John Heron trained as a chemist and worked in the brewing industry as did most of the Heron family at that time.  John was my grandfather’s first cousin.  He was a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry and spent some time working from a laboratory in Fenchurch Street in the City of London.  He moved to Essex where he worked for malsters at Wistley.  During this time, he also served in 5th Bn Essex Regt.  

At the outbreak of the 1st World War, the battalion was mobilised for home defence duties along the east coast.  In July 1915, the now designated 1/5 Bn was ordered to embark at Plymouth en route to the Gallipoli peninsular.  They landed in early August and remained on the peninsular until mid December, reputedly one of the longest tours of any battalion.  John Heron was wounded in action, casevaced to hospital in Cairo but returned to the battalion a few weeks later.  Only about 100 of the original battalion who had landed in August escaped without injury.  

The battalion was relocated briefly to Cairo and then took up duties along the Suez Canal.  This was a largely uneventful period but the history recalls the battalion having a Sqn of Camel Corps and 2 light aircraft placed under command.  In 1916, the battalion marched from the Canal Zone all the way through the Sinai desert and up to Gaza.  John Heron fell along with many others in the first battle of Gaza; it would take two further costly battles, the 2nd and 3rd, to finally regain in November the territory that had been won and then evacuated in March 1917.

He is remembered on the Wistley war memorial and a memorial at the Royal Society of Chemistry in Burlington House.

J M Heron

January 2018

Max Heron