George Ernest Jordan was born at Giant’s Lake, Guysborough County, on March 3, 1922, the oldest of Ernest Lavender Jordan and Evelyn Annie (Nelson) McCaul’s seven children. Evelyn was the daughter of Thomas “Tom” Nelson, a native of Wetherby, Yorkshire, England, and Margaret Ann Clark, Kilkenny, Ireland.
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| Private George Ernest Jordan |
Tom Nelson, born on June 26, 1863, was a career soldier, logging 20 years of service with the British Army’s Manchester Regiment. In 1908, he immigrated to Canada with his wife Margaret and four of their seven children—Thomas (YOB 1891), Walter (YOB 1895), Evelyn (YOB 1898) and Rose (YOB 1899). The move may have been the result of his military service. Tom later served with the 81st Regiment, a Halifax militia unit, for 18 months.
At the time of the 1911 Canadian census, the Nelson family was living in South River Lake, Guysborough County. The census entry listed Tom’s occupation as farmer and coal miner. Five years later, Tom returned to permanent military service, enlisting with the 106th Battalion (Nova Scotia Rifles) at Truro, NS, on June 5, 1916. Despite his age—Tom was 44 years old at the time—he departed for overseas with the unit six weeks later and was appointed to the rank of Acting Sergeant/Drummer shortly after arriving in the United Kingdom.
In response to significant casualties during fighting at the Somme in September and October 1916, Canadian military authorities dissolved the 106th and its ranks were dispersed among several units. Many of its younger soldiers were assigned to the 25th (Nova Scotia Rifles) and 26th (New Brunswick) Battalions. As one of the unit’s older soldiers, Tom was transferred to the 40th Reserve Battalion, Lower Dibgate, on October 5, 1916.
The strains of military service gradually took their toll on Tom’s health. A Medical Board assessment conducted in January 1917 stated that he “has some shortness of breath on exertion, stiffness of joints and at times swelling in his hands.” Tom also experienced “pains in thighs [and] knees, etc. After exertion, he has pain in the region of the heart, also a slight heart murmur.” The Board concluded that Tom was permanently unfit for military service and recommended his discharge.
Tom departed for Canada on January 13, 1917. Upon arriving in Halifax, he spent several weeks in a Convalescent Home. A second medical report, completed in early August 1917, stated that Tom had developed “acute rheumatic fever” at Surrey, England, in 1907, and had been ill for three months. The report concluded that he was suffering from rheumatoid arthritis and valvular disease of the heart, and confirmed that these conditions were permanent. As a result, Tom was discharged as “medically unfit” at Halifax on September 25, 1917, and returned home to South River Lake.
Approximately one year prior to Tom’s enlistment with the 106th Battalion, his daughter Evelyn Ann married William Alexander McCaul, a native of Hayling Island, Hants, England, in a ceremony that took place in Loch Katrine, NS, on June 1, 1915. Less than a year later, William’s brother Walter married Evelyn’s younger sister Rose Alice at Loch Katrine on May 6, 1916.
While William’s 1915 marriage license listed his occupation as “farmer,” he also had a military background, having enlisted with the Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) at Fort Rowner, Gosport, UK, on June 11, 1902. Only 14 years and 10 months old at the time. William served with the RGA “Imperials” for almost a decade. As with his father-in-law Tom, it is likely that William’s military service brought him to Nova Scotia.
Later documents also suggest that William was working as a “millhand” in Halifax at the time of his marriage. He also served with the 1st Canadian Garrison Artillery, a Halifax reserve artillery unit, for almost three and a half years. William and Evelyn first resided at 30 Bishop St., Halifax, Their first child, a son Alexander William, died there on December 13, 1916, at age nine months. The provincial death registry does not provide a cause of death.
The following year, two more children joined the McCaul household. A daughter, Constance Margaret, was born at 30 Bishop St. on January 26, 1917, while a son, William Alexander Theodore, arrived on December 16, 1917. By that time, the family had relocated to Purcell’s Cove, outside of Halifax, a move that may have been due to the December 6, 1917 Halifax explosion.
As a former full-time soldier, William likely longed to serve overseas during the First World War. Perhaps his young family deterred him from doing so. On November 29, 1918—two and a half weeks after the Armistice that ended the fighting in Europe—he formally attested for service with the 6th Artillery Depot, Royal Canadian Garrison Artillery, at Halifax. The timing of his enlistment soon led to tragic consequences.
In late November and December 1918, an epidemic was making its way across the province. The illness, known at the time as “Spanish flu,” spread rapidly in the military barracks’ confined quarters. On December 14, William was admitted to Cogswell St. Military Hospital with “influenza.” He had experienced “chills, headache, pains in limbs, etc.,” the previous day and had a temperature of 101 degrees Fahrenheit, a pulse rate of 118, and a respiratory rate of 24 breaths per minute at the time of his admission. The condition of his lungs rapidly deteriorated and he died at 6:30 pm December 18, 1918.
After her husband’s unexpected death, Evelyn returned to South River Lake, where she gave birth to her fourth child, John Redvers McCaul, on July 24, 1919. Widowed with three dependent children, Evelyn married Ernest Lavender Jordan, son of Orman and Jane (Tait) Jordan, Indian Harbour, at St. James Manse, Antigonish, on June 16, 1921. Ernest and Evelyn’s first child, George Ernest, was born at Giant’s Lake on March 3, 1922.
Six more children joined the Jordan household over the ensuing years—sons Walter S., Henry and Orman, and daughters Mary, Evelyn Ada and Viola. The family was still living In Lakedale, Guysborough County, at the time of the 1931 Canadian census but relocated to Barneys River, Pictou County, sometime afterward.
George Ernest Jordan left school at age 16, having completed Grade 6. He then worked on the family farm and in the local woods as a pulp cutter for several years. In 1941, he headed to Northern Ontario, where he worked as a “mucker and timber man” at Pickle Crow Gold Mines. for seven months. Upon returning to Barney’s River, he was employed as a “tail edger”’ at a saw mill operated by Fred Williams, Barney’s River Station.
George was 20 years old when he returned from Ontario, making him an ideal candidate for military service. While he would have been required to register with the federal government under the terms of the National Resources Mobilization Act (NRMA), there is no evidence in his service file to suggest that he was “called up” for training. On October 2, 1942, he enlisted with the Canadian Active Service Force at New Glasgow, NS.
George commenced basic training at No. 61 Canadian Army Basic Training Centre, New Glasgow, in mid-October and reported to No. 14 Advanced Infantry Training Centre, Aldershot, NS, in mid-December 1942 for a second course of instruction. After spending the winter and spring at Camp Aldershot, he departed for overseas on May 13, 1943.
Nine days later. George disembarked in the United Kingdom and was immediately assigned to No. 7 Canadian Infantry Reinforcement Unit. On September 22, 1943, he was promoted to the rank of Acting Corporal with pay. In early October, George completed a mortar training course. On October 28, he “reverted” to the rank of Private on being transferred to the North Nova Scotia Highlanders.
Initially established as a machine gun unit in 1936 following the amalgamation of militia units from Cumberland, Colchester and Hants Counties, the North Nova Scotia Regiment established its headquarters in Amherst after the outbreak of war overseas. The battalion was subsequently re-designated an infantry unit and assigned to the 3rd Canadian Division’s 9th Brigade, where it served alongside the Highland Light Infantry of Canada (Waterloo, ON) and Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry Highlanders (Cornwall, ON).
The “North Novas” departed for overseas on July 18, 1941, and spent the next three years training and supporting British “home defence” efforts. During the months after George’s arrival, its personnel participated in a series of training exercises in Scotland and England. rehearsing amphibious landings in preparation for a future Allied invasion of Western Europe.
On June 3, 1944, the battalion broke camp and travelled to Southampton, where its soldiers boarded a ship. The passengers awaited further orders while anchored off nearby Netley. A flotilla of vessels assembled in the inlet moved out open sea at 1400 hours June 5 and “formed up” in preparation for departure, their exact destination still a mystery.
On June 6, 1944, the first wave of British, American and Commonwealth units came ashore on the beaches of Normandy around 0800 hours. Infantry units from the 3rd Canadian Division’s 7th and 8th Brigades landed on Juno Beach, where they successfully established a beach-head. The North Novas began to come ashore near Bernières-Sur-Mer, slightly east of the Juno Beach landings, at 1140 hours, an hour later than planned. The only recorded casualties occurred when a mortar carrier struck a mine after landing on the beach, wounding several crew members.
As the area was crowded with landing craft, it took more than two hours for all North Nova personnel to come ashore. The 8th Brigade ran into stiffer resistance than expected, making it impossible for the unit to proceed as planned through the town to a designated assembly point near Bény-sur-Mer, approximately six kilometers inland.
In response, Lieutenant Colonel Donald F. Forbes, the unit’s Commanding Officer (CO), decided to assemble the battalion in a nearby field. At 1605 hours, the unit was finally able to “move off” to a designated assembly area, arriving there 40 minutes later. Its war diary commented, “We had just arrived in this…[location] when we came under shell and mortar fire, resulting in five casualties, two killed and three wounded.”
The battalion moved off at 1820 hours, heading toward its assigned objective—Carpiquet airfield, on the western outskirts of the city of Caen, approximately 20 kilometers inland from Bernières-sur-Mer. The vanguard leading the advance consisted of the “recce” troop from the 27th (Sherbrooke Fusiliers) Canadian Armoured Regiment (CAR), its tanks forming a screen in front of the North Nova soldiers following in their wake—two personnel carriers containing two C Company platoons, a Machine Gun platoon, one troop of M-10 mobile anti-tank guns, two pioneer assault sections, and four detachments of the unit’s anti-tank guns.
Behind the vanguard, A Company’s men moved inland aboard the tanks of 27th CAR’s A Squadron on the right side of the advance, while the 27th CAR’s B Squadron transported B Company’s soldiers on the left flank. D Company, riding aboard the 17th CAR’s C Squadron’s tanks, brought up the rear of the advance.
The vanguard encountered no serious resistance until it reached Villons-Les-Buissons, approximately 11 kilometers inland. As evening was approaching, military commanders realized that the unit would not reach its objective before dark. In response, the vanguard was ordered to dig in for the night. The unit’s war diary reported a total of four “other ranks” (OR) killed and another six wounded during the North Nova’s first day in Normandy.
At 0300 hours June 7, 27th CAR tank fire dispersed an attempted German counter-attack. Shortly afterward, enemy mortar and machine gun fire was heard to the rear of the unit, indicating that German forces attempting to penetrate the area behind the NNSH’s position had encountered the 8th Brigade’s Régiment de la Chaudières. Significant losses forced the enemy force to withdraw.
At 0740 hours, the North Novas moved off in the same order, following the main road leading to Carpiquet as far as Villions-les-Buissons. The unit’s war diary noted that the area “was full of [German] snipers and machine guns.” To the right of Villons-les-Buissons, an 88-mm gun opened fire on the lead tanks but was quickly eliminated. By 0930 hours, the vanguard had cleared enemy forces from the village and moved on to Buron, where a second 88-mm gun was captured.
By 1150 hours, the vanguard had passed through Buron and continued its advance toward Authie. D Company was assigned the task of “mopping up” any remaining enemy forces in the Buron area while A and B Companies pressed onward behind the leading force. When D Company personnel reached the outskirts of Buron, they encountered heavy mortar fire, in addition to sniper and machine gun fire from pockets of German soldiers hidden in the village.
Meanwhile, the vanguard reached Authie, where it encountered three German machine gun posts. “Hectic fighting” ensued as enemy mortar and artillery fire struck the area from both flanks, as well as locations beyond the village. Officers commanding the vanguard immediately radioed for tank and artillery support. Unfortunately, Allied artillery guns were out of range and could not respond to the request.
As a troop of 27th CAR support tanks arrived, several German 88-mm guns opened fire on the armoured vehicles. Meanwhile, realizing that further advance was not possible, the vanguard’s soldiers attempted to dig in and establish a firm base. Allied units on both flanks—the 3rd British Division on the left and the 7th Canadian Infantry Brigade on the right—had not kept pace with the North Novas’ rapid advance, placing its soldiers in a perilous situation. In fact, the unit had advanced further inland on June 7 than any other Allied unit, leaving both flanks exposed to German infantry and armoured attack.
In response, vanguard personnel on each flank were ordered to join the vanguard’s C Company to form a “fortress.” A Company dug in on the right, just north of Authie. B Company, which had not kept pace with the vanguard, was to do the same on the left flank as soon as it arrived. Meanwhile, the remainder of the battalion held its positions in the rear.
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| Source: Will R. Bird, No Retreating Footsteps: The Story of the North Novas |
As the North Novas attempted to establish a firm defensive formation, nine German tanks and two German infantry companies attacked from Saint-Contest on the left flank and from Cussy directly beyond Authie. The action effectively eliminated any possibility of a North Nova retreat. In response, the officers in charge of the vanguard decided to “fight it out in front of Authie.” The North Novas’ June 7 war diary entry reported, “Nothing further was heard from this small formation and no one escaped to tell the story of their gallant action.”
Shortly after the first German counter-attack, additional tanks launched a second from the area beyond Authie. All available 27th CAR tanks quickly moved forward from positions south of Buron and a major tank battle ensued. A total of 27 Canadian and 40 German tanks were destroyed before enemy forces withdrew.
Unfortunately, B Company had only advanced to a location south of Buron and was unable to assist the besieged party at Authie. By 1630 hours, Brigade headquarters deemed it impossible for the remainder of the battalion to push forward and issued orders to “bring the forward troops back” and form a fortress south of Buron.
The Buron area itself soon came under heavy German artillery and mortar fire. Enemy tanks soon broke through on the flanks, making the location untenable. In response, the remnants of B Company withdrew to previously dug slit trenches to the rear of D Company and the battalion “went to ground and prepared to hold on to the last.”
As the German tanks approached on the flank, the remaining 27th CAR tanks and the available self-propelled guns opened fire from a wooded area near Villons-les-Boissons, with the support of machine gun and rifle fire from positions north of Buron. The German guns immediately neutralized the fire from Buron, allowing enemy soldiers to penetrate D Company’s forward slit trenches. Unable to rise and engage and the attacking soldiers, two D Company platoons surrendered after expending their ammunition. When a heavy Allied counter-barrage forced the attackers to the ground, two sections of one D Company platoon managed to escape.
By that time, D Company reported that enemy forces had overrun its forward positions and that it required immediate support. A rapid counter-attack force was assembled and fierce fighting followed under a heavy Allied artillery concentration. With the support of the 12 remaining 27th CAR tanks, North Nova soldiers pushed forward under the cover of the artillery barrage and drove enemy forces back toward Authie.
The North Novas managed to recapture Buron, but lacked sufficient manpower to consolidate and hold the position as darkness set in. What remained of the North Novas and 27th CAR received permission to withdraw to high ground in a wooded area near Villons-les-Buissons, where the 9th Brigade’s Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry Highlanders were also encamped.
Meanwhile, A Company near Authie found itself surrounded by German infantry and tanks, and was unable to withdraw to safety. After holding out for several hours against a much larger enemy force, its remaining soldiers surrendered at 1700 hours. Some vanguard personnel managed to slip into the surrounding wheat fields during the late afternoon and evening hours and retreated to Villons-les-Buissons, where they joined the remainder of their comrades in the wooded area.
No counter-attack developed during the night as the North Novas and 27th CAR prepared to re-occupy Buron in the morning. Military commanders subsequently cancelled the orders as the remainder of the 9th Brigade moved forward and occupied the town of Villons-Les-Buissons to the right of the wooded area.
The North Novas’ June 7 war diary entry recorded the day’s losses as known at that time—one officer and 10 “other ranks” (OR) killed; three officers and 27 OR wounded; and a shocking nine officers and 195 OR missing. Over the next several days, additional information allowed officials to account for many of the missing. In total, 16 officers and non-commissioned officers and 37 OR were killed on June 7, 1944, while 20 officers and NCOs and 88 OR were wounded.
Approximately 84 soldiers were officially listed as “missing.” While the majority were later accounted for as prisoners of war, 12 of the missing North Novas were part of a group of 18 soldiers executed by German SS at Abbeye d’Ardennes on June 7 and 8, 1944. Their remains were not discovered until after Allied forces secured the area weeks later and local civilians returned to their homes.
George was one of the soldiers initially listed as “missing” in North Nova records. A field service card in his service file, dated August 6, 1944, officially reported that he was killed in action on June 7, 1944, and buried “in the field s/w [southwest] of [the] church at Authie.” A week and a half later, military authorities wrote to Evelyn, informing her of her eldest son’s death. George was re-interred in Beny-sur-Mer Canadian Military Cemetery, Beny-sur-Mer, France, on December 18, 1944.
Evelyn Jordan passed away in the Victoria General Hospital, Halifax, on April 11, 1950, the result of ovarian cancer. According to her death certificate, her remains were interred in Loch Katrine. Ernest Jordan died on August 15, 1977, and was laid to rest in Glen Bard Cemetery, James River, Antigonish County.
Photograph of Private George Ernest Jordan courtesy of Lorraine and Wendy Wright, Lismore, Pictou County.
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