Great grandson visits grave of relative from Ballon who died during WW1
John Fox from Ballon who died in WWI at the age of 32
THE family of a Carlow man who died fighting in the First World War and was buried in Germany were recently able to visit his grave for the first time.
John Fox was born in 1884 in Ballon and died in the trenches in 1916, aged 32. He was buried in the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in Niederswern, Kessel, Germany.
John’s great-grandson Kieran Fox visited his grave as he was on holiday not far from the cemetery in Germany for his birthday.
John’s grandson, also called John Fox in honour of his grandfather said that it was very emotional for someone in the family to visit the grave as his father could never afford to make the trip.
“It was the 110th anniversary of grandad’s death,” John said. “Kieran shed a tear himself when he put his hands on the headstone.” Before the war, John Fox had been a member of the Royal Irish Constabulary and he is remembered on a monument in Leighlinbridge to those who died during the war. His death was extremely tragic for the Fox family as he never met his youngest child. John has a piece of writing that his grandfather sent back from the trenches for the child he never met.
Today, his memory is kept alive by his grandchildren.
“My sisters and myself we talk about him regularly and pray for him,” John said.
