George Lamb was born in Wendover, Buckinghamshire in September 1877 the third son of Henry (Harry) and Annie. He had six siblings in all, four brothers; Henry, John, Charles and Bertie and two sisters; Florence (Florrie) and Ellen (Nellie). When George was born the family were living on the Aylesbury Road in Wendover, close to the Grand Union Canal, where Harry his father worked as a boatman. By 1891 they had moved to 5 Catlin Street, Boxmoor, Hemel Hempstead and George had started work as a domestic House Boy. His future wife Sarah Elizabeth Welch was already working as a paper mill hand at the age of 15 and they would meet shortly when George joined John Dickinsons in the Book Department.

George and Sarah were married on 3rd January 1897 at St Paul’s Church, Hemel Hempstead and began married life at 65 Queen Street, a few doors away from the Hall family at number 68, whose son William was killed only a month before George. Over the next thirteen years they moved four times, but never more than a few hundred yards from Queen Street, to 9 Union Square, 4 Armstrong Place, 7a Chapel Street and 18 Austin’s Yard. Their last move was to 7 Frogmore Crescent, Apsley to a cottage built by John Dickinson and Co for the use of employees of the company. During this time George and Sarah had seven children; George Victor, Nellie, Charles Edward, William, Albert, John and Bernard.

George was employed as a card edge gilder at Dickinsons, a skilled job in a specialist aspect of the paper making industry. Working at John Dickinsons when he volunteered for service meant that George and Sarah benefited from the benevolence of the company. Dickinsons, like many other companies at the outbreak of war, not only promised to hold jobs open for volunteers, but also paid half wages to married men and offered a month’s wages as a bonus to all men who returned from the conflict.

George attested at Hemel Hempstead between the 29th August and 1st September 1914 during the first great surge in recruiting. After a relatively slow start, there was a sudden rush to join in late August and early September 1914. In all, 478,893 men joined the army between the 4th August and 12th September, including 33,204 on the 3rd September alone – the highest daily total of the war and more than the average annual intake in the years immediately before 1914.

Enlisting with the 1st Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment at Hertford and following initial training, George arrived in Belgium on 3rd December 1914 and was soon in the trenches. By 3rd March the Battalion was at Ouderdom five miles south west of Ypres. The Battalion war diaries record that sniping and shelling were considerable over the next few days:

“6 Mar 1915 - canal bank south of Ieper Battn took over sector of trenches North of Canal, relieving 9th Brigade 1/Cheshire Regt. took over section S. of Canal. K.O.Y.L.I. on our left. Casualties in going up to trenches 3 wounded.

7 Mar 1915 Head Quarters shelled, 1 man killed. Sniping very considerable, total casualties 3 killed 1 wounded.

8 Mar 1915 A certain amount of shelling & sniping during day. Battn. relieved by Dorset Regt. at night & returned to support. Casualties Capt Andrews wounded: 2 killed & 9 others wounded.’”

George was one of the two men killed who were recorded in the diary extract from 8th March 1915.

Reports appeared in the Hemel Gazette about George’s death including a brief obituary and the telegram from the War Office notifying his widow Sarah.

George is Remembered with Honour on the Menin Gate Memorial at Ypres, West Vlaanderen, Belgium on memorial panel 31 and 33.

George is also commemorated on Dickinsons Memorial in Apsley as is his son John (Jack). Jack worked in Dickinsons in the Book Binding department and he was killed in France during the Second World War, fighting with 21 Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery.

George was 38 years old when he was killed. 

He was eligible for the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal and the Allied Victory Medal.