George Burdon McKean was born in Willington, County Durham, and grew up in Bishop Auckland. He emigrated to Canada as a young man and was awarded the Victoria Cross during the First World War.
McKean was still living in Canada when the First World War began, and enlisted at Edmonton, Alberta, in January 1915. He went on to serve with the 14th Infantry Battalion (Royal Montreal Regiment), and received a commission in April 1917.
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| Painting of George McKean by Leon Underwood, 1919, IWM Non Commercial Licence © IWM (Art.IWM ART 1924) |
It was on the night of 27/28 April, that Lieutenant McKean led a patrol on a trench raid at Gavrelle. The patrol was pinned down by enemy fire and grenades. McKean rushed the German defence with only his revolver, and killed two Germans. The rest of the patrol were then able to join him and take the trench. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for these actions. He had already won the Military Medal in 1917, and then won the Military Cross in September 1918.
After the war, George McKean decided to stay in England instead of returning to Canada (where there is a mountain, part of the VC range, named after him).
Sadly, at the end of 1926, George was tragically killed in an industrial accident in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire. After his death his widow struggled financially. Reports of her plight in several newspapers resulted in a flurry of donations of money and goods as well as a number of marriage proposals. The Sunday Post of 18 September 1927 ran the following article:
Twenty Marriage Proposals for widow of famous VC
After the war, George McKean decided to stay in England instead of returning to Canada (where there is a mountain, part of the VC range, named after him).
Sadly, at the end of 1926, George was tragically killed in an industrial accident in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire. After his death his widow struggled financially. Reports of her plight in several newspapers resulted in a flurry of donations of money and goods as well as a number of marriage proposals. The Sunday Post of 18 September 1927 ran the following article:
Twenty Marriage Proposals for widow of famous VC
Dependent on Gipsies for food: Her pledge to her husband
Twenty proposals of marriage and scores of offers of help have been received by Mrs Constance McKean, the widow of the famous VC, who, it has just been revealed is living with her seven-year-old daughter, Pat, in circumstances of dire poverty.
For months they have been dependent for food upon the generosity of gipsy folk, and now they are threatened with expulsion from their villa home at Potters Bar, near London.
Captain George Burdon McKean, VC, MC, MM, was one of the bravest men who fought on any front during the war. He survived, though five times wounded, and, on resigning his commission in March of last year, he became a partner in a timber works at Potters Bar. Then, just as he was beginning to make good in his business, he was killed in an accident at his sawmill.
Since then Mrs McKean has fought a losing battle against illness and poverty, until, realising that it was no longer possible for her to retain her home, she applied for a post as housekeeper, making as a condition that her sweet little daughter should accompany her.
When a ‘Sunday Post’ representative called at the modest villa he found the dining-room table stacked with opened letters.
Reached Breaking-Point
“There are scores more,” Mrs McKean declared. “It is wonderful, I had no idea there were so many sympathetic people in the world. For the first time for nearly a year I can look into the future with some hope, for I am sure that out of the many offers of work I have received I shall find something to do.
“That is all I am asking. I do not seek charity, though I am more grateful to those people who have sent me small sums of money. Nor do I want to marry again, though I appreciate the motive which has prompted the action of those men who have so readily offered to share their lives with my little girl and myself.
“I had the most wonderful husband in the world and his memory is the only thing that has sustained me during the last few months. He had a lion’s heart. It is not in the least a surprise to me when he won the VC. What did surprise me was, that with all his daring, he survived the war.
“It was only because I reached breaking-point that I gave some indication of my plight by advertising for a post as housekeeper. I felt that it was the only thing open to me. At first I was afraid it would mean my losing Pat; then I thought of the plan of seeking a situation where it would be possible to have Pat with me.
“Pat is all I have left now. I can’t tell you what a comfort she has been to me through this dark time. It is of her and of her future that I am thinking. For myself I do not care. Alone I could have managed all right, but Pat is delicate, and requires a mother’s care.
A Pledge of Honour
“When my little girl was just a tiny tot I swore to her father that if anything happened to him I would devote my life to her, and it is a pledge I intend to honour. My husband worshipped Pat.
“My ambition soon after my husband died was to get together enough money to take a boarding house by the seaside, but for some time now it has been apparent to me that that is an unrealisable dream. So I decided to become a housekeeper. I am not afraid of work.”
Mrs McKean pointed to the pile of letters on the table and said, “Every one of those has been inspired by feelings of sympathy. They all ring true. Amazing offers some of them are, coming from rich and poor, cultured and uneducated, old and young.
“Look at this one. It comes from another VC, who is too modest to sign his name, but inside was a £1 note and a promise for further financial help should I need it.
“Then there is this from a London nurse, offering to make clothes for Pat free of all charge. She even states that she has purchased her first supply of wool and intends to start working for my little girl straight away.
“Dozens of people have offered me homes at no cost to myself, but I cannot accept charity of that kind. Business girls have written offering to share their rooms with me until I can find a more permanent place.
“One poor woman sent along a sixpenny piece in blotting paper, and a captain in the RGA enclosed a £1 note in a letter addressed to Pat, with a card inside saying – “Give this to mummy.” From an officer who formerly served in the Fifth Lancers, I have received a big parcel of food of all kinds, including tea, sugar, and chocolate.
Twenty Offers of Marriage
“My mother and I have wept over the letters. Some of them strike deep to the heart, so kind and tender are they. Ladies of title are included among my host of correspondents.
“Altogether, I suppose I have received something like twenty offers of marriage, my would-be husbands ranging from a caravan-dweller to men in good positions in life. Were it not for my tragic plight, I should laugh at some of them. But as things are I welcome sympathy and suggestions, however impossible, from any quarter.
“The caravan man is most deferential and nice. This is how his letter runs: -
‘To Mrs McKean. Dear Madam, - I am a discharged soldier, and I want a good pal, and am quite willing to work very hard for yourself and your daughter. I may say I live in a large motor caravan. Of course, we would move to where you want to. Tell me what you want and I will send it on’.
“Another proposer informs me that he is a ‘fruit grower, and if a small sum I have by me can put you in a better position I shall be pleased. I shall be happy to loan the money to you free of interest.’
“I have another responsibility besides Pat. It is a little adopted daughter aged ten. Edith is the daughter of a neighbour of my mother’s, and soon after my husband died I brought her back with me as a pal for Pat. She has been a great comfort to me, and it grieves me as much as anything to think that I shall have to part with her when I take up my new work.
“One of my greatest worries has been Pat’s education. Although she is now nearly eight, she has not yet been to school, for the simple reason that I have not been able to afford to send her. Her health, too, has been a source of great anxiety to me. Ever since she suffered from bronchial pneumonia, she has been virtually an invalid in the winter time.”
VC’s Remarkable Career
Captain McKean has a remarkable career. As a boy he went to Canada, where he worked on a farm with the object of getting his expenses for a University career. When the war came he joined the Canadian forces, and was one of the first arrivals in France.
Soon, when holding the rank of corporal, he distinguished himself by winning the Military Medal and was commissioned on the field. Next he won the VC for a heroic single handed attack on a German outpost, which he routed, killing every member of the party.
Constance McKean married George W Raby in 1928.
Constance McKean married George W Raby in 1928.
A ceremony takes place at Willington War Memorial on 28 April 1918, to honour George Burdon McKean, and his commemorative paving stone will be unveiled at the library.
The full story of George McKean can be found on the Durham at War website:
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