George John Abbott: Saturday 8th February 1919

George John was born on 29 September 1883 and baptised at St Luke’s Battersea on 11 November while the family were living at 11 Althorp Road. He became a surgical instrument maker’s assistant.

George’s military records have not survived but we do know he became Sergeant 550016 with the 16th Battalion London Reg (Queen’s Westminster Rifles) and was 35 when he died. IWM records show him as having 3 service numbers, 176, 650016 and finally 550016.

He is the last person commemorated on the Memorial and was obviously added after the majority of the work as he is last on the list and not in his alphabetic order. He was the widower of Eliza. He is likely to have died locally as he was buried in Earlsfield Cemetery on 13 February 1918, probably of either wounds or the 1919 flu epidemic.

He was buried with Aunt Emma and the stone records that he died “having served through the whole period of war. You were our pride, we dreamed great things of you. God intervened, so the dream came true”. When his father was granted probate in March 1919 George’s estate was valued at £398 13s.

George’s father, George William Abbott, a widowed, retired mercantile clerk, lived at 24 Althorp Road. His mother had died before the 1901 census. George John’s invalid aunt, Emma lived with the family until she died on 3 March 1917 age 75. He had two younger sisters Jane and Marion who were milliners. The family kept a live-in servant. Their neighbours at No 22 were the Herne family who had already lost 2 sons (George and Arthur) by the time George died.