George David Duguid was born in, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, on the 26th October 1891, the son, and youngest of ten known children of John and Isabella Duguid (née Gray). His father was a rope maker, and the family resided for some years at 17. School Hill, but by 1915, the family home was at 53. Jasmine Terrace, Aberdeen.
On the 17th May 1909, George arrived in Quebec, Canada, on board the Athenia, and proceeded to Toronto, Ontario, where he found work as a shipping clerk. One of his older sisters – Olivia, was also residing in Toronto, and was working as a domestic servant.
In the spring of 1915, he decided to cross the Atlantic to Great Britain - perhaps mindful of his patriotic duty - and as a consequence, he booked second cabin passage on the May sailing of the Lusitania which was scheduled to leave the Cunard berth at Pier 54 in New York, for Liverpool, on the morning of 1st May 1915.
Having boarded in time for the liner’s 10 o’clock departure, he then had to wait until just before 12.30 p.m. for the Lusitania to actually leave port, because she had to embark passengers, crew and cargo from the Anchor Liner Cameronia which had been requisitioned by the British Admiralty for use as a troop ship, at the end of the previous month.
Then, just six days later, in the early afternoon of 7th May, ‘The Greyhound of the Seas’, was torpedoed by the German submarine U-20 when she was only twelve miles off the southern coast of Ireland and only 250 miles from her Liverpool destination. She then sank within 18 minutes!
George Duguid was fortunate enough to be amongst some 230 second class passengers who survived this action, although over 375 of them did perish. Having been rescued from the sea and landed at Queenstown, he eventually succeeded in reaching his home in Aberdeen.
It is likely that George Duguid attempted to enlist, and ‘do his bit’; however, as he was only 5’ 2” in height, he would have been deemed too short, and rejected! It wasn’t until July 1916 that the British army lowered the minimum height for a soldier to 5’ 2”.
In any case, on the 7th July 1915, George Duguid returned to Canada where he disembarked in Quebec, having sailed from Glasgow on the Pretorian. Five weeks later, on the 15th August 1915, he enlisted in the Canadian army, and as 172161 Private George Davie Duguid – (he obviously changed his second name – “David” to “Davie”), and he was assigned to the 1st Quebec Regiment, 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles. There was no height restriction for men enlisting in the Canadian army!
On the 28th April 1916, George embarked on the Olympic at Halifax, Nova Scotia, and disembarked at Liverpool on the 7th May – exactly one year after the sinking of the Lusitania, on the first leg of his journey to the Western Front, along with the other men of his battalion. In January 1917, he was promoted to the rank of lance corporal; however, six months later, he was reverted to the rank of private at his own request.
On the 31st October 1917, during an action in the vicinity of Passchendaele, on the Ypres Salient in Belgium, he was killed by the percussion from an exploding enemy shell. According to official records, there were no visible marks on his body. He was buried in Plot XXVIII, Row B, Grave 24, in Tyne Cot British Cemetery, where he lies today.
Sometime after his death, his mother submitted a claim to the British Reparation Claims Department, seeking £52 compensation for the loss of George’s personal possessions as a result of the sinking of the Lusitania. As George had been domiciled in Canada, and had lost his life serving with the Canadian Expeditionary Force, her claim was forwarded to the Canadian Commission for consideration. On the 3rd February 1927, she was awarded $255.11, which was the equivalent of £52, with interest at the rate of 5% per annum from the date of the sinking to the date of the settlement. She did not qualify for any compensation for dependency on her son as she was not residing in Canada.
Scotland Select Births and Baptisms 1564 – 1950, 1901 Census of Scotland, Cunard Records, Canadian Passenger Lists 1865 – 1935, Canada WW1 CEF Personnel Files 1914 – 1918, Canada CEF Commonwealth War Graves Registers 1914 – 1919, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, PRO BT 100/345, Canadian Claims Case No. 853, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.