Cecil Raymond Heaton
- Family History
- Military History
- Extra Information
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The following information is from Australian military records. Neither Cecil Raymond, nor his father of the same name, have been traced on any UK civil records. Cecil was born in Nottingham (parish of St Mary) in about 1876. Cecil named his father, Cecil Raymond, of Langham Hotel, Nottingham, as his next of kin when he attested in 1914. His father may have lodged at the hotel or been an employee. The hotel on Radford Road, Nottingham, has now been repurposed. According to his army service record, Cecil served an apprenticeship of 4 years 10 months with the company, John Jardine, which built lace machines. Assuming he began his apprenticeship at the age of 14 or 15 he would not have completed this until about 1895/1896. He also served for 12 years in the 16th The Queen's Lancers, so assuming the information he gave was correct, it is unlikely that he emigrated to Australia before 1907/1908. Cecil lived at 35 Alice Street, Queensland, Australia.
'D' Coy, 9th Battalion Australian Infantry, Australian Imperial Force. The 9th Battalion was one of the first infantry units raised for the AIF in WW1, and was the first battalion in Queensland. It formed the 3rd Brigade with the 10th, 11th and 12th battalions and after preliminary training the battalion sailed to Egypt, arriving early December. Cecil Raymond enlisted at Toowoomba, Queensland, on 29 August 1914: 'Australian Imperial Force Attestation of Persons Enlisted for Service Abroad.' He declared that he had previously served in the 16th The Queen's Lancers and had been discharged 'on expiration of period.' No record of his army service has yet been traced but he probably enlisted on a 12 year engagement, including time in the Army Reserve. The Lancers served with the 3rd Cavalry Brigade in South Africa (1900-1902). He was posted to the 9th Battalion and embarked at Brisbane (HMAT A5 Omrah) on 24 September for service in the Dardanelles, arriving Egypt in early December, transferring to Gallipoli in April 1915 for the landings (destroyers HMS Queen, Beagle and Colne). Evacuated from Gallipoli in December 1915, the Battalion returned to Egypt and was then deployed to France. Cecil Raymond was killed in action on 23 July 1916 probably when the 1st Australian and 48th (South Midland) Divisions attacked the village of Pozieres which it took the following day. He is buried in Pozieres British Cemetery, Ovillers-La Boisselle, France (grave ref. III.L.14). The history of the cemetery indicates that his grave was brought in after the Armistice, either from battlefields in the area around the cemetery of from important burial grounds. He was Mentioned in Despatches (London Gazette 5 August 1915) and was awarded the DCM, citation: 'For great bravery on the 25th April, 1915, near Gaba Tepe (Dardanelles), when he rescued and brought into shelter, under heavy shellfire, a wounded man.' (London Gazette No. 8850 6 September 1915). 9th Battalion AIF: ‘The battalion was raised within weeks of the declaration of war in August 1914 and embarked just two months later. After preliminary training, the battalion sailed to Egypt, arriving in early December. The 3rd Brigade was the covering force for the ANZAC landing on 25 April 1915, and so was the first ashore at around 4.30 am. The battalion was heavily involved in establishing and defending the front line of the ANZAC beachhead. It served at ANZAC until the evacuation in December 1915. After the withdrawal from Gallipoli, the battalion returned to Egypt. It was split to help form the 49th Battalion and bought up to strength with reinforcements. In March 1916 the battalion sailed for France and the Western Front. From then until 1918 the battalion took part in operations against the German Army. The battalion's first major action in France was at Pozieres in the Somme valley. The 9th Battalion attacked on the extreme right of the line and it was during this action that Private John Leak won, with the bayonet, the battalion's only Victoria Cross.’ (www.awm.gov.au/collection/U51449) CWGC - History of Pozieres British Cemetery (extract): the village of Pozieres is about 6km from the town of Albert. ‘Pozieres was attacked on 23 July 1916 by the 1st Australian and 48th (South Midland) Divisions, and was taken on the following day. It was lost on 24-25 March 1918, during the great German advance, and recaptured by the 17th Division on the following 24 August. Plot II of Pozieres British Cemetery contains the original burials of 1916, 1917 and 1918, carried out by fighting units and field ambulances. The remaining plots were made after the Armistice when graves were brought in from the battlefields immediately surrounding the cemetery, the majority of them of soldiers who died in the Autumn of 1916, but a few represent the fighting in August 1918. The following were among the more important burial grounds from which British graves were concentrated to Pozieres British Cemetery [Listed].' One of these cemeteries, Casualty Corner Cemetery, Contalmaison. contained among others the graves of 21 Australian soldiers.
Only Australian military records have been traced so far for Cecil Raymond Heaton. The lack of any UK civil or military records for Cecil, or his father, might mean that he changed his name when he emigrated. However, it seems unlikely, and unneccessary, for his application to join the AIF, that he would have given untrue information about an apprenticeship or military service in the UK. There is a memorial in Toowoomba which commemorates the names of those who served and ten men who died in the First World War and also a Roll of Honour. However, none of the memorial websites list the names of the casualties and photographs do not show all the names.
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