223373 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 “Dodâ€.
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.â€
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 soldierâ€. 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-developedâ€, 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 spotâ€. 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 liveâ€.
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.
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