AveningHistory
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Private: Royal Army Medical Corps
Attached to 108th Heavy Battery Unit, RGA
The National Archives Records show George named as
Horace Jesse George Newman, indeed, he was baptised
as such in Holy Cross Church on Sunday the 29th of
November 1892. The Parish Register quotes his birth date
as Thursday the 29th of September, some eight weeks
earlier. However, he always referred to himself as George
and the Army recognised him as such.
He was the eldest son of eight children (he had five
brothers and two sisters), born to George William
Newman (1865-1905) and Cecilia Ann née Fletcher (1872-
1924). George's Newman grandfather was born in
Cherington in 1832, his father being Richard Newman,
born Southrop around 1793. George's mother Cecilia was
of solid Avening stock. Her father John Fletcher (1835-
1909) married Ann Ind on the 27th of August 1857 at Holy
Cross Church. Both maternal ancestors can be traced
back a further four generations in Avening. All of George's
male ancestors appear to have been agricultural
labourers. In the 1901 census George, aged 8, is listed
with his family living on Old Hill.
Unfortunately, there are no records available on George's
military service except that we must assume that he was
in the Royal Army Medical Corps prior to the outbreak of
war as the Medal Rolls tell us that he embarked for France
on the 18th of August 1914, only 14 days after war was
declared.
As a member of the RAMC he could have been serving in
a hospital at home or overseas, as a stretcher-bearer
anywhere on the front or, as is likely in his case, on
attachment to a fighting unit to supply immediate medical
assistance when needed.
We know that in February 1916 he was attached to the
108th Heavy Battery Unit of the Royal Garrison Artillery,
serving in the Ypres area. The role of the 108th was
shelling enemy positions, particularly their artillery sites
and heavy gun battles developed frequently. Although set
back from our own front line, this did not make them
immune from attack.
We do not know exactly what happened on the fateful day
of Sunday the 20th of February 1916 but George was
killed along with three others on the 108th Battery. All four
men were buried side by side in Railway Chateau
Cemetery a few kilometres from Ypres town centre. The
Commonwealth War Graves Commission tend the
cemetery and their website has a photograph on which
can be clearly seen the four graves.
George received, posthumously, the Victory Medal, the
British Medal and the 1914 Star. He was 23 years old
when he died and was unmarried. I thank his niece, Peggy
Chappell of Woodstock for her assistance and for the
photograph of George in his army uniform.
See main website for futher images