George Foster

George was born in 1895 in Hucknall and was the son of Harry a coal miner and Jane Foster née Severn of 57 Carlingford Road Hucknall Nottinghamshire His father Harry was born in Lincoln in 1866 and his mother Jane Severn was born in 1870 in Papplewick, they were married in 1888 their marriage was recorded in the Basford Registration District, they went on to have 7 children all born in Hucknall : Ellen b1890, Amelia Ann b1892, George b1895, Harry b1899, Fred b1902, William b1905 and Harold b1908. In the 1911 census the family are living at 57 Carlingford Road, Hucknall and are shown as Harry 45 yrs a miner , he is living with his wife Jane 41 yrs and their children, Amelia Ann 19 yrs a carriage finisher, George 16 yrs a coal miner pony driver, Harry 12 yrs scholar, Fred 12 yrs scholar, William 6 yrs and Harold 3 yrs . George married his wife Mary Ann Pass in 1914 , their marriage was recorded in the Basford Registration District. they lived at 25 Bolsover Street, Hucknall His widow Mary living at 25 Bolsover Street, Hucknall at the time of his death received a letter dated 2nd May 1916 from the War Office informing her she would receive a pension of 11 shillings in respect of her husband with effect from 8th May 1916. His widow re married in 1916, to a William Whotton , their marriage was recorded in the Basford Registration District they lived at 48 Allen Street, Hucknall

In 1911 he was employed a pit pony driver.

Sergeant George Foster enlisted on 31st January 1911 in Kimberley. He was 17 yrs and 4 months old, and was a collier. He lived at 57 Carlingford Road, Hucknall, and named his father Harry of the same address as his next of kin. His religion was given as a Methodist. He served in the 8th (Territorial ) battalion Sherwood Foresters until the outbreak of the war and on 5th August 1914 was embodied for service. George was promoted corporal on 1st November 1914 and on 28th February 1915 embarked from Southampton to join the British Expeditionary Force in France. On 10th May 1915 he was promoted to sergeant. He suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen on the Hohenzollern Redoubt on 14th October 1915 and was admitted to 9th Casualty Clearing Station where he died the following day. He was buried in Lillers Communal Cemetery (grave ref. IV. C. 49). Believed to be mentioned a number of times in the book: 'The Sherwood Foresters in The Great War 1914 - 1919, 1/8th Battalion' by Captain W. C. C. Weetman. This includes accounts of him being a prodigious bomb thrower (p.74. reference an attack on the German trenches on 25 September 1915, 'Sergt GF Foster, the stoutest bomber that ever lived and fell') and being carried wounded 'dying from wounds in the body' (p.86).

CWGC headstone personal inscription: 'Gone but not forgotten till we meet again' Sgt. George Foster, 1/8th Battalion Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire Regiment, died of wounds on 15th October 1915 during the fighting for Hohenzollern Redoubt. There was a sad postscript to the story on 16th August 1916 when his mother took unsuccessful legal action to recover monies paid to his widow from whom he had been estranged before leaving for France. Article published on 16th August 1916 in the Nottingham Evening Post :- “A SOLDIER'S WILL. “IMPORTANT CASE FOR APPROVED SOCIETIES. “In the Nottingham County Court to-day [16th August 1916] a point of interest to the military members of friendly societies came before Judge Allen. “The plaintiff was Jane Foster, the mother of Sergeant George Foster, of Hucknall, who sued the local district secretary of the National Deposit (approved) Friendly Society for £8 10s. 8d. “Foster, it was said, joined the Territorials in 1911, and volunteered for foreign service on the outbreak of war, being sent to the front in January, 1915. He continued his payments to the funeral fund of the society until December, 1914, after which he was put down as a "suspended case." On his death his widow put in a claim for the amount her husband had paid into the fund, and on the instructions of the head office the sum was paid to her. It subsequently turned out, however, that the deceased soldier had made his will in his mother's favour, and she now sued the society for the money due to her from the funeral fund. “The defence was that the society, before paying the money, made all proper inquiries, and could not be made to pay twice. In giving judgement for the society, Judge Allen said the society were protected by the section of an Act of Parliament, which gave the person who ought to have had the money a remedy against the one who had wrongfully received it. The trustees made proper inquiries, as required, and were of opinion at the time that the widow was the person entitled to the money. “Mr. Parker Woodward was for the plaintiff and Mr. C. R. Woolley for the defendants.” Above article courtesy of Jim Grundy and his facebook pages Small Town Great War Hucknall 1914-1918.