George Henry Kings

Thornton Cleveleys War Memorial 1914-1918 | Index

George Henry Kings was born in Tipton, Staffordshire in 1882. He was the eighth of ten children of John Kings and his wife Sarah Taylor who married on 2 November 1866 at St. James, Wednesbury, Staffordshire.

Royal Herbert Hospital, Woolwich, London

The first nine children were born when the Kings family lived in Leabrook Road, Tipton: Thomas (born 1869), George (1870-1871), Elizabeth (1872), Henry (1874-1878), Ellen (1876), James (1878), Edward (1880) George Henry (1882), and John William (1884). George Henry appeared to named after his two brothers who died in infancy and who were buried at St. Mark, Tipton.

John Kings was a labourer in a chemical works and around 1885 he moved to Winnington, near Northwich in Cheshire. Another son, Frank Gilbert, was born there on 28 December 1886. In the Census taken on 31 March 1901, however, the Kings family lived at 20 Granville Street, Runcorn. John Kings was a general labourer. As United Alkali had works in Tipton, Winnington and Runcorn, it would appear that he continued to work for the same employer throughout his house moves.

During the 1890s John and Sarah King moved to Thornton with five of their children: James, Edward, George, John and Frank. Thomas, Elizabeth and Ellen had all married and remained in Cheshire. In the Census of 31 March 1901, the King family lived at Yew Tree Cottages, Lawsons Road.

All five sons married before the next Census in 1911 and were working at United Alkali, Burn Naze. George married Phoebe Iddon at Freckleton, near Lytham, on 30 January 1907. Phoebe was born on 27 May 1875 in Freckleton, the ninth of ten children of Benjamin Iddon, a labourer, and his wife Elizabeth Ann Harrison who married in 1853. Phoebe and George had one child, Doreen, who was born on 22 September 1908 in Thornton. On 2 April 1911 they lived at 15 Brookfield Terrace, (now 43) Trunnah Road.

George enlisted in the Army Service Corps on 9 December 1915 in Blackpool. He was transferred to Army Reserve the following day. On 2 April 1917 George was mobilised and joined the 2nd Company at Woolwich on 3 April. Shortly afterwards he became ill and was admitted to Royal Herbert Hospital, Woolwich on 21 April with bronchial pneumonia. Sadly, he did not respond to treatment and died at 1.45am on 24 April with his wife, Phoebe, present. He was aged 34.

Driver George Henry Kings, T/313594, 2nd Company, Royal Army Service Corps is buried in Grave 248 in the new part of Christ Church graveyard, Thornton. Phoebe remarried in 1921 to William John Cudlip.