Name
George William Sharp
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
07/03/1917
53
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Serjeant
203355
Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
2nd/5th Bn. (Scottish Rifles)
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
1914 /15 Star, British War and Victory medals
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
WATFORD CEMETERY
Plot G, Row 4, Grave 249.
United Kingdom
Headstone Inscription
FOR KING AND COUNTRY EVER
UK & Other Memorials
Watford Borough Roll of Honour,
St Andrew's Church Memorial, Watford,
Not on the Bushey memorials
Pre War
Born in about 1864 in Whittlesea, Cambridgeshire, George was the son of Robert Sharp. It has not been possible to find him on the 1871, 1881 and 1891 censuses, but there is an entry for a George William Sharp in the Railway Employment Records for the Kingston Wharf Station of the London, Brighton and South Coast railway, which gives a joining date of April 1896 and an age in 1890 of 23 years.
It is assumed George was in India at the time of the 1891 census, where he married Bertha Wehrli on 2 September 1891 at All Saints Church at Kirkee in Bombay, India. They had five children, who were named Lili Betha, George Emil, Doris Lydia, Francis William and Ella Pretoria.
It appears that George and Bertha remained in India until at least 1896, because three of their children were born there. Although they remain elusive on the 1901 census, they must have returned to the UK by about 1900 because the two younger children were born in Watford.
At the 1911 census, George and Bertha were living at 14 Nascot Street in Watford. Their ages were 47 and 43 years respectively and George was working as an urban council roadman. The ages for Lili, Doris and Francis were 19, 15 and 12 years, respectively. The birthplaces were given as Whittlesea for George, Zurich in Switzerland for Bertha, Bombay for Lili and Doris, Padna in India for George and Watford for Francis and Ella. The entries for George (Jnr.) and Ella were crossed through indicating they were the two children who had died.
Wartime Service
George served as Serjeant 203355 with 2nd/5th Battalion of the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) and was entitled to the Victory, British War and 1914-15 Star medals, his qualifying date being 30 August 1915. He died of heart failure on 7 March 1917 in Fermoy, Ireland and was buried on 14 March 1917 in Plot G, Row 4, Grave 249 in the Vicarage Road Cemetery in Watford. He was formerly Sergeant 7340 in the Bedfordshire Regiment.
Bertha is named as the legatee in the Registers of Soldier’s Effects and showed payments of 4s. 4d. on 29 April 1918 and £14 0s. 0d. on 4 October 1919. He does not appear to have an entry in the dataset for Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-1919.
There is a Death announcement for George in the West Herts and Watford Observer dated 10 March 1917, and an article about him in the issue dated 17 March 1917.
Bertha did not remarry. She died in 1948 in Bushey, aged 82, and was buried on 24 December, also in the Vicarage Road Cemetery.
Additional Information
*1 G Sharp appears on the St Mary's Church, Memorial, Watford and a G W Sharpe appears on the St Andrews Church Watford memorials. There appear to be three candidates: George Sharp (201196), (85396) George Victor Sharpe and (203355) George William Sharp. All have a direct connection to Watford and could be on a memorial there. Until further evidence comes to light, we have chosen the following for the reasons given.
We believe that the first man named is on the St Mary’s memorial, because of the lack of any middle initials and that (85396) George William Sharp is the on the St Andrew memorials because of the middle initial. The third man we have assumed is not listed on the Watford memorials (but has associations with Watford) this is because in his details for the period in the run up to 1914 he seems to more associated to Leavesden and we believe he is on the memorial there, of course there remains some uncertainty.
Acknowledgments
Andrew Palmer
Sue Carter (Research) and Watford Museum (ROH on line via www.ourwatfordhistory.org.uk), Jonty Wild
