Lance-Corporal
George, Woodford Miles
Unit
1st Canadian Infantry Battalion (Western Ontario)
Branch
Infantry
Service Component
Canadian Expeditionary Force
Service Number
A44121/444121
birth
1894/11/05
Pembroke, New Brunswick, Canada
death
1916/09/10
Somme, France
grave
Sunken Road Cemetery, Contalmaison, Somme, France, I.D.9
Gender
Male
Woodford Miles George was born in Pembroke, New Brunswick, on 5 November 1894. He was the son of James and Anna George.
A shoemaker, George enlisted in the 55th Canadian Infantry Battalion (New Brunswick & Prince Edward Island) in Woodstock, New Brunswick, on 3 April 1915. He indicated on his attestation paper that he had two years of militia experience, having served in the 67th Regiment “Carleton Light Infantry”.
On 19 June 1915, after initial training in Canada, George was shipped to England on SS Corsican as part of the 55th Battalion’s Reinforcement Draft. Soon after his arrival, on 29 June 1915, he was transferred to the 12th Canadian Infantry Battalion. George was promoted to lance corporal on 27 August 1915. The following day, he was transferred to the 1st Canadian Infantry Battalion (Western Ontario) and sent to join the unit in France.
On 10 January 1916, George returned to England, where he was hospitalized with an inflammation of the middle ear, bronchitis, and jaundice. His bronchitis was later diagnosed as tuberculosis, and he underwent surgery to combat the disease. He made a full recovery and rejoined the 1st Battalion in France on 16 August 1916.
George was killed in action on 10 September 1916, during the Battle of the Somme, in France. The Canadian Expeditionary Force’s Circumstances of Casualty report records the following with regard to his death: “Whilst in Yarrow Bend Trench, near Courcelette, he was hit in the chest by a heavy piece of high explosive shell casing, and succumbed a short time later.”
Woodford Miles George is buried in Sunken Road Cemetery, Contalmaison, France.
George’s older brother, William, also enlisted in the 55th Battalion and, like him, was transferred to the 1st Battalion. William died in Canada on 14 May 1918 from tuberculosis, after refusing further treatment at a military hospital for the disease. It was unclear to military authorities if he had contracted the disease while serving overseas or if it was a pre-existing condition at the time of enlistment.
William George is buried in River Bank (Pembroke) Roman Catholic Cemetery, in New Brunswick.
