George Goodman Fo x was bor n a t More ton i n 1887 the eld est o f seven c hildren. His father also named George was a gamekeeper and later farm la bou rer , his mother Mary a busy mum. George w ould have gone to school in Moreton, leaving when h e re ached the age o f 14 . B y 191 1 h e was working a s a farm labourer for Harriett T urner a widow with a farm a t High On n. George voluntarily enlisted into the Coldstream Guards in Staf ford an d after training was posted t o the 3 rd Battalion wh o wer e part o f th e 1 s t Guards Brigad e, Guards Division; arriving in France on 3 rd October 1915. The Guards Division had been for med i n France in August 1915. T he various Guards unit s that had been with other divisions were bro ught toget her to creat e this fine formation. Th e Division rem ained i n France throughout the war . B y Oct obe r 1917 Geor ge Fox, proving that he was a capable soldier, was a n acting corporal. The Guards Division, including the 3rd Colds tream Guards and George F ox wer e amongst the 1 0 Divisions that launched a major attack on Oct obe r 9 th 1917. Kno wn a s the Battle o f Poe lca ppe lle it was part of the Third Battle o f Y pres – a major Allied of fensive in a n area o f Fl ande rs which bec ame know n a s Passchen dae le . Despite the worse ning weather conditions , t en British, Australian an d New Zeala nd divisions were order ed to attac k along a 7 miles front, aiming t o advance some 2 miles in to the German defences and capture Passchendaele Ri dge . The battle began a t 5.20am o n 9 October 1917 however , the assaulting troops ha d struggled for hours through miles o f mud before even reaching their start lines an d many were ex hau sted. It proved impossible t o bring u p sufficient artillery ammunition to support the advance and the fe w gains were quickly lost t o German c oun ter -attacks. After hours o f fighting, mos t o f the attacking units had been pushed back to their starting positions. Only i n the north, at the villages o f V eldhoek and Poe lca ppe lle, was there an y real success. British Empire forces suffered some 1 2,000 casualties wounded, missing and dead . Acting Corporal George Fox who was killed in action on the first day of the battle. He has no known grave and is remembered on the T yne Cot Memorial.

George G. Fo x

Ac ti ng Corporal – 15273 - 3 rd Battalion Col ds tream Guard s Ki lled in ac tion 9 th Oc tober 19 17– aged 30 Remem ber ed on the T yne Cot Me mori al

T yne Cot Mem ori al The TYNE COT MEMORIAL forms the north-eastern boundary of T yne Cot Cemetery and commemora tes nearly 35,000 s ervicemen fr om the Unit ed Kingdom and N ew Zealand who died in the Y pres Salient after 16 August 1917 and whose graves are not known. The memorial stands close to the fart hest poi nt in Belgium reached by Commonwealt h forces in the First W orld W ar until the final advance to victory .