Photo By Terrance Bell | The headstone of British Soldier Company Sgt. Maj. George M. Symons, a bayonet...... read more read more
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FORT LEE, Va. (Sept. 8, 2016) -- A British soldier who was assigned to Camp Lee at the time of his death was recently honored with a rededication ceremony Aug. 27 after an error was found on his headstone where his remains are interred at Poplar Grove National Cemetery near Petersburg.
The error to Company Sgt. Maj. Instructor George M. Symons, grave marker was discovered by Betsy Dinger, a park ranger from the National Parks Service assigned to the cemetery. In conjunction with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission team in Ottawa Canada, she obtained a new, correctly inscribed headstone. The stone was stored pending refurbishment of the cemetery.
Symons, part of the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a member of the British Military Mission based at Camp Lee as a bayonet fighting instructor. He helped prepare U.S. troops to fight in the trenches of France during WW1. The veteran of Gallipoli and France died in October 1918 during the influenza epidemic at Camp Lee, which infected nearly 6,500 and resulted 167 deaths.
The ceremony was organized by Dinger and British army Lt. Col. Steve Caldwell, the British liaison officer at CASCOM. In attendance were Symons’ niece, Joyce Fletcher, and other family members; Command Sgt. Maj Leabarron J. Bates, 71st Transportation Battalion, CSM; the French and New Zealand Army representatives at Fort Lee; representatives of the National Parks Service; a piper, Chris Peavey, and bugler, Bill Stallings; and a 10-man re-enactment contingent from the U.S. Great War Association, who wore WW1 British and Australian uniforms.
The short ceremony included brief presentations by Dr. Kenneth Finlayson, CASCOM command historian about the founding of Camp Lee. Flowers were laid at the grave by the national representatives and by the family.
For more details on the life of Symons, visit https://ww1sacrifice.com/2015/02/19/company-sergeant-major-george-mayer-symons/. For information on the Great War Association, visit www.great-war-assoc.org.
| Date Taken: | 09.08.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 09.08.2016 13:09 |
| Story ID: | 209062 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 122 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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