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Les soldats de la Grande Guerre : Projet de biographies historiques sur les soldats de Fredericton

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Sears, George H.

Sergeant 477823
Royal Canadian Regiment

Background

George H. Sears was born January 24, 1890 in Sevenoaks, Kent, England to Joseph Sears and Alice Rachel Southby. According to the 1901 England and Wales Census and 1911 Census of Canada, Alice and Joseph had seven children in addition to George. Their names were Dorothy, Leonard, Stanley, Nora, Norman, Constance, and Phyllis. While there are few accounts of their life in England before coming to Canada, at some point prior to the war records confirm the Sears family settled in Centreville, Carleton County. Being the oldest in the family, George eventually moved away to find work and settled in Fredericton as a labourer. Here he met a young woman from Pokiok, Estella Pearl Vennor, and together they married June 18, 1913. By this time George was working odd jobs in the area and had joined the Royal Canadian Regiment stationed in Fredericton. His decision to get involved early with the military was likely motivated by others in his family who also became active with local regiments. When the war began, his father joined the 224th Battalion, while his three brothers all joined different artillery units. For George, although his military record suggests he formally enlisted for service in 1915, his experience with the military actually began a year before. As August 1914 came to Canada, already a member of the RCR, George was sent to Bermuda during the first few months of the war. Estella remained in Fredericton during his time away and maintained the home they shared on 100 Lansdown Street. George eventually returned to Canada with the RCR and formally enlisted in Halifax, Nova Scotia August 23, 1915 with the unit he was already a part of. He was described as having hazel eyes, dark brown hair, a fresh complexion, while standing five feet nine inches tall. George was only twenty-three years old at the time and it is unclear if he saw his wife again before going overseas.     

Wartime Experience

On August 28, 1915 Sergeant George Sears left Halifax, Nova Scotia aboard the S.S. Olympic for England arriving over a week later. After arriving to Shorncliffe, according to his war record he was “severely reprimanded” for being absent for eight days. Despite the fine he received at the time, George remained with the RCR in late October as they began preparations for going to the Western Front. On November 2, 1915, he landed in France and began the trip north towards the Ypres Salient in Belgium. The Canadian Corps, and George, would call this area home for much of 1915-1916. Although there are no records of George writing home to Estella or to his mother Alice, his brothers Leonard and Stanley would describe well the realities they were facing:

“I suppose you have seen in the papers what the Canadians are doing. If you have a map you will have a little idea of where we are. Don’t look for us to be home too soon. This is a sort of Kathleen Mavourneen trip we are on now – it may be for years and it may be forever. As you will know by this time, we have been getting it hot, and heavy around here lately, and I think myself lucky that I have still got all my pieces left. We are getting it a little easier now. I can stand it myself, but my poor old horses are nearly all in. We just came through a desperate battle with the Germans without a scratch. I suppose you have read about it all in the papers. I wish you could have heard the artillery fire. I have heard about ‘screaming shrapnel,’ and believe me it sounds like a gale of wind shrieking through a million knotholes. It is something fierce the amount of ammunition they are using in this hell-on-earth… I guess this would be a nice country to live in in peace times, but it is not very healthy just now. The death rate is pretty high and very few of them are the result of old age.”

By July 1916, the Somme battles had begun along a wide front in France. Whether in the Ypres Salient or in northern France, the description offered by the Sears brothers told much about what they were experiencing and feeling at the time. For George, in early October, according to the official diary of the RCR, his unit was ordered into the trenches to relieve the 42nd Battalion near Courcelette. According to the RCR diary, during forward attacks on German trench lines, the RCR experienced difficulties getting through barb wire that had not been cut by their artillery barrage. On October 8, 1916, George initially was reported missing, however, his circumstances of death record would officially report him killed in action after attacks near Courcelette. News of George being missing after action reached home in late October. By November, his mother had become so desperate for information that she looked to the Saint John Daily Telegraph “in the hope that some member of his unit at the front may get a copy of the paper and thus give her some details regarding him.” More than a year would go by before official word reached home confirming that George’s body had been located and identified. He was twenty-six at the time of his death.    

Lest We Forget

Sergeant George H. Sears is buried with honour at the Regina Trench Cemetery in Grandcourt, France. According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, there are approximately 1,203 identified casualties.

This biography was researched and written by Vincent Trowbridge-Starr & Ariane Herpers, Grade 8 students (2017-2018) at George Street Middle School as part of the Fredericton Soldier Biography History Initiative. If you have additional information to help us learn more about this individual, please contact [email protected].


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