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George Alfred (1) Livesey was born in Salford in February 1888 to parents Joseph (1) Livesey and his second wife Emma Stubbs [Birth Index: Salford 8d 171, 1888 (March) - indexed as "Livsey"]. He was baptised at the Sacred Trinity Church in Salford on February 17th 1888, the register also stating that he had been born on February 8th. Joseph (1)'s occupation was given as hawker and the family address as 13, Quay Street.
The 1891 Census finds him at age 3 living with his parents at 14, Quay Street in Salford.
The 1901 Census finds him at age 13 living with his father at this same address.
In 1907 he married Maria Wilkinson [Marriage Index: Salford 8d 184, 1907 (Sept)]. Her name was pronounced "Ryah" or "Ma-ryah" by her family. Her birth reference may be [Birth Index: Salford 8d 100, 1887 (June)].
The 1911 Census finds him at age 23 living with Maria and their first two sons at 8, Artisans Dwellings, Collier Street, Salford; he was employed as a railway porter. Collier Street intersects with Queen Street.
He signed up with the Army on 1914 as recorded in his WW1 Service Record which survives, albeit in a rather damaged state [National Archives: WO 372/12/108247]. This shows that he enlisted at Salford as a Territorial Force volunteer on October 2nd 1914 and was assigned to the Lancashire Fusiliers with Service No. 2631. His birth year is given (incorrectly) as 1887. His attestation form gives his address as 8, Artisan's Dwellings, Queen Street and his occupation as railway porter. He was sent with the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force to Egypt on July 7th 1915 from which he returned on October 10th, then went abroad again with the MEF on March 10th 1916. He entered France on March 3rd 1917 and on July 22nd 1918 was transferred to the Royal Engineers with Service No. WR/177954 (the WR prefix denotes 'water and railways'), ranked as a sapper. On the following day he was tested at the Railway Operating Division workshops in Audruicq (the British Army's principal railway depot) and certified as a proficient shunter. He returned home from France on April 4th 1919. He was assigned to the Labour Corps at some point with Service No. 402994 - this may have been for just the short period prior to his demobilisation on May 2nd 1919. His character was recorded as 'V. Good'. His medal card [National Archives: WO 372/12/108177 (surname misspelled as Livesay)] also shows a second Lancashire Fusiliers Service No. 305603 which appears also on his attestation form, presumably having been stamped upon it at a later date. A note in his Service Record indicates a disability of 'Eyesight & Lung Trouble', no doubt incurred as a result of his service (as no mention of these problems was recorded in his medical examination upon enlistment). This disability is noted in a Pension Record Ledger for him [Ref: 3/ML/1875].
The National Roll of Honour of the Great War contains this entry for him:
LIVESEY, G.A., Private, Lancashire Fusiliers.
Volunteering in October 1914, he was drafted in July of the following year to Egypt, and served principally at Alexandria and Cairo. Transferred later to France he fought in the Battles of Vimy Ridge, the Somme, Arras, Bullecourt, Messines, Ypres, Passchendaele, and Cambrai, and in the Retreat and Advance of 1918. He was demobilised in April 1919, and holds the 1914-15 Star, and the General Service and Victory Medals.
8, Artisans Dwellings, Salford.
According to family anecdote, George Alfred (1) served in the Dardanelles in WW1. (The Lancashire Fusiliers were indeed heavily involved in the Gallipoli campaign of 1915-16, entering the Dardanelles with the aim of recovering Constantinople from the Turks; over the next year they suffered nearly two thousand deaths in this virtually futile effort.) He may not have been directly involved in this action, however, having apparently served mainly in Egypt.
The effects of his war service on his lungs may have contributed to his death just two years after leaving the Army. His death certificate [Death Index: Salford 8d 86, 1921 (June)] states that he died aged "33" on May 5th 1921 at 8, Artisans Dwellings and gives his occupation as railway goods checker and Army pensioner; the informant, present at the death, was Maria and the cause of death was certified as (1) pneumonia and (2) influenza.
Again, according to family anecdote, Maria died when she was about 40, possibly from cancer. She probably died aged "41" in 1928 [Death Index: Salford 8d 374, 1928 (June)].
George Alfred (2) was born on March 2nd 1911. He married in 1939 to Rose Marsh [Marriage Index: Salford 8d 1852, 1939 (Sept)]. She was born in 1916 [Birth Index: Salford 8d 8, 1916 (Sept)]. He served in the Army in WW2 and in 1943 he was reported by his sister Ethel (2) as having the rank of Sergeant Major. He died in 1979 [Death Index: Trafford 39 1971, 1979 (Dec)].
Ethel (2) married Clifford Stocks in 1933 [Marriage Index: Salford 8d 558, 1933 (Dec)]. In 1943 they were living in Tennyson Street, Pendleton.
John (6) served in the Royal Air Force in WW2.