Veterans remember fallen comrade of 50 years ago

MCpl (Retired) Ray Weeks stands next to a Queen’s Own Rifles commemorative marker located near the Kingsmill Building at Work Point. In his hand is a commemorative card to honour his friend, Rifleman Harold George, who died during a training accident on the Sooke River on Sept. 24, 1969. Weeks, who lives in Gold Coast, Australia, was in town to attend a memorial ceremony in Sooke in honour of his friend and platoon mate.

Peter Mallett, Staff Writer ~

Three former members of the Queen’s Own Rifles 1st Battalion gathered at Sooke Potholes last week to remember a fallen comrade who died in a training accident 50 years ago.

The memorial was organized by Master Corporal (Retired) Ray Weeks for his friend and platoon mate, Rifleman Harold George, who drowned in the fast-moving Sooke River during a training exercise.

Weeks, 72, travelled from his home in Gold Coast, Australia, to attend the ceremony. He was joined by two former platoon mates from ‘A Company’.

“The memorial didn’t have a sequence or a blessing or a padre. It just included members of the battalion who wanted to say goodbye to our friend,” said Weeks. “I never got a chance to say goodbye to Harold back then because I was injured in the training exercise and in the hospital for weeks. The whole incident still weighs heavily in my mind, so I decided to do something about it.”

On Sept. 24, 1969, George was 19 when the 12-foot rubber assault boat he was riding in capsized in the rapids, leading to his drowning death.

The soldiers had travelled from their unit’s headquarters at the Work Point Barracks for a three-day Watermanship Training Exercise on the Sooke River above the potholes, located 40 kilometres west of Victoria. George was among 40 men riding in four rubber boats when the accident occurred.

Weeks was one of two soldiers who were injured in the accident. He suffered extensive bruising, a fractured skull and concussion and damaged inner ear.

George’s body was recovered the next morning after an extensive overnight search by members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and his battalion.

A funeral service with the Battalion Burial Party was conducted at Forrest Lawn Memorial Park the following week but Weeks was still recovering from his injuries in hospital and was unable to attend.

The two men were teammates on the Queen’s Own Rifle soccer team and like many soldiers had what Weeks and other veterans describe as an “unbreakable bond.”

“He was a quiet type of guy who always seemed to keep to himself and did his job as a soldier extremely well,” said Weeks. “The Queen’s Rifles were tight and its members did everything together in those days. That’s why I thought it was so important to remember Harold.”

The ill-fated exercise

Their doomed journey began six kilometres to the north of the Sooke Potholes. At some point on the river, boats overturned in the fast-flowing current and George disappeared under the water. Most platoon mates made it to shore safely. They were all wearing lifejackets, but not helmets.

George’s death resulted from a series of miscues and mistakes according to Weeks and official accounts. A military inquest into his death was held in the months following the incident. The Victoria Daily Times reported in December 1969 that a military court of inquiry blamed the incident on a “lack of planning and forethought” by senior officers in the Queen’s Own Rifles.

Two officers of the Battalion were charged under the National Defence Act with Neglect to Prejudice of Good Order and Discipline. Both men appeared before Summary Trials and were given reprimands for their actions.

“It still sits in my mind today,” said Weeks. “When people grow older and age you start to think a lot more about things that happened in the past, so I decided to do something about it and remember Harold.”

For more on the Queen’s Own Rifles and a special web page dedicated to George visit their website: https://qormuseum.org/soldiers-of-the-queens-own/george-harold-wayne/