|
George HarrisGeorge Harris was born in Whitminster on 3 March 1877 to George William and Ellen Harris. His childhood home was on Bristol Road at Whitminster from where his father variously found work on local farms or as a carpenter. Ellen supplemented the family's income as a tailoress. On 12 February 1906 George married Clara Maria Pearce at her parish church of St Michael and All Angels, Eastington. By 1911 they were living in a three-roomed property in Whittles Lane, Frampton, with their young children, Elsie Marion, Phyllis May and William Walter, and George was working for Frampton Court Estate as a carpenter. Evidence of George's service during the war is provided through two incidents reported in the newspapers concerning members of his family. The first was an unfortunate accident that befell his mother, Ellen, who was knocked over in the road and badly injured. She was returning to Whitminster after visiting George in Frampton on 29 January 1917, just before he left for France. The second occurred while he was serving as a private in the Devonshire Regiment on 3 August 1918. Tragically, George's nine-year-old son, William Walter, found a revolver in a workshop in Frampton and accidentally shot himself. Despite the doctor's best efforts, the boy died shortly afterwards. By then the family were living on The Green. (A more detailed account of both accidents can be found in our book, Frampton Remembers World War I.) The Harris family seem to have left Frampton around 1921 and in 1939 George and Clara's home was at Millend, Eastington, with George still working as a carpenter. George Harris' war service is commemorated on the plaque in Frampton Village Hall. |