He was born in Streatham in London. He married Dorothy Mabel Corps.
He lived in a house that was on the direct flight path for German planes to Detling airfield. His son recalled that as planes fought overhead, they would have to dodge the falling bullet casing which would rattle off the rooves. More than once his shirt was singed by the hot brass. As the planes fired at each other at low level, the rounds would sometimes strafe them unintentionally.
Two of his brothers joined the Army. His middle brother had joined the Buffs in 1936 and was serving in Palestine, while his younger brother joined the Royal Irish Fusiliers at the start of the war. George wanted to join the Navy but was prevented as his occupation was considered vital to the war effort, as well as being told he was too old, which particularly upset him.
Later in the war his home was commandeered to form part of a camp for the New Zealand Maori battalion staying in the area.
| Unit or location | Role | Posted from | until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doddington Patrol | Patrol member | 08 Jun 1940 | 03 Dec 1944 |
Cowman
He initially was in the regular Home Guard before transferring to Auxiliary Units. One of the other villagers had noticed that he no longer trained with the other Home Guards. George managed to dodge him while he still lived in the village. Had he discovered his secret it might have been this nosey neighbour who vanished. His stash of equipment in an outbuilding was found by his sons who were less interested in the weapons and ammunition than the cigarettes. George managed to explain away the equipment until one day the boys came in and found him cleaning his weapons. He then had to partially take them into his confidence and by the later part of the war his 7 year old son was helping him clean the weapons himself.
Known as Don
TNA ref WO199/3390 & 1,
1939 Register,
Grandson Shaun Chesson