Name
George Thomas Spriggs
12th February 1893
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
29/10/1917
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Private
266609
Hertfordshire Regiment
1st Bn.
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
British War and Victory medals
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
ZANTVOORDE BRITISH CEMETERY
III. E. 25.
Belgium
Headstone Inscription
No Report
UK & Other Memorials
Wheathampstead Village Memorial, Hertfordshire Regimental Memorial, All Saints Church, Hertford, Lemsford Village Memorial
Pre War
George Thomas Spriggs, the fourth of five sons of William, an agricultural labourer, and Elizabeth (née Hewson), Spriggs was born on the 12th February 1893 in Lemsford and baptised on the 9th April 1893 at St. John's church, Lemsford.
He attended Lemsford School from 8th April 1897 to 16th November 1906 and left to work as a horseman on a local farm.
On the 1901 Census the family of parents, elder brothers John (born 1885), Frank (born 1888), George and younger brother Frederick (born 1897) were living at Lemsford, Hatfield. On the 1911 Census George was living with his widowed mother, and his brothers at Lemsford, Hatfield. George and John worked with horses on a farm and Frank was an ordinary farm labourer, Frederick was at school. Walter Hewson was also present, a farm labourer, he had been born in 1880 in Wheathampstead to Elizabeth Hewson prior to her marriage to William Spriggs in 1885.
George married Alice Maud French in St Helen’s, Wheathampstead on 4 Dec 1915, there would be a daughter Mildred Alice born 15 Oct 1917. His widow would marry again to Frederick G Arnott on 22 Nov 1920 again at St Helens, Wheathampstead.
The Soldiers Died In The Great War database (SDITGW) records George
Wartime Service
George enlisted in Hertford as a Territorial Soldier as Private 266609 with Hertfordshire Regiment, giving his address as Wheathampstead and joined the 1st Battalion of the Hertfordshire Regiment..
No Service Records were found for George so we cannot be certain when he was deployed to join his Regiment overseas.
The Herts were part of 39 Division situated in the Ypres Sector and in 1917 were engaged in the Battle of 3rd Ypres, known as Passchendaele, which lasted from 31 Jul – 10 Nov 1917. The Herts took part in Pilckem , Langemarck, Polygon Wood and 2nd Passchendaele (26 Oct – 10 Nov 1917). During this action on 29 Oct 1917. George was killed in action.
He is buried in the Zantvoorde British Cemetery, Zonnebeke,West-Vlaanderen, Belgium reference III E 25. Zonnebeke is a town 8 km south east of Ieper (Ypres).
Additional Information
War Gratuity of £11 and arrears of £6 6s 4d was paid to his widow. Walter Hewson (George's older illegitimate brother) joined Bedfordshire Regiment on 9 Jan 1899, served in South Africa 1901 -1902. Reenlisted again in Beds Regt on 5 8 14, served in France from 4 Oct 14 to 30 Dec 14 with 2nd Beds medically discharged 14 Sep 1915.
Frederick, his younger brother, was killed on the 11th July 1916 and is buried in the Serre Road Cemetery No. 2.
Acknowledgments
Neil Cooper
Jonty Wild
