George Neal

He was the son of John George William Bentley and Ethel Kate Neal, and lived with them at 12 Third Avenue at the start of the war. George worked as a mechanic at Holland Bros garage in Spalding. On 18 July 1942 he married Joan Dunham, a school teacher at the Crescent Street Sunday School. They honeymooned at Netherfield, Nottinghamshire, where the bride’s cousin lived. The report of the wedding described George as a member of the Home Guard, suggesting he may have married in uniform. 

In Dec 1940 he was fined 10/- for driving without a licence. He was in trouble again on 18 May 1943, having left a light on in the garage when he left work. By 11.30pm it was clearly visible, contravening blackout regulations and was spotted by a Police constable. This time it cost him £2. In court he blamed the mistake on being in rush to attend Home Guard duties. 

On 13 Apr 1944 he arrived at work at 8am to discover the workshop door had been forced open. The padlock was missing from the main sliding doors and two safes and a number of parts and tools were missing. He had locked up around 7pm the night before. Little goes unnoticed in rural areas and the next day, following a telephone, an Inspector of the Scotland Yard Flying Squad arrested two men, their lorry having been spotted and the discarded safe and stashed equipment having been found.