Private George Pendry
- 19th October 2018
Berrow’s Worcester Journal, Pictorial Supplement 2 Nov 1918
100 years ago today Private George Pendry died of his wounds, one of the many thousands of Worcestershire men who died during the Great War.
For many years some of these who were killed have been just names on a memorial, as memories have faded, but there have been many projects and studies to research these men over the past few years. George is one of those whose life has been revealed through research in the archives, both as part of a study of a war memorial and as a local family used as an example in some of our workshops so we feel we know him in some small way.
Dolday in the 1920s. Entrance to one of the courts on the wall on the right.
The Pendry family were very local to us, and for at least 50 years lived within a small area of Worcester a stone’s throw from the site of The Hive. They only ever moved within the yards in the courts and yards of Dolday, Newport St and Rack Alley, just opposite where The Hive is today. It was a very poor area, with people only just getting by.
George was born 5 February 1900 to Albert & Emily Pendry, Albert being listed variously as a labourer and bricklayer. A few months later he was baptised at All Saints church.
Baptism of George Pendry, All Saints baptism register
George attended Hounds Lane School, on the site today of HOW College on Deansway, between All Saint’s and the Glover’s Needle (St Andrew), staying until he was 14. Next to his name it says ‘RC’, which may suggest the family were Roman Catholic, although he was baptised in an Anglican Church where his parents had also married.
We don’t know exactly when he enlisted, but he joined the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, before moving to the London Regiment and East Surrey Regiment. This may be due to filling battalions who were low on numbers.
He died on 19 October 1918 of wounds, aged just 18. He is buried in Terlincthun British Cemetery, Wimille, which mostly contains soldiers who died at the local hospital after being treated for wounds after being brought back from the front. Records list that £4 12 2 was paid to mother in February 1919, and £3 gratuity paid after war, so his father had probably died by this time.
After the war All Saints formed a committee to look at a memorial for honouring the dead of the parish. George’s family put him forward in response to the appeal for names, and he is included on there on the board in the church, which is still there today.
The family seem to have been in the same area for many years. Albert & Emily were living in Anne’s Court, Dolday, and got married at All Saints in 1897. We can see them on previous census, baptism and birth certificates as only moving within a very small radius. Albert’s father is listed as an umbrella maker in the marriage register, but his birth certificate lists no father and that his mother is unmarried. So is William Pendry his step father (William Hewson according to 1881 census), or is this made up?
Marriage of Albert & Emily Pendry, All Saint’s marriage registers
If you interested in war memorials of Worcestershire there is a large site listing many of them and information known about the men at http://www.rememberthefallen.co.uk/
The All Saints Worcester war memorial committee minutes survive, which is very rare, and they tell the story of how the local community went about commemorating the men of the parish who died. A talk about the story of the war memorial will take place in The Hive on Saturday 10 November at 1pm, as part of commemorations for the end of the war. It is free and you can book a place here.
All Saints Worcester war memorial
What a sad story really ,to die at such a young age serving his country. We must always remember these brave men. Thank you for this post in doing so.