George Theobald left his home in Tunstall, Stoke on Trent one day and joined the army at or shortly after the start of the Great War. He left quietly without telling his family of his intentions. First he joined the North Staffordshire Regiment before transferring to the 2nd battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment which was a battalion of regular soldiers. He landed in France around May 1915 and on 1st July 1916 he went “over the top” during the 1st day of the Battle of the Somme.

At 7:30am that morning he climbed out of the British trenches west of the Belgian village of Ovillers-la-Boiselle and walked eastward toward the village and the enemy front line which lay in-between. He was killed in action sometime during that day. His name is displayed upon the Thiepval memorial as his remains were never recovered. He was only 19 years old.

Dave Collier