Private George Revill
4/22209 Private Sherwood Foresters (Notts & Derby Regiment)
79645 Royal Defence Corps
329351 Home Service Employment for Labour Corps
George Revill was born in 1877 at Ripley, son of Joseph Revill a farm labourer from Warsop, Notts and his wife Elizabeth (nee Lea) of Lancashire. He had brothers and sisters John, Francis, Lilian, Harriett, Ernest and Thomas. (His brother Thomas also served in WW1).
On 11th February 1899 George married Annie Shipstone at Ironville, Christchurch. George gave his occupation at time of marriage as ‘iron worker’ and place of residence as Golden Valley. Children soon followed, George in 1900, then Ernest, Annie, Samuel, William, Elsie, Fred and finally twins Leslie and Joseph. In February 1915 little Leslie died aged only 7 months, he was buried on 4th February 1915 at Westwood, St Mary’s. Just a few days later on 10th February 1915 his twin brother Joseph was baptised at St Mary’s but was given the name Leslie Joseph, to carry his twin brother’s name on.
George had attested with the Sherwood Foresters on 12th January 1915 but it seems that he continued to work in the local coke ovens until being called up. At time of attestation he gave his home address as Old Westwood (Palmerston Street), his height as 5′ 4″, occupation as ‘town labourer’ and age as 37 years, 5 months. His record notes that he had a scar on the centre of his forehead. His service record is very hard to decipher but his Medal Rolls Index Card shows him disembarking in France on 18th August 1915 before returning to serve at home with both the Royal Defence and Labour Corps. He was still absent from home due to military service in 1918 and is shown as such on the Absent Voters List, so it seems he served till the end of the war and was awarded the 1914-15 Star, the British War and Victory Medals.
On 2nd December 1918 St Mary’s Church records the burial of two children named Revill from Old Westwood, Elsie aged 8 years and Joseph aged 4 years, probably children of George and Annie.