George Fish was born in Great Witchingham, Norfolk, on 14 October 1886. The son of a Game Keeper, George left school at 14 years old to train as an apprentice carpenter.
George married Mildred Ealing in October 1912 and the couple had one daughter, Hetty. The family lived in Fakenham, where George worked on the local primary school building.
Having enlisted with the Bedfordshire Regiment, George was transferred to the Machine Gun Corps on 13 September 1916 and was sent to France and Belgium.
George joined the 199th Brigade in the 49th Division in December 1916.
The Brigade's war diaries reveal how George's company came under fire from the German's at Gravenstafel Ridge from 3pm until 10.30pm on 8 October 1917.
The British launched a counter-attack at 5.20am the next day, firing over 1,000 rounds of ammunition, although not all the guns were manned due to the casualties sustained the night before.
On 10 October, the company's target was Friesland Copse. The initial assault provoked heavy retaliation from the Germans and three guns were taken out.
An estimated 300,000 rounds of ammunition were fired by gunners, including George, until troops went over the top at around 4.30pm.
George was killed in action on 10 October 1917 aged 30, during the battle of Poecappelle.
George's four year old daughter Hetty said,
"I remember seeing the soldiers return home from the war looking for my dad but he didn’t come home."
Thank you to George's family for sharing his story.
You can discover more Passchendaele stories from areas across the UK and find out more about our Commemoration plans to mark the Centenary at https://passchendaele100.org/.
