Albert George King
- Family History
- Military History
- Extra Information
- Photographs
Albert George was the son of George Henry (or Harry) and Ellen King (née Derry). His father was born in Sneinton in 1877 and was a journeyman baker and later a baker and confectioner. His mother Ellen was born in 1880, also in Sneinton, Nottingham. George and Ellen were married at Sneinton St Matthias in October 1897 and had three children: Albert George b. Sneinton 1898 and John b. Church Greasley Burton on Trent Staffordshire 1903 and Ellen Elizabeth b. Church Greasley 1905. By 1901 George and Ellen were living at 34 New Street, Church Greasley, with their son Albert (2). They were still living in Church Greasley in 1911 but had moved to 65 Wood Street. In the home on the night of the census were their three children, Albert, John (8) and Ellen (5). The later CWGC record gave his parents address as 102 Carlton Hill, Nottingham, but they had probably returned to Nottingham before the war as Albert enlisted in Nottingham. Ellen snr. probably died in 1938 and in 1939 when the England & Wales Register was compiled, her husband George, a garage attendant, and his son John, a driver mechanic, were living on Lenton Boulevard, Nottingham.
2nd Bn King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry Albert George King was called up for service and following training he was drafted to France. The battalion served south of Nieuport, which was eight miles from the Belgian coast, during July 1917. The area had been held previously by the French who returned to the sector in December that year. It was a relatively quiet area as it was behind the front line and therefore used as a rest area but nevertheless Pte. King was killed on 8 July 1917. He is buried in Coxyde Military Cemetery, Belgium (grave ref. I. D. 38). CWGC - History of Coxyde Miitary Cemetery (extract): 'In June 1917, Commonwealth forces relieved French forces on 6 kilometres of front line from the sea to a point south of Nieuport (now Nieuwpoort), and held this sector for six months. Coxyde (now Koksijde) was about 10 kilometres behind the front line. The village was used for rest billets and was occasionally shelled, but the cemetery, which had been started by French troops, was found to be reasonably safe. It became the most important of the Commonwealth cemeteries on the Belgian coast and was used at night for the burial of the dead brought back from the front line. The French returned to the sector in December 1917 and continued to use the cemetery, and during 1918, Commonwealth naval casualties from bases in Dunkirk (now Dunkerque) were buried there. After the Armistice, the remains of 44 British soldiers were brought into the cemetery. Ten of them had been buried in isolated graves. Nineteen came from Furnes Road British Cemetery, Coxyde, a cemetery made in July, 1917, by the 2nd Manchesters and the 49th (West Riding) Division on the East side of the road to Furnes (now Veurne).'
CWGC: 'Son of George H. and Ellen King, of 102, Carlton Hill, Carlton, Nottingham. Native of Sneinton, Nottingham.' CWGC headstone personal inscription: 'Though he lies in a foreign land he is ever in our thoughts' Nottingham Evening Post, 'In memoriam' 8 July 1918: 'KING. – In remembrance of our dear nephew and cousin, Albert, killed in action July 8th, 1917. At rest. – From loving aunt Lizzie and uncle Arthur, cousins Harold, Nellie, Doris, Elsie.' Above courtesy of Jim Grundy and his facebook pages Small Town Great War Hucknall 1914-1918
