Douglas joined the school in May 1905, one month short of his fourteenth birthday (15th May). He was later described by the Headmaster as ‘a magnificent swimmer.’ Douglas was one of nine children born to Donald and Betsy Gordon. His family lived in Linton Road, Barking in 1905 and his father, Donald, worked as a Wharf Manager. His previous school had been Gascoigne Road School in Barking.
By the time of the 1911 census, Douglas was working as a Gas Company Collector. He was still living with his parents and two siblings in Barking.
Douglas enlisted whilst working as a collector for a Gas company. He joined the Norfolk Regiment, 1st battalion (service number 16687), which was one of the first regiments to land in France (in August 1914) as part of the BEF. He died on 6th June 1915 and was buried at Perth Cemetery (China Wall) in West Vlaanderen, Belgium.
Research by Andrew Emeny, History Teacher at ICHS
Sources:
Ancestry.com
ICHS school records and magazines
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Note
Ilford County High School started life as the Park Higher Grade School in 1901 in Balfour Road, Ilford. It was renamed Ilford County High School (or initially County High School, Ilford) in the years after the school’s management was transferred from Ilford School Board to Essex Education Committee in 1904.