George Stubbs.
George was born in Bowdon Vale, Cheshire. He had an elder brother and two sisters.
Bowdon Vale was mostly occupied by people who worked for the upper class in Bowdon itself. Some worked at the local factories in Broadheath but mostly the work was farming, gardening and nursery work.
The nearest big Hall to George's village was Stamford Hall where Lord Stamford lived. The other large hall was Tatton Park where Lord Egerton lived. Lord Egerton never married and when war was declared the British Airborne Division trained there. Most of them were captured or killed at Arnham.
As a boy George's mother would take him to Badgers Wood to watch the badgers. Even in daylight the badgers could be seen. When he was older he went there himself to watch the badgers for hours.
The River Bollin ran near George's home and he would go there to watch the moorhens and other wild life. He was very interested in wildlife as a boy and still retains a keen interest now. He also had a secret supply of watercress from a hideaway his sister Edna tells me. He has built a bird house in the garden and feeds wild bird seed to them every day. We watch the birds coming and going from a seat in the Conservatory and have great fun laughing at their antics.
George worked at the local nurseries Crosbies when he left school and Clibrans Nursery, Ashley in the Rose Department until he was called up for Army service. He served in the Royal Artillery in England and Germany and when he was demobbed he went into the Air Ministry of Works Directorate where his father was an Air Ministry Police Sergeant. The A.M.W.D was later changed to the Ministry of Public Buildings and Works.
George married in 1954 and has two daughters. One lives in Sale and has three children - a son and two daughters. The other daughter lives in Flixton and also has a son and two daughters. George's wife died suddenly in 1995.
We now both live in North Wales and have varied interests. He has a large garden and greenhouses and I have my computer. My other interest is Family History and you may say I am hooked on that.
We are searching for the relatives of George Crimes who lived at The Cottage, Wedges Mill Near Cannock in 1918. George Crimes was given as the next of kin in a commendation for Archie Crimes who died in June 1918 and was mentioned in dispatches. He was buried at Brookwood Military Cemetery, Surrey. We found all the details on the internet under the War Graves Commission and I also found the death and burial of my cousin Laurie who was a Spitfire pilot and died in June 1944 and was buried at Dreux Communal Cemetery, Eure-et-Loir, France.