Nellie Hebb (25 b. Upton Nottinghamshire). Also in the household was a married couple, Edmond and Maud Bradley. Two of Mary's daughters were married. Mabel had married John Robert Sulley, a fitter (printing machines), at Nottingham St Mary in August 1904 and in 1911 they and their two children, Mary Alice and Walter Henry, were living at King's Place, Woolpack Lane, in the household of Alfred and Mary Ann Butler. Ethel Judith had married Henry William Hazeldine, a town postman, at Nottingham St Mary in August 1906 and they were living on Broad Oak Street with their son Horace; a second child had died in infancy. Also in the household were Ethel's younger sister Nellie, a Swiss lace mender, and Henry's sister Eva Hazeldine, a lace worker. Nellie married Leonard B Fields, a bricklayer, in October 1911. Their brother Gilbert Henry had been arrested for theft in September 1910 and on 14 October 1910 was sentenced at the Nottingham Assizes to six months imprisonment. At the time of the census he was still serving out his sentence at the Nottingham Prison, Bagthorpe. (See 'Extra information') Gilbert's mother Mary Elizabeth died in 1913 (buried March 1913) and his father William probably died in 1937. Gilbert's brother-in-law, Henry William Hazeldine, enlisted in 1916; some of his army service documents survive but are in a poor condition. He appears to have served in several regiments including the 4th (Reserve) Bn. Lincolnshire Regiment and perhaps the 2/6th Bn. Durham Light Infantry, and served with an Expeditionary Force. However, Henry was serving with the 250th Protection Coy. RDC when he was discharged in February 1919; he was discharged to his home at Abbey Grove, Wells Road. Charles William Condon, who served in the army for six years until 1910, only completed half of a 12 year engagement and so presumably would have been on the Army Reserve list when war broke out and therefore liable for moblization. However, Charles has not yet been traced on military or civil records after 1910.

He was a barman.

Enlisted Nottingham

Gilbert served with the BEF France from 8 September 1914 so was either a regular soldier or in the Territorial Force or Special Reserve. He may have joined the army as a regular after his release from prison in 1911 or on the death of his mother in 1913. The 2nd Bn. Sherwood Foresters was based in Sheffield at the start of the war and did not land in France (St Nazaire) until 11 September, three days after Gilbert joined the BEF. He may have been part of an advance party or transferred to the Sherwood Foresters from another unit. The 2nd Bn. took part in the First Battle of the Aisne (12-15 September). Gilbert was probably taken prisoner on 20 October 1914. Twenty months later on 14 May 1916 he died at Dudderstadt Hospital, Germany. There is no information as to whether he died from disease or that he had been wounded when he was taken prisoner and died from the long-term effects of his injuries - one of the 'In Memoriam' notices in the local paper included the term 'peace after pain' suggesting that he had been in poor health for some considerable time. Gilbert is buried in Niederzwehren Cemetery, Kassel, Hessen, Germany (grave ref. III.D.15). Gilbert qualified for the 1914 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal. His sister, Mabel Sulley, of 39 Havelock Street, St Ann's Well Road, had applied in May 1920 for his 1914 Star. CWGC - History of Niederzwehren Cemetery (extract): 'The cemetery was begun by the Germans in 1915 for the burial of prisoners of war who died at the local camp. During the war almost 3,000 Allied soldiers and civilians, including French, Russian and Commonwealth, were buried there. In 1922-23 it was decided that the graves of Commonwealth servicemen who had died all over Germany should be brought together into four permanent cemeteries. Niederzwehren was one of those chosen and in the following four years, more than 1,500 graves were brought into the cemetery from 190 burial grounds in Baden, Bavaria, Hanover, Hesse and Saxony [listed].' (www.cwgc.org)

The Nottingham Evening Post of 15 October 1910 published a lengthy report of the trial at the Nottingham Quarter Session when Gilbert Henry Condon (16), a barman employed by Wm Fox Oakland, was indicted for: ‘stealing, on September 6th the sum of £5, the property of William Fox Oakland [tenant of the Brickmaker’s Arms, Carlton-road]. His mother, Mary Elizabeth Condon (45), a general dealer, was charged with receiving the money well knowing it to have been stolen … Condon admitted the theft, but Mrs Condon pleaded not guilty.’ The jury found Mrs Condon ‘not guilty’ and she was discharged. Gilbert, who had worked for Oakland for only a few days, was found guilty and sentenced to 'six months imprisonment, without hard labour, under the modified Borstal system.’ (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) UK Calendar of Prisoners: Gilbert Henry Condon 16, barman (bailed on committal). On the 6th day of September 1910, feloniously stealing £5, the property of William Fox Oakland. Pleaded guilty heard, 14 October 1910, committing magistrates FE Radford & J Wright Esquires Nottingham. Sentence 6 months imprisonment (Nottingham Prison, Bagthorpe). Nottingham Evening Post, ‘In Memoriam,’ 14 May 1917: ‘Condon. In loving memory of GH Condon, died in Germany, May 14th, 1916, on whose soul, sweet Jesus, have mercy. Not forgotten. Ida.’ (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) Nottingham Evening Post, ‘In Memoriam,’ 14 May 1917: ‘Condon. In loving memory my dear brother, Private Gilbert Condon, 2nd Sherwoods, who died May 14th, 1916, at Dudderstadt Hospital, Germany. Peace after pain. From his sorrowing sister Mabel.’ (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) Nottingham Evening Post, 'In Memoriam,' 13 May 1918: 'Condon. In loving memory of Pte. G H Condon, died in Germany May 14th 1916. May he rest in peace. Not forgotten. - Ida' Registers of Soldiers' Effects: His married sisters, Mabel Sulley (m. 1904) and Nellie Fields (m. 1911), and Miss Ida Doran, were part-legatees. An initial payment was followed by a single payment in November 1919 to eatch of the three legatees including Ida A Pykett. Ida Doran/Pykett had not yet been identified on civil records.