Captain George Archibald Percy Douglas.
Dan Hill’s research, edited by Ellie Grigsby
George was born in Sidcup, Kent, on December 27th, 1893, being the only child of George and Annie Louise Douglas. By the time George reached the tender age of 7 years old we can see from the 1901 National Consensus, the family are living in Otterburn, a small village in Northumberland. George senior is listed as a life assurance clerk. A decade later, once the next National Consensus is recorded, we see Douglas is now a boarder pupil. By 1912, Douglas joined the Inns of Court O.T.C (Officers Training Corps) stationed at Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire, where he learned the skills of soldiering. Douglas earned a territorial commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the London regiment in 1913.
Douglas was serving with the 10th battalion, London regiment, whilst working in the head office of an insurance company when the First World War broke out. Douglas remained stationed on home service until 1915, training his new recruits ahead of his overseas posting. During this time, Douglas was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant. By July, the time had arrived for Douglas to find out what modern warfare really was. He and his battalion were posted to the Dardanelles, taking part in the Suvla Bay landings on 9th August. By September 14th, Douglas had once more risen in the ranks and was promoted to Captain; given the command of a company of the 1/6th Essex Regiment, taking up the important post of battalion adjutant. Douglas was balancing a duality of roles, requiring him to manage the administration of the 1000-man strong battalion, as well as serve on the front lines. Three weeks post Suvla Bay landings, Douglas was one of the mere 4 officers who remained unscathed out of the original 22.
Using the battalion’s war diary we can ascertain a better understanding of Douglas’ wartime story whilst in the Balkans. For the month of September, it appears the battalion were becoming acutely aware of the Ottoman soldier’s positions throughout the month, presenting their constant alert to their ‘digging’ which in turn would prove problematic when these soldiers were already heavily fortified before allied arrival. Here in this month’s entry on the 22nd, Douglas is mentioned by name as joining ‘to act as adjutant.’ From mid to late October, attrition warfare presents itself with an array of difficulties for Douglas and his men. From enemy fire enfilading the allied trenches and communication lines, an interchange of bomb throwing (grenades) for sometimes hours on end, discovery of an extraordinary 60,000 rounds in a dug out, wounding, maiming and death, disease and sickness (bouts of diarrhoea), it seems Douglas and his fellow comrades were experiencing trench life to its full capacity. If we turn to the November commentary, we can see Douglas is mentioned twice. First, we can see on November 9th Douglas with others, is sent to hospital; the reason being, we do not know. The day before, a second lieutenant Rayner, ‘having heard Turks whilst he was on patrol, put his head over parapet at dawn and was shot by a rifle bullet through his neck.’ It is evident the men on the peninsula were facing a highly-skilled enemy and that the Turkish snipers were lethal. This is not to assume Douglas was wounded, he may have been struck by sickness as the month’s diary mentions that sickness and diarrhoea cases were ‘considerable.’ After a few months in crowded conditions, men like Douglas and thousands of other soldiers were at serious risk to coming down with dysentery and typhoid because of inadequate sanitation, unburied bodies and swarms of flies in the boiling summer heat. Poor food quality, water shortages and exhaustion reduced the men’s resistance to disease. Such diseases flourished in these harsh conditions, so it is probable Douglas needed medical care for sickness.
It was 13:45pm, on the 19th, and a Lieutenant Darlington, ‘said he saw Turks filing down their slope and move in the valley,’ meaning, the Turkish soldiers were spotted advancing towards Douglas’ position. In response to this, Douglas brought up reinforcements to the front line. As Douglas got out of the trenches he was hit in the body whilst a private soldier was hit through the head and killed instantaneously. Acknowledging the advantage of higher fortified ground and the powerfully trained fierce snipers, the Ottoman soldiers probably watched Douglas’ patrol coming and it’s most likely a Turkish sniper hit Douglas as he emerged from the trench. Douglas was consequently transported to Alexandria in Egypt. Surviving records reveal that Douglas, after being sent to hospital on the 9th returned to his position on the 18th. The day before he was mortally wounded. Douglas died of his wounds ten days after the shot pierced his torso. An obituary provides us with more information that it appears Douglas died of infection after the foreign body punctured his stomach. Besides the grave risk of a gunshot hitting major organs, blood vessels, or shattering bones, gunshot wounded soldiers were at grave risk of infection because material, such as the filthy military tunic the soldier was in, and debris, could get pulled into the wound with the bullet. It is concluded in this obituary that following the wounding, Douglas died of enteric: an infection of the small intestine. Douglas is buried in Alexandria Chatby military cemetery in Egypt.
Three days after Douglas died, the 1/6th battalion of the Essex regiment were relieved from the front lines and returned to the comparative safety of Egypt. Trying to locate Douglas’ position when he was wounded is important but whilst the 1/6th Essex war diary does not record the exact position they were holding on the 19th/20th November, we can look at the relief party war diaries to ascertain where they took over Douglas and his men were. The 1/4th Essex battalion relived Douglas’ battalion and their war diary informs us that this unit take over at a location known as ‘Carisbrook Post.’ It is probable that in this vicinity Douglas was fatally wounded. Carisbrook post was part of a trench system named ‘Romford Road.’ Romford is recognised as a large Essex town, which would reflect it being occupied by the Essex regiment (as men took to naming the trench systems), so it is highly likely the 1/6th battalion were stationed there at some point.
The officer who commanded Douglas’ battalion from shortly after mobilisation until about a week after the landing at Suvla Bay wrote about Douglas’s passing:
“It is in no sense an exaggeration for his Commanding Officer to say that, like the rest of his comrades, one had deep, really deep, affection for your son. We have all of us lost a dear, dear friend. He was beloved by everyone who came into contact with him, no doubt not in the regiment only, but outside. On no officer in the regiment did I feel I could place greater reliance, as a subaltern in charge of his platoon, as an upright, straightforward man with a singular deep sense of appreciation of his duty and responsibility. I am perfectly certain none of us ever heard him complain; he was amid trying to easy conditions always the same happy, cheerful soul… I know that his men were as devoted to him as his brother officers. A gentleman he lives, and I am sure a gentleman he died.”