Soldier Record

My grandfather, Captain Norman Orr Ewing served in South Africa and the Sudan before WW1 began the war by being attached to the 1st Battalion of the Irish Guards in Oct 1914. He was the most senior officer left alive and unhurt during a vicious attack by four German Divisions, and took command of what was left of the battalion, around 160 men of all ranks, down from 800 the week before. The line was near breaking point by then, but company after company delivered what blow they could and fell back, shelled and machine-gunned at every step, to the fringes of Zillbeke Wood. Here all the officers, every cook, orderly and soldier who could stand, took rifle and fought, for they were all that stood between enemy and the Channel Ports. They just wouldn't be broken, and the line, such as it was, held. Captain Norman Orr Ewing was awarded the DSO for his gallantry under fire.

Their Brigadier, Lord Cavan, wrote to Capt Norman Orr Ewing on 20 Nov 1914: "I want you to convey to every man in your Battalion that I consider that the safety of the right flank of the British section depended entirely upon their staunchness after the disastrous day of 1st Nov 1914. Those of them that were left made history, and I can never thank them enough for the way in which they recovered themselves and showed the enemy that the Irish Guards must be reckoned with, however hard hit".

I remember my grandfather as a modest man; a gentlemen of the 'old school'. He never talked a lot about the Great War but was always enthusiastic about his experiences in the Sudan. He rejoined the 1st Battalion of the Scots Guards and survived WW1 (which included action at the Somme where his brother was killed) although wounded twice and being 'Mentioned in Despatches' on 5 occasions. He was a brave man leading other equally brave men.