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World War 1 One ww1 wwII greatwar great 1914 1918 first battalion regiment
Pte. George William Heritage
British Army 1st Btn. Royal Scots
(d.24th Feb 1915)
George William Heritage, Private 9015 is buried at Voormezeele.
Pte. William Herlingshaw
British Army 2nd Battalion Yorkshire Regiment
from:Grangetown, North Riding
William Herlingshaw was wounded in battle and discharged on 5th of June 1916 as being no longer physically fit for war service.
Pte. James Hermiston
British Army 1st Btn. Royal Scots
(d.6th Feb 1915)
James Hermiston, Private 13752 is remembered on the Ypres Menin Gate Memorial.
Pte. Thomas Walter Hern
British Army 6th Btn. Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
from:Sunderland
(d.12th Dec 1917)
Extracts from war diaries of 6th Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry from 9th-12th December 1917 states that "the line was held by posts in shell holes. There could be no movement by day, so all work, including patrolling, had to be carried out by night. Rain fell on the first day and made a great many of the shell holes muddy. Another battalion of the Brigade carried rations up. The men used Tommy cookers to heat their meals up. A number of men contracted Trench Feet, although strict precautions had been taken. Shelling was heavy throughout the tour, particularly about Passchendale ruins. Casualties during the tour were 3 killed, 21 wounded."
One of those killed was Thomas Hern, my Great Uncle. A Grocer’s Warehouseman who was born in November 1892 in Sunderland, he had married Beatrice Heal in November 1915 in Sunderland prior to his departure but there were no children by that union.
Dvr Garnet Herod
British Army 133rd Heavy Battalion Royal Garrison Artillery
from:Ashton-under-Lyne
(d.27th October 1918)
Pte. Arthur Henry Heron
British Army 18th Btn. Durham Light Infantry
CCpl. George "Dod" Heron
British Army 2/5th Battallion Gordon Highlanders
from:Ellon, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
(d.20 November 1917)
George Heron, was born 01 August 1895 at Minnes, Foveran Parish, Aberdeenshire. He was known to the family as “Dod”.
In October 1914, he enlisted in the 2/5th Battallion of the Gordon Highlanders likely as a result of a recruitment concert held Tuesday, October 20, 1914 at Ellon. George embarked for France on 21 August 1915, according to the UK, WWI Service Medal and Award Rolls for the Gordon Highlanders Regiment.
The Casualty List of the 1st/5th Gordon Highlanders indicates heavy losses were incurred on the Somme in the advance on Wood Lane, which was part of the attack on High Wood on July 30, 1916. High Wood was the largest battle in which the Battalion had been engaged up to that point. The Casualty List includes Private George Heron as one of the wounded. Both the Buchan Observer and Aberdeen Daily Journal newspapers reported on August 7, 1916 that “Intimation was received on Saturday [August 4] by Mr. & Mrs. Heron, Clochtow [Farm], Slains, that their son has been wounded in the recent fighting. Private Heron was in the ‘Terriers’ and was mobilized at the outbreak of war.”
George recovered from his wounds, returned to active duty and at some point after August 16, 1916, was promoted to Corporal. Sadly, George was killed in action on 20 November 1917 in France, age 22.
George’s remains had been difficult to identify because he fell in the same spot as several other Gordon Highlanders. Initially, George and six other Gordon Highlanders had been buried in Orival Wood British Cemetery, Flesquieres, France, in graves marked by crosses and identified simply as “unknown British soldier”. However, in 1930 George and the other six previously-unknown Gordons were exhumed for possible identification. They were ultimately identifiable through their kilt/khakis, boots and blankets. Additionally, the authorities were able to identify George specifically by dental records, because in 1930, his military service record including dental records would still have existed (a majority of UK military service records from all conflicts were destroyed when the War Office was bombed in the blitz in WWII). George’s dentition was described in the Exhumation Report as extremely poor – he had no upper teeth at all and his lower teeth were in poor condition – only 3 intact teeth!! Additional information gained from the Exhumation Report was that George’s hair was light brown and he was described as “well-developed”, wore size 9 boots and stood 5’7” to 5’8” tall.
All seven previously-unidentified Gordon Highlanders were eventually identified and were reburied in individual graves with Imperial (now Commonwealth) War Graves Commission headstones of Portland limestone personalized with their rank, name and service #, as well as the Gordon Highlanders’ regimental motto “Bydand” as well as a cross. George’s father, James Gilbert Heron, given the opportunity to provide wording for any personal inscription the family might want on the headstone, chose the inscription “Ever Remembered” which can be seen near the bottom of George’s headstone.
Interestingly, the superscription on his headstone in Orival Wood cemetery in France says “Buried near this spot”. This superscription indicates that either the soldier’s remains weren’t identifiable at all or they were identified collectively but not individually. My guess is that there are likely only partial remains in George’s grave.
His parents, James Gilbert Heron and Maggie Foreman, included George’s name on the Heron family headstone in Ellon Kirkyard in Aberdeenshire, with the subscription “He died that we might live”.
George’s Medal Index card shows he was awarded both the British War and Victory medals. He was also awarded the 1914-1915 Star, to which he was entitled because he served in France, entering that theatre of war on August 21, 1915.
According to the UK Army Soldiers’ Effects Registers, my great-grandfather, James Heron, received the balance of George’s outstanding Army pay in March 1918 amounting to £13 1s 3d. A further £15 was paid in November 1919 representing the War Gratuity paid to the legatees of soldiers who had died.
Sjt. Joseph Heron
Army 9th Btn. Durham Light Infantry
Sjt. Joseph Heron played the clarinet in the band of the 9th Battalion.
Sgt. Kenneth Royston Heron
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 514 Sqdn.
from:West Denton
(d.30th June 1944)
Lancaster Bomber LL620 JI-T was brought down by flak near Villers Bocage on 30th June 1944. It is thought that the tail had been damaged. There were no survivors. The crew are all buried in Coulvain Churchyard, Calvados, France. They were:
F/O Douglas Austin Woods, pilot F/Sgt Eric Charles Coles, flight engineer Sgt Kenneth Royston Heron, wireless operator F/O Francis Longson, navigator F/Sgt Ernest Thomas Shanks, airbomber F/Sgt William Charles Udell, airgunner P/O Hilary Louis Doherty, airgunner
Pte. Lewis Heron
British Army 4th Btn. Gordon Highlanders
from:Ellon, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Lewis Heron, son of James Gilbert Heron and Maggie Foreman, was born 25 January 1897 in Slains Parish, Aberdeenshire. Prior to joining the Army, he was in the service of Mr. William Bruce, dairyman, Cassiegills, Ellon, Aberdeenshire.
He served in the First World War initially with the 4th Gordon Highlanders. According to the UK, WWI Service Medal and Award Rolls, 1914-1920, he embarked for France on 4 September 1915. He was wounded very shortly after embarking for France in October 1915; the Aberdeen Journal carried a brief item on Friday, 15 October 1915, page 3 which stated that his parents had received notification that "Pte. Lewis Heron 4th Gordon Highlanders has been wounded in the recent severe fighting." Lewis was subsequently transferred to the Labour Corps. He survived the war and was awarded the 1914-15 Star as well as the British War Medal and Victory Medal.
After the war, he became a police constable in Bishopbriggs, Argyle. Lewis married Elizabeth McPherson, daughter of Peter McPherson (fisherman) and Elizabeth Gillespie (deceased) on 17 November 1922 at Loch Fyne, District of Tarbert, Argyll. Lewis died in 1966.
Able Sea. M. Heron
Mercantile Marine Reserve HMS Eaglet
Able Seaman Heron died 9th February 1920 and is buried west of the entrance in the Crooke Old Graveyard, Co. Waterford, Ireland.
Pte. Robert Oates Heron
British Army 14th Btn. Northumberland Fusiliers
from:5 Queen Street, Thornaby-on-Tees
(d.26th Sep 1915)
My Great-Uncle Robert Heron was only 18 when he was killed, he was born in May 1897. He is on the Loos Memorial and Thornaby-on-Tees Cenotaph. I was informed about him when I was a child but didn't know much about him.
Pte Thomas Heron
British Army 1st/5th Btn. Northumberland Fusiliers
from:Jarrow
(d.14th Nov 1916)
Thomas Heron was born in Jarrow and enlisted at Hebburn. He is remembered on the Thiepval Memorial.
Pte. Thomas Allan Heron
British Army 4th Btn. Gordon Highlanders
from:Pollokshaws, Scotland
(d.6th Nov 1918)
Pte. William Heron
British Army 1/5 Btn. Northumberland Fusiliers
from:Lamb Street, Walker, Newcastle Upon Tyne.
(d.27th April 1915)
Pte. Walter Fergus Herrett
British Army 6th Btn. D. Coy. Lincolnshire Regiment
from:36, Pelham St., Grimsby.
(d.7th Jun 1917)
Mjr. Herries
British Army 22nd Btn. Northumberland Fusiliers
Mjr. Herries
British Army 22nd Btn. Northumberland Fusiliers
Herring
Army 9th Btn. Durham Light Infantry
Pte. John Ivor Herring
British Army 14th Btn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment
from:Birmingham
(d.3rd Sep 1916)
John Herring married my great aunt Kate Jennings, just a few months before he was killed in the assault on Guillemont. Born in Atherstone, Warwickshire in 1892, the son of a doctor, he worked as a bank clerk before joining the 14th Battalion, the 1st Birmingham Pals. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, alongside those thousands like him who simply disappeared. Unlike so many war widows, Kate's story had a happier ending. She married again and raised a family before dying at a good age, but the scar never faded.
Thomas Oran Herring
Army 18th Btn. Durham Light Infantry
(d.25th Jul 1916)
Thomas Oran Herring
British Army 18th Btn. Durham Light Infantry
Thomas Herring was born in Tudhoe in 1895 and died on the Somme 1916 whilsts serving with the 18th Battalion Durham Light Infantry.
2nd Lt. John Herrington MM, MC, MID.
British Army 9th Btn. South Staffordshire Regiment
from:Glover Street, Wimblebury, Hednesford
As a 33 year old miner, John Herrington tried to join up in April 1915 but he failed the trade test with the ASC board who reported that he would not make an efficient soldier and so was discharged one day later. He then joined up elsewhere and became a private with the 2nd Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment. Here, he quickly rose to the rank of Sergeant and during fighting at Delville wood, was awarded the Military Medal for his bravery. Soon after he was recommended for a commission and attended a course in Dumbarton. Upon successful completion of this, he was then transferred to the 9th Battalion at Menin Road. In Italy, he was mentioned in despatches and awarded the MC for his work in Asiago and the San Siesto ridge.
Pte. Joseph Herrington
British Army 12th Btn. Yorkshire Regiment
from:37 Scott Street, Redcar
My grandfather Joseph Herrington joined up to serve in WW1. I'm not sure when. At the time he was 37 and had four young boys aged from 11 to 3. Therefore he went to war as a volunteer rather than as a conscript. He was a joiner, the son of a pub landlord in Harrogate, and married my grandmother in 1903 when she was working as a maid of all work in the same town. The couple moved to Redcar around 1906 and Joe obtained work as a council joiner, working on a new batch of streets that adjoined the railway at one end and the stables of Redcar Racecourse at the other. They were named after council Aldermen - Scott, Soppett, Hanson, Herschell, Holder and Elton. The couple already had two sons when they arrived in Redcar, Joseph Stanley and Arthur Reginald - but soon after my father, Albert Edward was born followed by George Ernest. Unusually, for someone of his class and income level, Joe was able to buy one of the houses he had worked on, number 37 Scott Street, and this house remained in the family for over 50 years.
Joe went to war and returned damaged and unable to work. He was with the Teesside Pioneers in some of the fighting on the Somme and received a stomach wound. He was discharged and to my knowledge - as I only have this information from my father - he never worked again. He kept up his trade union payments, probably knowing this would help funeral bills and he died in 1928, after eleven years of illness. My grandma kept going. She had four working sons - at least until the depression hit. She put the sons in the outhouse in the back yard in the summer months. They slept there whilst their two bedrooms were given over to bed and breakfast guests. She seems to have been a Trojan and Joe, from what I know, was a quiet, kind man. A man who went to war voluntarily, a bit of a hero in my eyes.
Rflmn. Wilford George Herrington
British Army 16th Btn. King's Royal Rifle Corps
(d.26th June 1917)
Pte. Alan Morton Herriott
British Army 16th (Service) Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers
from:Tynemouth
(d.1st July 1916)
Rfm. A. W. F. Herrmann
British Army 3rd Btn. The Rifle Brigade
from:41, Clipstone St., Great Portland St., London.
(d.7th Jun 1917)
Rifleman James Thomas Herrmann
1st Battalion Rifle Brigade
from:Fulham
(d.15th October 1917)
My mother was 3 years old at the time of her father's death and her brother who was 6 years old living with their mother in Fulham. One Sunday in 1916 my mother, brother and grandmother took a walk by the River Thames at Putney where Jimmy got into trouble in the tidal flow. My Grandmother, who could not swim, got herself into difficulties attempting to save her son. She was drowned but two boys who were fishing managed to save Jimmy.
My Grandfather was not allowed at the time to return to England for his wife's funeral and when he was able to return to arrange for the children, he married the sister of my Grandmother. He then returned to Belgium and was wounded and died 15th October 1917. My Mother never forgot these terible events in her life and I will be visiting my Grandfather's grave at Dozinghem to pay my respects to my Grandfather
Pte. Joseph Herrod
British Army Royal Army Medical Corps
from:Huthwaite, Notts
My paternal grandfather Joseph Herrod saw his first theatre of war on the 14th of July 1915 in Egypt. He went on to serve in Achibaba, Cape Hellas, Anzac, Suvla Bay and finally Malta.
Unfortunately, I cannot find his service record but I do have his Medal Card. I also have a painting of him at some point in his service, showing he had been promoted to Staff Sergeant. I have no other information about his service as he understandably never spoke about the Great War.
Pte. George Timothy Herron
British army 12th/13th Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers
from:Ashington, Northumberland
(d.29th May 1918)
George Herron is my great uncle. Commemorated at Soissons Memorial in France.
Page 42 of 89
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