Returning home to Rugeley

On the 10^th April 1916 Acting Sergeant George Hollins returned home to Rugeley, his time in the army having expired. George had been serving in the 1/6^th North Staffordshire Regiment arriving with the rest of the Territorials in France on the 5^th March 1915 originally as a private before being promoted to acting sergeant.

George Hollins

George Hollins (my second cousin twice removed) was the youngest child of William and Sarah Hollins (nee Wood) and was born in 1886 in Rugeley, Staffordshire. He had 3 brothers; William (born 1875), Horace (born 1879) and Charles (born 1884) and two sisters Mary Ann (born 1877) and Harriet (born 1881).

Horace was serving with the Royal Welch Fusiliers and had been out in France since September 1915, William had been a member of the old Territorials and was now working on munitions and Charles had been discharged from the army, Mary Ann’s husband Fred Williscroft had been discharged from the army in September 1914 and Harriet husband James Fisher had been killed on 13^th October 1915 during the assault on the Hohenzollern redoubt.

George had married Emily Mary Hiley in 1907 at St. John the Baptist, Armitage. In 1911 they were living at 24 Queen Street, Rugeley with their had two children George (Born 1908) and Sarah (Born 1911), with George working as a bricklayer. 

At that time (1911) most of George’s family were living close by. His parents William and Sarah lived at 64 Queen St, with his sister Harriet, his brother Charles lived at 45 Queen Street and his sister Mary Ann was living at 66 Queen St with her family.

George's father, William, was a well known local bandmaster and all the family were members of the local territorial band.