Born in the parish of St. Anne's, Dublin.
Enlisted at Dublin on the 5th of December 1836.
Age: 18.
Height: 5' 8".
Trade: Servant.
Appearance: Fresh complexion. Hazel eyes. Brown hair.
Tried by a Regimental Court-martial for "absence without leave," and imprisoned from the 28th of September — 20th of October 1838.
Tried by a Regimental Court-martial and imprisoned from the 23rd of October — 5th of November 1838.
Tried by a Regimental Court-martial and imprisoned from the 27th of March — 9th of April 1843.
Tried by a Regimental Court-martial and imprisoned from the 5th of May — 19th of May 1843.
Sent to the Depot on the 19th of April 1854.
From Private to Corporal: 18th of May 1854.
Corporal to Sergeant: 1st of July 1854.
Joined the regiment in the Crimea on the 19th of April 1855.
Served with the detchment of the regiment under Lt. Colonel De Salis in the Expedition to Kertch on the 22nd of May 1855.
He was in the General Hospital at Scutari from the 8th of August 1855 and invalided to England on the 14th of September.
Sent money from the Crimea to his wife, Mrs. Eliza Gannon.
Reduced to Private by a Regimental Court-martial on the 8th of December 1856 and re-instated in the rank of Sergeant on the 21st of March 1857. No reason is shown for either entry.
Sent to the Depot at Canterbury on the 1st of October 1857, when the Regiment went to India for the Mutiny campaign.
Discharged from Canterbury on the 6th of May 1861.
"Free, at own request after 26 years' service."
Conduct: "good".
In possession of two Good Conduct badges when promoted to Sergeant
Four times tried by Court-martial.
Awarded a pension of 1/7d. per day.
To live in Dublin after discharge.
He is shown on the Regimental "Married Roll" from the 22nd of June 1856. There were four children in the family at the time of his discharge: 3 daughters and a son.
His documents confirm the award of the Crimean medal with one clasp and the Turkish medal.
Entitled to the Crimean medal with clasp for Sebastopol.
Lummis and Wynn state that "he does not appear on the medal roll," but he is to be found on the Sebastopol clasp list.
Also served with the Expedition to Kertch in May of 1855.
He died in the No. 1 London Pension District on the 4th of July 1863.
The St. Catherine's House registers record his death in the July-September Quarter of 1863, in the St. Giles District of London.
John Joseph Gannon [son]
A son, John Joseph, entered the Royal Military Asylum at Chelsea on the 10th of August 1867, at the age of 6 years and 10 months.
He was enlisted into the Royal Engineers at London, Regimental No. 13284, by Sergeant Major S. Hunter, on the 13th of October 1875. Born at Canterbury, Kent, he was 4' 10" in height, with a fair complexion, hazel eyes and brown hair, his trade being that a of a "musician."
Appointed Bugler on the 21st of October 1877, L/Corporal in April of 1886, Corporal in April of 1888, Sergeant in August of 1888, and to Company Sergeant Major on the 1st of January 1889.
He had been re-engaged to complete 21 years' service at Chatham on the 1st of December 1886 and was allowed to continue his service beyond 21 years on the 18th of April 1896.
He was finally discharged from Fort Victoria on the Isle of Wight on the 20th of August 1899. At this time he was serving on the Permanent Staff of the Needles, Isle of Wight, Militia Division. His conduct and character had been "very good," and he had been awarded the Long Service and Good Conduct medal.
He was also in possession of the 2nd and 3rd Class Certificates of Education, and had passed a Course in Telegraphy with a grade of "Very Good."
He had served 2 years 110 days in Bermuda and 2 years 182 days in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
On the 19th of November 1885, in St. Patrick's Church, Halifax, he had married — without leave — Alice Maud Train. The witnesses were Charles Pitman and Mary Neal. He did not come on to the "married strength" of the regiment until the 9th of August 1888.
One child was born of this marriage, John, born in Bermuda on the 11th of September 1886 and baptised at Boaz, Bermuda, on the 18th of September 1886.
John Joseph Cannon [Gannon?] died from "Mycardial Degeneration" in the Kent Mental Hospital, Maidstone, Kent, on the 28th of September 1943.