Name
George Slaughter
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
06/08/1916
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Private
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
1914 /15 Star, British War and Victory medals
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
Headstone Inscription
Not Researched
UK & Other Memorials
Not on the Bushey memorials, Not on the Aldenham memorials
Pre War
Born in Aldenham in 1865 and baptised in Bushey on 24 December 1865, George Slaughter was the son of George (Snr.) and Harriet (nee Hinton) Slaughter. His father
At the 1871 census, George was six years old and living in Grove Road, Bushey with his parents and four siblings, named Eliza, Harriet, Mary Ann and Charles. Their ages were 10, 8, 4 and 1 year, whilst George (Snr.) and Harriet were 30 and 40 years old respectively. George was a bricklayer’s labourer and Harriet was working as a charwoman. Apart from Charles, the children were all at school. Bushey was given as the birthplace for all members of the family.
At the 1881 census, the family had moved to 6 Bridge Place in Watford. George (Snr.), Eliza and Harriet (Jnr.) were not present and Harriet (Snr.) was recorded as the head of the family. She was now working as a laundress and George, then aged 16, was working as a general labourer. In addition to Mary Ann and Charles, George now has two more siblings, named Amy and Robert, who were nine and seven years old respectively. Also present was 36-year-old general labourer, William Cowley, who was lodging with the family.
George married Charlotte Ada Hosking in Bushey on 21 December 1888 and at the 1891 census they were living in London Road, Bushey with their seven-year-old daughter, Ellen Rose. George was now aged 25, still employed as a general labourer, and Charlotte was 26 years old. Ellen’s birth had been registered in 1884 in the Watford district as Ellen Rose Hosking and her birthplace was given on the census as Clay Hill.
At the 1901 census, George, Charlotte and Ellen were living at Clay Hill in Bushey. George was now working as a bricklayer and Ellen was a general domestic servant. Also present were Charlotte’s four-year-old niece and one year old nephew, Grace and John Hosking, and her 64-year-old father, Henry Hosking.
By the time of the 1911 census, George and Charlotte had moved to 21 Sparrows Herne, Clay Hill in Bushey. Ellen had left home, but Grace and John were still present and had been joined by another nephew, Charles Hosking, who was 10 years old. All three of the children were at school.
Wartime Service
George enlisted in Watford on 24 April 1915 as Private 97043 in the Royal Engineers. He gave his address as 21 Clay Hill and his age as 37 year 5 months, although he was in fact about 49.
He served with the British Expeditionary Force in France and was buried by a shell in May 1916. Although he was dug out alive, he was discharged from the army as unfit for service. His pension record card shows he was discharged on 28 June 1916 and died on 5 August 1916 of “Natural Causes Valvular disease of the heart” and it is likely this was due or exacerbated by his war experiences. The death, aged 51, of a George Slaughter is registered in the Watford district in the third quarter of 1916 and it is assumed he is buried locally in Bushey. His name is not included on any of the Bushey memorials.
George was entitled to the Victory, British and 1915 Star medals, his qualifying date being 30 October 1915, when he first entered France. His pension card named Charlotte as his widow, with an address of 21 Clay Hill in Bushey, and her date of birth as 4 September 1864. She was granted a pension of 10s. per week with effect from 6 August 1916. There are additional notes indicating this was subsequently increased due to Charlotte’s age.
Additional Information
Not listed on the GWGC records
Acknowledgments
Andrew Palmer
Dianne Payne - www.busheyworldwarone.org.uk, Jonty Wild
