1st Garrison Battalion, East Kent Regiment (The Buffs)
George James Albert Harris is believed to have been born in Gloucester in early 1886 but there is very little known of his early life. On one of his attestation papers it shows his next of kin as being his father, Clement William Harris, of Seymour Road, Gloucester. He also appears to have had brothers called, William, Walter and Wilfred but the name of their mother is not known.
It is known that he first enlisted in the Army at Aldershot on 6 November 1903 and the stated age on his attestation papers is 18 and his occupation was shown as a labourer. He enlisted for two years’ service, followed by ten in the Reserve and joined the Army Service Corps (ASC) as a driver, with the number 21207.
Taking into account time spent in the Reserve his initial Army service lasted from 6 November 1903 until 26 November 1914. He left the Army after his two years compulsory service on 5 November 1905 and whilst in the Reserve appears to have lived in the Newport area of South Wales for some of the time and may have been involved with the iron making industry.
There are also connections with Plymouth, Devon and Gloucester where is 1910 he was living at 37 Philip Street.
George was recalled to the Army on 7 August 1914, following the outbreak of war: the mobilisation order was issued from Dublin. However, it is not certain that he was considered physically fit to resume military service but he somehow managed to re-enlist in the ASC on 9 December 1914 (number 1695) and re-joined them at Woolwich the next day.
His second attestation papers show his residence to be 1 Devonshire Lane, Plymouth and that his ‘next of kin’ lived at that address. The ‘next of kin’ was stated to be Fanny Elizabeth (McCabe) Harris, described as ‘Friend, guardian of children’. His children were listed as Elsie Gwendoline Frances (born 21 July 1908, Plymouth), Annie Maud Mary (24 March 1910, Gloucester) and Jessie Alexandra (9 April 1912, Newport).
The inference from this rather confused detail is that George and Fanny McCabe were living together and she may have been the children’s mother but further investigation would be needed to determine this.
George’s role in the ASC appears to have been a horse handler with the Remounts Section. Whilst his Service Record from his 1903 enlistment has survived that for his Great War service has not but there is a surviving Pension Record, from which most of his later Army service detail is derived.
This record indicates that George did not have a very good disciplinary record, having incurred ‘Field Punishment No 1’ three times in 1915, mostly for absences. He served in the UK from 9 December 1914 to 31 December 1914 and with the British Expeditionary Force in France from 1 January 1915 until 13 June 1916. During this time he was sent to No 2 General Hospital suffering from contusion of the nose, sustained when exercising horses. This was considered by the authorities as being a trivial disability.
He returned to the UK for the period 14 June to 17 September 1916 (possibly due to illness or wounding — spending time at Huddersfield War Hospital) and then returned to France until 3 October 1916. From 4 October 1916 until 15 September 1917 he served in the UK.
For reasons unknown on 30 March 1917 he transferred to the 1st Battalion, East Kent Regiment also known as ‘The Buffs’ acquiring the number G/21668 and was discharged ‘as being no longer fit for military service’ on 15 September 1917, this the result of sustaining an accidental fall.
His Pension Record Card (PRC), released via the Ancestry website in late 2018, indicates that his injury was a fractured fibula. He was awarded a Silver War Badge to indicate discharge from military service. The above PRC notes that he was granted a ‘one off’ gratuity of £30 in respect of his injury on 5 July 1920.
What happened to him in the next three or so years is not known. He does appear to have got married on 18 April 1920 in Gloucester, to Margaret King, a widow, whose first husband had died in the war. They lived at 55 Ducie Street, Gloucester.
He died in Gloucester Royal Infirmary on 24 January 1921, aged 35; cause unknown. A Notice of Death appeared in the Gloucester Journal of 28 January 1921.
He was buried in Gloucester Old Cemetery, where a standard CWGC headstone marks his grave.
Researched by Graham Adams 13 January 2019 (revised)