George Alexander Large
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George Alexander Large was born in 1890 the son of Thomas an engineer and Alice Large. He was the brother of Frederick, Alice and Florence Large. In 1911, they lived at 55, Long Street, Acotes, Manchester. He was the husband of Beatrice Alice Haldane (born 15th October 1880). They lived at 1, Duke Street, Old Radford, Nottingham. Their four year-old son, also George Alexander Large, drowned in one of the Wollaton locks on the Nottingham Canal on 17th May 1918. Beatrice Large's death was registered in the April-June quarter of 1918.
George Alexander Large enlisted at Nottingham. He is buried in Philosophe British Cemetery, Mazingarbe Grave Reference: IV A 8. 1/8th Bn Sherwood Foresters had been in the Philosophe area, close to the sites of 1915's Battle of Loos, since the summer of 1917. The unit War Diary for December 16th-22nd (TNA WO95/2695/3) records 'This period consisted of ordinary trench warfare and was very quiet with the exception of hostile trench mortars.' George Large became one of only four men from the battalion killed during December 1917, a victim of 'trench wastage' to use a rather chilling term from the time.
Nottingham Journal and Express 20th May 1918: 'DROWNED IN THE CANAL. Playing near the Wollaton canal locks on Friday afternoon [17th May 1918] a four-year-old boy named George Alexander Large, the only child of a soldier's widow, living at Duke-street, Nottingham, accidentally fell in the water and drowned. At the inquest on Saturday, [18th May 1918] the evidence showed that deceased went with a young playmate down to the canal and falling into the water was drowned before assistance could be obtained. A verdict to this effect was returned by the jury.' Article courtesy of Jim Grundy and his facebook pages Small Town Great War Hucknall 1914-1918.
