George Brown was born on Cherry Tree Lane, Wood End near Redbourn, Hertfordshire in 1876 and baptised on 7th January 1877 at St Mary’s Church in the village. He was the fourth child born to James Brown and Mary Ann Moody who had eleven children who were: James, William, John, George, Rose, Arthur, Mary, David, Frederick Ellen and Annie. In 1882 George’s family moved a short distance to Westwick Row and he started at the local school in nearby Leverstock Green at the age of five. When he left school seven years later, he started work as an "Agricultural Labourer" and around 1894 moved with his family once more to nearby Bedmond and a house on East Lane.

At the time of the 1901 census, both George and his father James are recorded working as "Horsemen" on a nearby farm. The following year he married Elizabeth Allen, originally from Barton-le-Clay in Bedfordshire, who had grown up at High Woodhall Farm, near Redbourn. Their marriage took place at St Lawrence Church in Abbotts Langley on Saturday, 6th September 1902. They produced a large family together and the children were: Minnie Florence born in 1903, then Henry George in 1905, followed by a second daughter Dorothy May in 1906. Arthur Ernest was born in 1907, and then David William in 1910 and Frederick James in 1911. Their last three children all boys; Horace born early in 1912 Albert in spring 1913 and finally the youngest Francis, born late autumn in 1914. By the time of the 1911 census, George had found work at nearby Leavesden Asylum and he was one of 165 men who volunteered from this establishment during the Great War.

George joined the Colours under the Group (Derby) Scheme in 1915 when he went to London and attested at Embankment on the 29th November, and on the promise of service, was posted to the Army Reserve. He was categorised in "Group 44" which meant that his call up and mobilisation came in June 1916, when he returned to enlist with the Queen’s (Royal West Surrey Regiment). George’s service record reveals that on enlistment he was 5 feet 4 inches in height, weighed 118 lbs (8st 6lbs), had a 33 inch chest and was deemed to have “Fair” physical development. It also notes that he had “Flat Feet”, but this was not considered deficient and he was passed fit for military service. It was probably due to his occupation coupled with his physique and flat feet that he was marked out for one of the infantry labour companies and this seems to be confirmed by his postings. He trained with the ‘Queens’ but when he went oversea on the 8th November 1916, it was with the 2nd Infantry Labour Company attached to the Middlesex Regiment. Following the creation of the Labours Corps in early 1917, he was transferred to 110th Company on the 9th May 1917.

The Labour Corps cooked, cleaned, carried and cared for the soldiers on the front line and behind the lines. They built roads and railways, carried the wounded and buried the dead. Men and women from across the Commonwealth made a vital contribution to the war effort as workers. These volunteers often worked within the range of enemy guns and many were wounded and killed, but unlike other soldiers who fought, they often went unacknowledged. The "Unremembered Project" was initiated in 2018 in a ­celebrity-backed campaign to remember “forgotten” heroes of the First World War who served in the Labour Corps.

Army Council Instruction 611 stated that units of the Labour Corps would not be required to maintain a war diary unless the Commander-in-Chief concerned authorised otherwise. This, and the fact that the nominal rolls and other documents were destroyed in the Arnside Street fire in 1940, makes researching a man of the Labour Corps difficult and producing a good analysis of his story a rather sketchy affair. This means that researching George’s time overseas cannot be precise, although what is known is that he died somewhere on the Ypres Salient. How he was killed is not recorded, other than his surviving military records stating, “Killed in Action”.

George died on Saturday, 16th February 1918.

After he was killed the Hemel Gazette published a brief report. This was followed by a further article in the Gazette in April 1918 reporting names added to the Leavesden Roll of Honour.

He was commemorated on the Leverstock Green War Memorial in the village.

George is Remembered with Honour on Tyne Cot Memorial, West Vlaanderen, Belgium, Panel 160 and 162A and 163A.

He was 41 years old when he died.

George was eligible for the British War Medal and the Allied Victory Medal.