November 1919 - March 2013
George Gloster Gates was born in Mortlake on Saturday 1st November 1919. He was the second of six siblings. When George was three years old, the family moved to Outlands Lane in Curdridge - on the outskirts of Southampton. He attended primary school in the nearby village of Botley; and at the age of 14, in 1934, joined the Army. He initially joined the Hampshire Regiment. When he was still only seventeen, he was claimed by his elder brother, Bert, into the Ninth Queen’s Royal Lancers (QRL).
George had what was described as a ‘busy war’. He saw immediate action upon the outbreak of hostilities in 1939. His early occupation in the regiment was as a despatch rider as part of the British Expeditionary Force. George’s unit was often going against the flow of evacuating troops and refugees as they sought to hinder the progress of the Germans and protect the retreating British infantry. He wasn’t evacuated from Dunkirk, rather travelling westwards across France and was evacuated from Brest. The last thing he did was drive his motorbike over the cliff, so the Germans couldn’t make use of it. Later in the war George was deployed to North Africa, where the QRL were involved in both the Battle of El Alamein and the relief of Tobruk. By now George was a Sergeant and a tank commander. It was during the desert campaign that George mentioned-in-despatches for attempting to save the life of a comrade. He lost his left leg below the knee, when his tank drove over a land-mine. He was shipped home that summer; not incidentally to Netley Military Hospital, which was just down the road from where he lived, but all the way to Bedford. They eventually fitted an artificial limb to replace his left leg and a special boot for his right foot that was damaged in the same incident. Mind you that wasn’t before - practical and resourceful as ever - George had experimentally welded on a plate to the first prosthetic they fitted, to improve his mobility. Although he suffered hugely with discomfort from his artificial leg throughout his life, he never complained.
By the time he was finally invalided out of the army in 1946 George was riding motorbikes again regularly, joining Southampton Motor Cycle Club as soon as he got back to the south coast and strapping on his crutches whenever he went for rides. He was also now agile enough to climb high into the cab of a static crane: he was now working as a crane-driver for shipbuilders Vosper Thornycroft in Woolston. Not long after this George became a Trade Unionist - firstly as an elected shop steward and then later, having studied at night-school, as a full-time official for the Transport & General Workers’ Union. He would go on to work for the T&G until he retired in 1980, aged 60. Having become a Blesma Member, it was always interesting when he met Sir Austin 'Tiny' Bunch who was the Chairman of Southern Electricity with George on the other side of the table as a senior Trade Union Official, but they both got on well as Blemsa Members.
George was, by now, married to Isabel, who sadly died around the time George retired. George later met Jean and married her in 1984. They set up home together in Romsey and on George's retirement, they travelled extensively.
George became Chairman of the Southampton, Winchester and District Branch for two periods for a total of 11 years. He was instrumental, with others, in making the Branch the active thriving institution it is now.
George was musical. A bugler and a drummer in the regimental band as a boy-soldier, George kept his musical interest throughout his life. He took his post-horn in the tank with him throughout the war. He was involved in organising concert parties, you know It Aint’ Half Hot, Mum - style. At one time, in the desert, they needed to find a pianist for a particular show. In the hall that day was a chap just idly tinkling the ivories. George asked him if he could read music. He learnt later that the putative pianist was Choral Master at York Minster.
George was an adventurous man and on his ninetieth birthday, he more-or-less jumped out an aeroplane to take his inaugural, and only, parachute jump. The jump was part of a Blesma day at Old Sarum.
The Branch would like to offer their condolences to Jean and the remainder of the family on the passing of such a good friend to all.