George Henry Hooton

22nd Bn Durham Light Infantry. He had previously served with the 7th Bn (Robin Hoods) Sherwood Foresters (Notts & Derby Regiment). Private George Henry Hooten enlisted on 27 February 1915 at Nottingham aged 29y 9m, occupation malster. His next of kin was his wife Lilly Hooten of 2 Seely Cottages, Basford. He was posted to the Durham Light infantry and joined at Newcastle upon Tyne on 4 March 1915. He landed in France on 24 August 1915 and on 6 December 1915 was admitted to a field ambulance suffering from pyrexia ('fever'). He was transferred to 23rd General Hospital, Etaples, on 8 December, diagnosis myalgia - muscle pain attributable to a number of causes including disease or overuse of muscles. He transferred to the Depot on 17 December 1915, presumably recovered but unfit for front line duties, and did not rejoin his battalion until 10 February 1916. On 14 October 1916 he suffered a gunshot wound to the upper left arm and was transferred to England on 18 October and admitted to hospital the following day. He was discharged on 18 November 1916 and granted furlough. George did not return to France until 6 March 1917 and he then rejoined the battalion in the field on 28 March. It is likely that he was granted leave in January 1918. On 26 March 1918 George went missing in action and was later presumed to have died in action 'on or since' that date. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Pozieres Memorial. He had served for 3 years 28 days and qualified for the 1915 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal. CWGC - Pozieres Memoiral (extract): 'The Pozieres Memorial relates to the period of crisis in March and April 1918 when the Allied Fifth Army was driven back by overwhelming numbers across the former Somme battlefields, and the months that followed before the Advance to Victory, which began on 8 August 1918. The Memorial commemorates over 14,000 casualties of the United Kingdom and 300 of the South African Forces who have no known grave and who died on the Somme from 21 March to 7 August 1918. The Corps and Regiments most largely represented are ... The Durham Light Infantry with approximately 600 names ... The memorial encloses Pozieres British Cemetery, Plot II of which contains original burials of 1916, 1917 and 1918, carried out by fighting units and field ambulances.'

Report published 13th January 1916 in the Nottingham Evening Post :- “NOTTINGHAM MAN'S NARROW ESCAPE. “Private G. Hooton, of the 2nd Battalion Durham Light Infantry, a Hyson Green youth, in returning thanks for his Christmas parcel, says he was billeted in a barn when it arrived, having left the trenches for a rest. He was knocked up in the course of a long march, and was laid up for three weeks. Hooton describes the conditions under which trench warfare is carried on, and declares that once he had his cap removed by a sniper, the bullet just grazing his head. He adds: “We had Lena Asnwell's concert party from London the other night, and they gave an excellent performance. We also had a pantomime, and were regaled with sweets, nuts, cigarettes, and a Christmas tree in the Y..M.C.A. I am sure we were very grateful to all of them.” Report courtesy of Jim Grundy and his facebook pages