(L to R) British War Medal; Allied Victory Medal

George was born in 1890 and lived in Derby Place, Hulme with his mother Annie, older sister Frances and his grandmother Betsy. His father Frank worked as an insurance agent but died when George was young. By 1901 they had moved to 32 Haydock Street in Newton in Makerfield. In 1911 they were living at 12 Tiverton Street in Ardwick and he had another sister called Marjorie who was born in 1902. During this time, he was working as an office clerk.

It is not known when exactly he joined the Army but by the 9th April 1915 he was a 2nd Lieutenant in the 14th (Service) Battalion of the Manchester Regiment. On the 19th May 1915 he was transferred to the 2/9th Territorial Battalion.

He served in France from February to May 1917. Little else is known of his service during the First World War. He was demobilised on the 10th of July 1919.

After the war he was appointed as a Lieutenant in the 42 (East Lancashire) Division on the 19th April 1926. This was a Territorial Army unit which was formed in 1908 and served to 1961 being disbanded and reformed during this time.

During the Second World War he joined the Home Guard. He was part of the 43rd Battalion (Salford) East Lancashire Home Guard. He was promoted to Captain on the 1st February 1941 and then to Major on the 30th June 1942. He was transferred to the 42nd Battalion (Eccles) on the 1st August 1943. He was discharged on the 31st of December 1945.

During the interwar years he started the successful firm Sinclair Owen which manufactured leather goods in Salford. During the Second World War he turned his factory over to the production of webbing belts and gaiters for the Army. He was offered an MBE but refused as he considered his factory workers more deserving of recognition. After the war he became a magistrate and twice stood for Parliament as a Conservative candidate for Salford in the 1950s.

George’s medal were donated to the museum collections in 2017.