George Harrison of Varteg by Susie Harrison (his granddaughter)
Susie Harrison-----David Harrison-----George Harrison-----John Harrison----William Harrison----George Harrison
Young George Harrison smartly dressed, maybe for church, as his family were very religious
Sunday 11th January 2009 was the 100th birthday of George Harrison, alias Pop, my grandfather, who was born in the Welsh valleys, in the mining village of Varteg, and who has told me much about his early life there. He was named after his great grandfather, George Harrison, who was the miller of Llanthony in the Black Mountains, a beautiful hamlet by the ruins of an abandoned priory. As for his grandfather, William Harrison, he was an ostler, managing the pit ponies, at the now abandoned hamlet of Pwlldu on a steep hill overlooking Govilon. His father, John Harrison, was the much respected mine inspector of Varteg. Interestingly, with George having lived till nearly 101 years, he has Welsh ancestresses from the village of Wonastow, who themselves lived to a grand age, Molly Morgan to the age of 103, and her daughter Ann Thomas to the age of 104.
George, aged 2, and his family as recorded in the 1911 census: 1911 Census Abersychan, Monmouthshire, Wales 7 Chapel Terrace, Varteg (house with 4 roooms) George Harrison, age 2, born in Abersychan John Harrison, father, age 35; coal miner hewer, born Pwlldu Emma Harrison, mother, age 33, born Abersychan (the parents had been married for 13 years and had 5 children) Siblings: Jane Ann, 17; Emma, 10; William John, 8; Alice, 4 - all born in Abersychan
From the age of ten onwards, having moved from Varteg to Garndiffaith, George was a rugby player there with the Invincibles, a team which as he proudly told me never lost at home for ten years.
The rugby playing Invincibles with young George sitting on the far right
A little of fun with AI to create images (using his features) of George as a rugby player
George, a child rugby player (AI created)
George still playing rugby as a young man (AI created)
George as a 12 year old, living with his family in the Garn (Garndiffaith), in the census of 1921
The entertainment George got to know while growing up was of choir singing and on some Saturday nights dancing to the music of a six piece band which used to tour all the villages. It cost half a crown to go to a dance in the Band hall. People walked huge distances in those days and thought nothing of walking the 3 or 4 miles across the hills to Pontypool and back. This was the way of George and his family, very active, enjoying the outdoors.
George on a camping adventure with friends in Usk
George was advised by his father, John Harrison, to only smoke pipes and never cigarettes and George abided by this, smoking a pipe to the end of his days. One advice George did not follow though was about becoming a coalminer. John, who had become a mines inspector and knew full well the hardships, wanted to protect his son from the mines and said 'I can get you a job there, but don't do it, don't go down the mines!' But George was destined to learn the hard way, and leaving school at 13 he went down the mines. After two years mining he at last made his father happy by leaving and becoming a builder instead. He had realised from his own experience that the conditions down the mines were terrible, and he said since 'Even if I got £100 a week I'd never go back down the mines.'
In the Depression in the 1930's many Welsh people walked all the way to London looking for jobs, this being George's own course of action, taking him to a new life in England, firstly in London and then to the small seaside town of Dovercourt.
For a while George lived in Croydon in London, they're dating a girl who was also Welsh, from Brynmawr, but he was still in his early 20's and didn't want to be tied down. She persisted in writing to him once he had moved on, but by then he had moved on with his life and didn't respond.
It was in Dovercourt by the sea that George chose to settle down, falling in love there with the beautiful red haired Eileen Spencer, whose family he was lodging with, and she being ten years younger than him. George and Eileen went on many long walks together in their courting, and to ballroom dancing, to the pictures (as there were 4 local picture palaces at that time), or even to the pub, although Eileen would never drink any alcohol.
In 1935 George began working for the Admiralty and in 1938 he married his beloved Eileen.
George marrying Eileen, his red haired beloved, who had the same colour hair as his mother
It was when their first child, my father David, was tiny that George volunteered for the Second World War war as a Royal Marine.
George was first sent to Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands, which was the nearest anchorage to the North Sea. Then he was in Iceland where the British had stationed around 25,000 troops.
George in Reykjavik during the Second World War
From there George was sent right down to Tunisia in north Africa. Tunisia was the scene of the first major joint operations between the United States and British allies. There they forged the Alliance that went on to liberate Western Europe. From Basurto George sailed to Salerno in Southern Italy. He journeyed up to Anzio, south of Rome, and also stayed some time in Naples, where it so happened that he witnessed the eruption of Mount Vesuvius from the rooftops of his base in Pozzuoli. 47 people died in that eruption, the lava fountains from the central crater reached altitudes of up to 700m and the ash column reached 5000m. In Italy as a commando, George recalls how he and others had to make tents out of capes as there were not even any proper tents. The allied goal of forcing Italy to withdraw from the war was achieved and George was part of it. As a Royal Naval Commando George had one of the most dangerous and important tasks of any other in the war - as he and his fellows were the first on to the invasion beaches and the last to leave. That work on the beaches was crucial to the success of the Allied invasions.
The invasion via Salerno that George took part in was costly for both sides. German casualties were estimated at 3,500 and the Americans suffered 3,500 casualties as well, while our British losses were greater at some 5,500. At Anzio George was also a part of the invasion. The narrow strip of coastline there became the scene of the most bitter and prolonged battle of the war, and lasted four months. The British forces which George was part of took the heaviest and most brutal attacks from the Germans. The British hospital ship St. David suffered a direct hit and sunk and there were many men lost in the rough sea. The survivors, of which George was one, were sent back to Pozzuoli to re-organize, re-equip and train.
George was a Marine Commando, always one to smoke a pipe
It is at Pozzuoli, where George lodged with an Italian family, who apparently had a lovely daughter, where George had his fondest memories. But overall the details and his own individual war story was not something George was inclined to talk of; for he had both good and bad times in the war, and lost lots of very close friends. Indeed his very best friend was killed in the war. This all left him with some degree of trauma, for the dangers he had been in and the terrible things that had happened around him. George was awarded many medals, including the Imperial Service medal, and was given ribbons to wear on his uniform. George was assigned six medals overall but on principal refused to go and collect them, because for all his sacrifice and risk of life and limb, the medals did not even have personal names upon them, and besides, one was required to send away for them with no proper presentation. Later in life his family decided to at last claim them for him, of which one was an Italian medal, one the African Star, and another the common Victory medal.
The Italy Star, one of George's war medals
George was reunited with his young family in Dovercourt and went on to have more children, a son Clive and a daughter Lorraine. He carried on his work with the British Admiralty and in later life, at retirement age, he and Eileen took up work together at a local school, she as the cook and he as the caretaker. I recall the fun of visiting them there, out of school hours. They travelled at various opportunities, visiting their grown up sons in the different countries they'd moved to, to see son David in France and Germany and son Clive in South Africa. Family tragedies came, most markedly their grandaughter, Sandy (my sister), and their son David (my father) dying too young, for which George and Eileen had that grief to carry. Later George lost his beloved Eileen too. But his great resilience led him on and on. He was a gentle man, friendly to all he met, greeting anyone and every one on the street, never disputing, honourable, kind always to his wife and children, and teetotal for most of his days. He would take an easy going stroll every day along the beach, and took great pleasure in growing his own healthy organic vegetables in the back garden, runner beans being his speciality. He always stayed sound in mind, frequently loving to recall his early life in Wales, of which he could talk for ages.
Pop with family at daughter Lolly's house in Dovercourt - (from left to right) nanny Eileen, granddaughter Susie, Pop, son David, grandsons Danny and Steven & their father Mike Wilmot, and their mother Lolly (pops daughter)
On my becoming a mother, having a son, Jai, George became a great grandfather.
George in the long grass of Burnham Beeches (we were having a family stroll there after the birth of my first child Jai)
My father David Harrison, my son Jai Harrison, and Pop George Harrison in the garden at Portland Avenue
I named my youngest son George Harrison after Pop (George) who so adored this little child of mine, whenever we visited him from our home in France.
George in old age at home in Dovercourt with his great grandchildren visiting from France, George and Rosina
The two George Harrisons in 2007
When George reached the age of 100 we had a massive party for him at a hall in Harwich, which he loved, and for which family came from all over, me and my children from France, cousins Melissa and Julie from New Zealand, and a bus load of extended family members from Wales.
Me and my children Rosina, Jai, George and Eleanor with Pop at his 100th birthday party
George's body weakened as he passed the great age of 100 and yet he stayed in his own home, until very near the end, the one my father, David, had been born in, the end house with pretty flower edged garden on 11 Portland Avenue. George took up the habit in old age of drinking one glass of red wine in the mid morning and as always still puffed on his pipe. On reaching the grand age of 100 he happily got his telegram from the Queen, had a momentous family celebration, and nearly lived another year beyond that. In the very final days he accepted to go into a home and actually enjoyed the socialising and attentions he got there.