No.240069, Private, George RUSSELL
Aged 34
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George Jenner Russell was born in 1883 at Sydenham, Kent (Lewisham Q3-1883 1D:1115), son of George and Elizabeth RUSSELL (née JENNER).
1891 census...Aged 7, he was at Hill Row, Haddenham, Cambs, with his father George RUSSELL [45] a grocer, born Haddenham; his mother Elizabeth [42] born Lambeth; sisters Minnie [16] and Dora E [4] born Sydenham, and brother Frederick [1] born Haddenham. 1901 census...Aged 17, a joiner's apprentice, he was still at Hill Row, Haddenham with his parents, sister Dora Elizabeth and brother Frederick. He married a Moulton girl, Agnes Annie MOSS [8-12-1888] on 27th February 1911(Newmarket Q1-1911 3B:775) 1911 census...Aged 27, married, a carpenter, he was living at 6 Turf Terrace, All Saints Road, Newmarket with his wife of 5 weeks, Agnes Annie [22] born Chippenham. They moved to 20 The Street in Moulton at the outbreak of the war, he is on the memorial in Moulton, and also in Haddenham, but not in Newmarket. His parents, sister Dora and brother Frederick were still at Hill Row, Haddenham. George and Agnes had 3 children, Dorothy [26-3-1912], John [18-6-1914] and Olive [15-9-1915]. |
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He enlisted in Newmarket. The war diary for this period is missing on line. It was a period of intense fighting, the German Spring offensive forcing Allied withdrawals in most area. The battalion had 80 killed that day, 22 of them are buried in Suffolk Cemetery, La Rolanderie Farm, Erquinghem-Lys, and 54 are named on the Ploegsteert memorial. George and another local man, Edwin Frost from Herringswell, who also died that day, are buried some distance from the rest of their pals in Mont Noir Cemetery. The two of them are much closer to Boeschepe, which was where the Battalion were heading for after leaving the front line. |
photo: Rodney Gibson
click here to go to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website for full cemetery/memorial details