78560 CPL. G. W. BRIERLEY. R.A.M.C.

 

George Wadsworth Brierley was born in the first quarter of 1860 in Halifax, West Yorkshire.  His father was Thomas Allin Brierley (b. 1835 in Halifax), a glassworks manager.  His mother was Sarah Wadsworth (b. 1835 in Halifax). Thomas and Sarah were married in 1858 and had three children: George, John William (b. 1865) and Emily (b. 1867).  Sarah died when George was 10.  Thomas died in 1907.

 

George was originally a joiner but later was self-employed as a decorative painter and sign writer.  In 1881, he married Annie Greaves (b. 1860 in Hunslet).  They had no children and Annie died in 1885.  In 1891, he married a second time, to Lousia Robinson (b. 1862 in Leeds).  They had 3 children: Lilian (b. 1892), Rollin Wadsworth (b. 1897) and Eric (b. 1900).  In 1911, the family was living on Wood Lane, Rothwell, near Leeds.

 

When War broke out, George was 54 and well over the maximum enlistment age.  Nevertheless, he claimed on his attestation form that he was 44 and was taken into the Royal Army Medical Corps.  He was 5’ 7” tall, weighed 137lbs and had a 37” chest.  He enlisted on 5 November 1914 and followed a number of training courses in Aldershot and was promoted to Corporal.  He reverted to Private on 15 September 1916, before being posted to France on 27 September.  On 7 October 1916 he was posted to 13 Field Ambulance.  13FA was attached to 5th Division which had fought through the Battle of the Somme, but on 5 October it had been withdrawn to a ‘quieter’ section of the Front at Festubert.  George was promoted back to Corporal on 20 October 1916.

 

It is not known at what point George was taken ill, or the precise cause of his illness, but he died of acute nephritis (inflammation of the kidneys) at no. 13 General Hospital, at Boulogne, on 14 December 1916.  He was 56 years old.  His wife, Louisa, died in 1918.

 

Rank:  Corporal

Service No:  78560

Date of Death:  14/12/1916

Age:  56

Regiment/Service:  Royal Army Medical Corps, 13th Field Amb.

Grave Reference:  VIII. C. 196.

Cemetery:  BOULOGNE EASTERN CEMETERY

Additional Information:  Son of the late Thomas Allin Brierley and Sarah Brierley.

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