Ernest George Horlock facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ernest George Horlock
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| Born | 24 October 1885 Alton, Hampshire |
| Died | 30 December 1917 (aged 32) HMT Aragon, off Alexandria, Egypt |
| Buried |
Alexandria (Hadra) War Memorial Cemetery, Egypt
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| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/ |
 British Army |
| Rank | Battery Sergeant Major |
| Unit | Royal Field Artillery |
| Battles/wars | First World War
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| Awards | Victoria Cross |
Ernest George Horlock (born October 24, 1885 – died December 30, 1917) was a very brave English soldier. He received the Victoria Cross, which is the highest award for bravery in the face of the enemy. This special medal is given to soldiers from Britain and Commonwealth countries. He was also sometimes known as Ernest George Harlock.
Ernest was born to John and Emily Horlock. He was 28 years old and married to Ethel when the First World War began. He served as a Bombardier in the 113th Battery of the Royal Field Artillery in the British Army.
His Amazing Bravery in Battle
On September 15, 1914, near Vendresse, France, Ernest Horlock showed incredible bravery. This is why he was awarded the Victoria Cross.
His battery (a group of artillery guns) was under heavy shell fire. Even though he was wounded twice, he kept going back to his gun to fire it. He did this after his wounds were treated each time.
His officers even told him to go to the hospital. But Ernest refused to leave his gun. He stayed with it until the evening, even after getting a third wound. His actions were so brave that he was mentioned in official reports by Sir John French.
King George V himself presented the Victoria Cross to Ernest on December 3, 1914. This happened in Merris, France, while his unit was getting new supplies. By this time, Ernest had been promoted to Sergeant. Later, he was promoted again to Battery Sergeant Major.
Ernest Horlock joined the Royal Field Artillery as a regular soldier before the war. For some reason, his name was sometimes spelled Harlock, possibly due to a mistake when he joined. However, his Victoria Cross medal was correctly engraved with "Horlock." His grave in Alexandria also had the name Harlock until it was corrected in the 1970s.
His Death at Sea
In December 1917, Ernest Horlock was one of 2,500 troops sailing on a ship called the HMT Aragon. They were going from Marseille to join the Egyptian Expeditionary Force in Egypt. This force was fighting against the Ottoman Empire in the Sinai and Palestine campaign.
On the morning of December 30, the Aragon was only about 10 miles from its destination, the Port of Alexandria in Egypt. Suddenly, a German submarine called SM UC-34 fired a torpedo at the ship. The Aragon sank very quickly, in just 20 minutes.
Another ship, the destroyer HMS Attack, tried to rescue survivors. It saved about 300 to 400 people. But then, the same German submarine, UC-34, also sank the Attack.
Ernest Horlock was one of 610 people who died in this attack. His body was found and buried in the Hadra War Memorial Cemetery in Alexandria, Egypt.
Memorials to Ernest Horlock
People have created memorials to remember Ernest George Horlock's bravery.
On May 24, 2001, a special memorial was revealed in St John's parish church in Langrish, Hampshire. Many of Ernest's family members from all over the world attended the event. Soldiers from 10 (Assaye) Battery, which is the modern-day version of his old unit, were also there. The memorial was revealed by Dame Mary Fagan, who was the Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire.
On September 15, 2014, a memorial paving stone was placed near the War Memorial in Alton, Hampshire. This was exactly 100 years after his brave actions that earned him the Victoria Cross. There was also an exhibit about him and a demonstration of an 18-pounder field gun, similar to the one Ernest would have used.
