Several soldiers buried at Heene were trained at Sandhurst Military Academy in Berkshire. This is not surprising as over 70 soldiers are buried in the cemetery and most of them were officers. However, it is surprising is that two of the soldiers, James Creagh, and George Grant Gordon were in the same year, 1851, at Sandhurst.
The graduation examinations at Sandhurst were presided over by the following collegiate: Lieutenant General Sir George Scovell, the Governor; Lieutenant General Sir George Brown, X.C B. and K.H., the Adjutant General of the Forces ; Major General T. W. Taylor, C.B., the Lieutenant Governor; and Lieut. Colonel Geo. W. Prosser, the Major and Superintendent of Studies.
Creagh and Gordon after their 1851 graduation joined the Royal Scots. Creagh bought his commission as an ensign whereas Gordon was awarded his commission on the strength of his excellent examination results. James Creagh served in Crimea and received a Sebastopol clasp and later became a Captain, whereas George Grant Gordon received the Crimean Medal with four clasps including one for the Battle of Inkerman and later became a Lieutenant Colonel.
In 1910 Creagh lived with his wife Marion at 31 St. Michael's Road, Heene and Gordon lived a stones throw away on Shelley Road with his wife, Constance.
Creagh was buried in 1910 and Gordon was buried just 2 years later. Did they sit next to each other in Heene Church or did their widows meet up after their death? Was it coincidence they both settled in Heene or did they keep up their acquaintance and planned to retire together?
Coincidentally, another 1851 Sandhurst graduate, Major John Henry Campbell, lived in Liverpool Gardens, Worthing and died there in 1881.