Tag: Royal Garrison Artillery

George Skeer: Brabourne’s Decorated War Veteran

Serjeant George Skeer, a decorated NCO in the Royal Garrison Artillery, died on 21 March 1918 during the German Spring Offensive. Born in Kent, he was a rural postman and active church member before re-enlisting in 1914. His bravery earned him several awards, including the Military Medal and Belgian Croix de Guerre. His name is honored on the Pozières Memorial.

George Skeer: A Detailed Biography

Serjeant George Skeer, M.M., Croix de Guerre (Belgium), 280539, 222nd Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, was a decorated Kentish artillery NCO who died of wounds on 21 March 1918 during the opening day of the German Spring Offensive and is commemorated on the Pozières Memorial, Panel 10. [1][2][3]

Early Life and Family

George Skeer was born in the Bridge registration district of Kent in the final quarter of 1881 and baptised at Harbledown on 30 October 1881, the son of John Skeer and Mary (née Hills). [1] By the 1891 census he was living at Court Lodge Cottage, Lyminge Street, Lyminge, recorded as a scholar, indicating attendance at the local elementary school in this rural Downland parish. [1]

As a young man he left Harbledown and Lyminge in search of work. By April 1909 he was resident in Ashford, then a growing railway town, and on 2 August 1909 he married Lilian West at St Nicholas, Barfrestone, banns having been called there between 11 and 25 July. [1] The couple later settled at “Southside”, Brabourne Lees, near Ashford; in the 1911 census George appears at Egerton Cottage, Brabourne, aged about 29, employed as a rural postman, with Lilian listed as his wife. [1] They had at least two children, Donald George Skeer and Stephanie Joan Skeer, forming a small family that would be deeply affected by the war. [1]

Early Life and Family (Civic and Personal Background)

Before the war George became a well‑known figure locally as the Brabourne rural postman, responsible for delivering mail across country lanes and villages. [1][2] Local ringing records from the Kent County Association of Change Ringers also note his involvement in church life as a bell ringer and sidesman, reflecting a strong connection to parish and community. [1][4]

Within wider family research he is linked under FamilySearch ID KLHN‑4ZW, embedding his story within an extended Kentish family network. [1] This combination of rural employment, church service and family responsibility illustrates the settled civilian life he left behind when he returned to the colours in the First World War. [1][2]

Military Service

George’s military association began well before 1914. The individual report records that he enlisted in the Royal Garrison Artillery in 1900, serving until 1908 as a gunner and later a sergeant under service number 5539. [1] After this initial period of regular service he resumed civilian life as a postman, but retained his skills and experience with heavy guns, which would be invaluable when war came. [1][2]

At the outbreak of the First World War he re‑enlisted in the Royal Garrison Artillery. Posted to France in June 1915, he served continuously on the Western Front until his death in 1918, being renumbered 280539 in line with RGA administrative changes and eventually serving as a serjeant in 222nd Siege Battery. [1][5] Siege batteries operated heavy artillery pieces, such as 6‑inch or 8‑inch howitzers, tasked with counter‑battery fire, destruction of strongpoints and deep bombardment of enemy positions, placing their crews in important but hazardous roles just behind the front line. [1][6][7]

Military Service (Gallantry Decorations)

George’s conduct under fire earned him two high decorations. He was awarded the Military Medal (M.M.), instituted on 25 March 1916 as a level‑3 gallantry award for non‑commissioned officers and men, given for acts of gallantry and devotion to duty under fire that did not reach the threshold of the Distinguished Conduct Medal. [1] His award was announced in the London Gazette, granting him the right to use the post‑nominal letters “M.M.” and marking him out among his peers for bravery in action. [1][4]

In addition, George received the Belgian Croix de Guerre (1st Class), a foreign decoration granted by the King of the Belgians for distinguished bravery in operations connected with Belgian interests. [1] Gazette number 30631 of 15 April 1918 records that “His Majesty the King of the Belgians confirms the award of the ‘Croix de Guerre’” and that the British monarch granted unrestricted permission to wear the decoration, emphasising the international recognition of his gallantry. [1][8][4] He also qualified for the 1914–15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal and Memorial Plaque. [1][9]

Circumstances of Death

Serjeant Skeer died of wounds on 21 March 1918 at the age of 36. [1] This date marks the opening of Operation Michael, the first blow of the German Spring Offensive, directed primarily against the British Fifth Army around St Quentin and parts of the Third Army further north. At 04:40 that morning, German artillery launched an enormous five‑hour bombardment over an 80‑kilometre front, firing more than a million shells, including high explosive and gas, in a carefully planned strike against British trenches, batteries and communications. [1][3][10]

Regimental and local accounts note that 222nd Siege Battery was in the St Quentin sector and that, although Serjeant Skeer was officially off duty when the offensive began, he voluntarily joined efforts to reposition his battery’s guns in response to the German advance. [1][2][5] During this hazardous work, carried out under heavy shellfire and amid collapsing communications, he was wounded and later succumbed to his injuries, his death officially recorded as “died of wounds” on 21 March 1918. [1][2][11] The scale and confusion of the fighting meant that his body was not recovered for identified burial. [1]

Burial and Commemoration

Because no known grave exists for George, his name is inscribed on the Pozières Memorial in the Somme region of Picardie, France, where it appears on Panel 10. [1][12] The memorial, maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, commemorates more than 14,000 soldiers of the British and South African forces of the Fifth and Fourth Armies who died between 21 March and 7 August 1918 and have no known grave, many of them casualties of Operation Michael and the subsequent fighting. [1][13]

His CWGC entry reads: “SKEER, GEORGE, Serjeant, 280539, Royal Garrison Artillery, 222nd Siege Battery, died 21 March 1918, aged 36. Son of John and Mary Skeer, of Lyminge, Kent; husband of Lilian Skeer, of ‘Southside’, Brabourne Lees, Ashford, Kent. Military Medal. Croix de Guerre (Belgium).” [1][13] A Find a Grave memorial (ID 16079046) and dedicated biographical page on the Faded Genes website provide further detail on his life and awards, ensuring that researchers and descendants can access his story easily. [1][2][9]

Legacy

George Skeer’s legacy is that of a highly regarded non‑commissioned officer whose life linked quiet village service and exceptional battlefield leadership. As a rural postman and church bell ringer in Brabourne Lees he embodied the dependable core of pre‑war village society; as a serjeant in the Royal Garrison Artillery he became one of the experienced NCOs on whom the effectiveness of Britain’s heavy artillery depended. [1][2][4] His Military Medal and Belgian Croix de Guerre demonstrate that his courage was recognised by both his own country and an Allied nation grateful for his actions.

For his widow Lilian and their children Donald George and Stephanie Joan, his loss on the first day of the Spring Offensive meant a lifetime shaped by absence, despite the pride they could take in his decorations and service. [1][2] Today, through CWGC records, local Kent memorials, bell‑ringers’ rolls of honour and online projects such as “We remember George Skeer” on Lives of the First World War, his name continues to be honoured as that of a Kentish postman turned decorated artillery serjeant who gave his life at a pivotal moment in 1918. [1][4][9]

Key External Links

Sources
[1] Individual-Report-for-George-Skeer.pdf
[2] George SKEER 1881 https://www.fadedgenes.co.uk/GeorgeSKEER.html
[3] Operation Michael https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Michael
[4] World War 1 Records – Kent County Association of Change Ringers https://kcacr.org.uk/association/ww1/
[5] 222nd Siege Battery – what did they do? – Great War Forum https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/254915-222nd-siege-battery-what-did-they-do/
[6] HMS Exeter (68) – Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Exeter_(68)
[7] David Gibbins — Gunner Charles Gerald Cook, Royal Garrison Artillery (183, 93 and 224 Siege Batteries), 1916-19 http://davidgibbins.com/journal/2019/3/12/gunner-charles-gerald-cook-royal-garrison-artillery-183rd-93rd-and-224th-siege-batteries-1916-19
[8] Croix de Guerre – Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croix_de_Guerre
[9] We remember George Skeer – Lives of the First World War https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/4058315
[10] German attack at St Quentin, March 1918 https://www.dublin-fusiliers.com/battaliions/1-batt/campaigns/1918-kaisers.html
[11] Operation Michael, The Thirty Worst and an Advanced Dressing … https://www.westernfrontassociation.com/world-war-i-articles/operation-michael-the-thirty-worst-and-an-advanced-dressing-station/
[12] Pozières British Cemetery & the Pozières Memorial https://thebignote.com/2016/08/03/pozieres-british-cemetery-the-pozieres-memorial/
[13] Pozières Memorial (CWGC) – Remembering the Fallen https://www.ww1cemeteries.com/pozieres-memorial.html
[14] Royal Garrison Artillery – First World War Casualties https://astreetnearyou.org/regiment/161/Royal-Garrison-Artillery
[15] 220th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery – Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/220th_Siege_Battery,_Royal_Garrison_Artillery
[16] May 2012 compressed.pub http://2mnbattery.org/newsletter/2012/May_2012.pdf
[17] Plain Text UTF-8 https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/51776/pg51776.txt
[18] Battle Honour ST QUENTIN – German Spring Offensive 1918. https://www.royal-irish.com/events/battle-honour-st-quentin-german-spring-offensive-1918
[19] Full text of “”The cannoneer.” Recollections of service in the Army of the Potomac” https://archive.org/stream/cannoneerthe00buelrich/cannoneerthe00buelrich_djvu.txt
[20] List of recipients of the Croix de Guerre – Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_recipients_of_the_Croix_de_Guerre
[21] Acta Militaria http://nelsonlambert.blogspot.com/2011/07/
[22] Battle of Saint-Mihiel – Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Saint-Mihiel
[23] March | 2015 – Historical Digression https://historicaldigression.com/2015/03/
[24] History of the Royal Regiment of Artillary, by Francis Duncan https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/58209/pg58209-images.html