George was only 20 years old when he enlisted in September 1914 and had worked as a harness maker. As a raw recruit he joined the 1st Suffolks in France on 24th March 1915 but was wounded at the Battle of Loos, in September that year, while serving with the 7th Battalion. After treatment back in the UK he was again sent to France and there joined the 4th Battalion in July 1916. More or less immediately he is made a Lance Corporal. George obviously proved his ability as an NCO reaching the rank of Acting Sergeant in March 1917 but was killed in action a few weeks later at the Second Battle of The Scarpe (23rd to 24th April 1917).
The Battalion War Diary for the 23rd April 1917 reads:
The battalion took part in a general assault on the German position, their objective being the front and support trenches of the Hindenburg line as far as the SENSEE RIVER, a distance of about 2,300 yards. “C” Coy supported by “D” were to work the front line on the right & “A” supported by “B” up the support line on left.
George fell while leading his platoon as part of “A” Company under the command of Captain Harold Pretty. His body was never found or identified and he is commemorated on the Arras Memorial.
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