Service number: S/26333 | Rank: Rifleman | Regiment: King’s Royal Rifle Corps
Died of wounds, May 4, 1917, in Flanders.
Buried at WARLINCOURT HALTE BRITISH CEMETERY, SAULTY, Pas de Calais, France.
Born in Brandon, lived in Watford, Herts and enlisted at St Pancras.
WHAT I KNOW ABOUT GEORGE …
George grew up in Holly House, along London Road, Brandon, and his parents were Robert, a hatter’s furrier, and his mother was Clara. George spent his own married life in Watford, Hertfordshire, where he and his wife brought up their only child, and it was here that he enlisted to fight as one of ‘Kitchener’s Army’.
After enlisting, George was put into the Rifle Brigade, although Brandon’s war memorial has him in the King’s Royal Rifles. During the middle of April 1917 George and his unit were in billets away from the front and training in readiness to see action in a few weeks time. The regimental war diary states that reinforcements had arrived to bolster the ranks, and it is possible that George was one of them. After a week of training the men were marched for four days toward the front line and on the 27th they were placed in the reserve trenches at the front line. Over the next few days the battalion was subjected to enemy artillery shelling which caused a few casualties. George survived this shelling and on the evening of 1st May his battalion was ordered to move from their reserve trench to a position a bit further back. While the battalion moved out of their reserve trench the enemy artillery opened up again and the battalion suffered further casualties and the war diary named George as one of those who had been wounded. His wounds must have been severe because three days later he died. He was aged 25.