George Wright was 22 when he attested on 12 December 1915. He was unmarried and lived at his sister Alice Cooke's address in 31 South Grove, Mile End, London. Both his parents were already dead. He was a Sawyer at Steam Saw Mills, Clinton Road, Mile End. He was sent notice on 14 January 1916 to join on 2 February at Great Scotland Yard, Whitehall. His employer Henry Smith wrote a letter to the recruiting officer on 28 January 1916 asking for him to be released from having to serve because he was engaged in work in executing contracts from the War Office. That failed. He was sent to France on 18 December 1916. George was hospitalised between 12 March to 5 April 1917 with conjunctivitis. Then he returned to the field. He was a private in Durham Light Infantry (15th Btn) and was killed on 4 October 1917 near Ypres in the Battles of Paschendale, Belgium. He had 4 brothers and 2 sisters. His elder brother Alfred was in the Royal Marines, on ships patrolling the British and Irish coasts and the Caribbean. His younger brother Charles also fought in the trenches and was wounded in France on 18 August 1916 with S.W. wound to his neck and shell shock aged 19. This was less than 2 months before George's death. Charles was sent back to the UK on 6 September 1916 and discharged on 7 March 1917. Charles died on 11 March 1920 in hospital in London.

John Southan