George Esser was born in Holland on November 28, 1924, the son of Isaac Lambertus Esser and Anna Sophia (nee Van Dijk) Esser, of R.R. #2, Plank Road, Sarnia. Both of his parents were originally from the Netherlands. George came from a family of ten children, which included brothers William (born 1932) and John (born 1934), and five sisters. The family arrived in Petrolia in May 1926, when George was not quite two years old. One of George’s sisters, Kay Chivers (nee Esser), would join the RCAF when she was nineteen-years old, working as a bookkeeper. At George’s enlistment, he recorded his occupation as a woodworker. He enlisted in the Canadian Army, becoming a member of the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada, R.C.I.C., attaining the rank of Private. In September of 1944, George would return home on leave to be with family and friends for Labour Day. He would then return overseas.
One month later, on October 23, 1944, having been overseas for only few months in total, Private George Esser would lose his life while fighting in his native Holland, during the Battle of the Scheldt. In early November 1944, Isaac and Anna in Sarnia would receive a telegram from the Director of Records in Ottawa informing them that their son, Private George Esser, was killed in action October 23 in Belgium. George Esser would later be officially listed as, Overseas casualty, killed in action, in the field (Holland). Nineteen year-old George Esser is buried in Bergen-Op-Zoom Canadian War Cemetery, Netherlands, Grave 4.D.1. On George Esser’s headstone are inscribed the words, A soldier of the cross who did not lose the battle.
SOURCES: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, L, N, 2C, 2D