Born in 1881 at Bethnal Green, son of George (Warehouseman, later Stationers Travelling Salesman) and Mary Ann Powell. 1891: With his family at 109 Lefevre Road, Bow. By 1911 his mother had died, and the family lived at 32 Waverley Road, South Woodford. George was employed with the Great Eastern Railway as a Clerk in the Bishopsgate Goods Depot. His Probate in 1917 gives an address of 66 Forest Drive West, Leytonstone, which was the same as his sister Florence.
His Army medal card and medal roll show he first entered a war zone in the Balkans during 1915 with 5 Wiltshire. It is known that he later transferred to 2 Wiltshire, serving on the Western Front, particularly during the Battle of Arras (9th April 1917 – 16th May 1917), which aimed to further the advance towards the Hindenburg Line. The Battalion attacked on 09-04 as part of the First Battle of the Scarpe, and was rested on 11th April having taken casualties of 16 Officers and 303 Other Ranks. They returned to the front lines on 21st April to engage in the Second Battle of the Scarpe during 23/24 April 1917.
It is not clear exactly when George sustained his injuries, but they caused his death in a Military Hospital at Etaples.
He is also remembered on the Great Eastern Railway War Memorial at Liverpool Street Station.
Research by Adrian Lee, Local Historian
Sources:
Ancestry.com
Regimental History