1206557 George Hall Greenwell British Army 18th Btn. Durham Light Infantry from:Witton Gilbert, County Durham My great grandfather, George Hall Greenwell, was born in Witton Gilbert, County Durham, in 1892 and lived there until 1927. The rest of his life was spent in Langley Park where he worked as Engine Plain Man at the local colliery. His health and memory never failed and he died quite suddenly and peacefully at the age of ninety-two.
In the great surge of patriotism in the summer of 1914 he joined the newly formed 18th Durham Light Infantry, the 'Pals' Batallion. The men spent 1915 on the Middle East Front in Egypt, 1916 in the lines training for and taking part in the Battle of the Somme, the greatest military disaster in the whole of British history. 1917 and 1918 were spent on numerous other parts of the Western Front. The four years were packed with hardship and tragedy beyond belief. Only the lucky ones survived.
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