Private 44100 George Stockton, 8th Battalion, Cheshire Regiment...

...was born at Tarporley, Cheshire on the 24th of October, 1881, the son of George and Martha Stockton. On the 17th of April, 1888 he started school in the parish school, from the Infants School.

The 1891 census finds George with his family at 16 Market Court, High Street, Tarporley, where one and all were born in the parish. George (senior) aged 41 was a tailor; Martha was aged 40. Children recorded are Ernest aged 17, a general labourer; Herbert aged 11; George aged 9; Henry and William both aged 6; Ethel aged 2 and Fred aged “0”.

By 1901 the family were still at the same address. Martha has died and George is a widower but still a tailor. Children recorded are Herbert - a shoemaker; George- a postman; William - a cab driver; Henry a postal telegraph messenger; Ethel and Fred.

On the 5th of August, 1907, George married Mary Jones at St Helen’s Church, Delamere, Cheshire.

The 1911 census finds the couple at 21, Forest Road, Tarporley; George is still a postman. Mary aged 27 was born at Bodfari, Denbigh. The couple are childless. Lodging with them is Richard Ellis Evans, aged 22, a postman born at Denbigh.

George enlisted at Chester on the 2nd of December 1915. His service record gives his occupation as a “cycle postman”. He was posted the same day to the Army Reserve. Then, on the 13th June 1916 he was mobilized and posted to the Cheshire Regiment and thence to the India Expeditionary Force on the 28th of November.

On the 5th of January 1917 he embarked at Devonport for Bombay (Mumbai) where he disembarked on the 5th of March and was posted with his battalion to Kirkee; their stay here was brief as it embarked for Basra, Mesopotamia, on the 28th of May 1917, disembarking there on the 5th of June.

In November 1917 he was admitted to hospital with debility, and thereby started a long period of illness and admissions to hospital.

The 8th of October 1918, George became ill with fever, diarrhoea, a high temperature and heart rate and bronchitis, and was admitted to 41st Field Hospital hospital. His condition worsened and he was showing signs of cardiac failure. He was then administered an hourly dose of 1/20th of a gram of strychnine and 4 ounces of brandy. At 2.30pm on the 17th of October 1917 George died of “Lobar pneumonia contracted on but not due to active service”.

The Chronicle for the 9th of November 1918 reported upon his death under the column sub heading “Death of Pte George Stockton”.

The paper notes that "Mrs George Stockton has received official news that her husband, Pte George Stockton, 8th Cheshires, has died of pneumonia. Before going to Mesopotamia, where he served one year and five months, he was for a short time in India. Previous to joining up he was employed in the Tarporley Post Office as boy messenger and rural postman for over 20 years. He was highly respected on his delivery, and by all knew him for his courteous and obliging manner in which he discharged his duties. Much sympathy is felt for his widow in her bereavement”. 

Mary Stockton received a pension of 3/- per week; she also received George’s personal effects - a wallet, prayer book, photos, identity disc, three brooches, two hat pins heads and letters; in December 1920, George’s Memorial scroll and plague and, in February 1922, George’s issue of the War Medal and the Victory Medal.

George Stockton is remembered on the Basra Memorial and on the Post Office memorials at Tarporley Post Office and the Chester and District Post Office Memorial.