George Edward's Story.
Captain George Edward Hayes-Sheen was born in Liverpool on 15th January 1879 to Thomas (an accountant) and Georgina. It is worth stating that George was baptised with forenames as George Edward Hayes and surname Sheen. The baptism was conducted at the church of St Stephen the Martyr, West Derby, Liverpool.
In the 1881 census George was living with his parents and younger sister Ethel in Liverpool. By this time the family name had changed to Hayes-Sheen. Ten years later in 1891 he was still with his family but then they lived in Fulham London and he had another sibling, brother, Tom.
George at some stage in the 1890s joined the Army and from 1901 to 1902 took part in the Boer War. He was serving as a Lieutenant with the Rifle Brigade (Irish Regiment) but was attached to the Kings Liverpool Regiment. He was awarded the South Africa Medal with Cape Colony, Orange Free State and Transvaal clasps.
George married Maud Taylor Hamerton on 23rd April 1906 in South Kensington London. On the 1911 census George and Maud lived in London – George was the manager of a public company but also an officer in the army reserves.
With the outbreak of war in 1914 George re-joined the Army but died of influenza at 12 Sumner Place, South Kensington on February 19th 1915, after a short illness. He was cremated in Woking but interred in Flaybrick Cemetery, Birkenhead.
After George’s death his wife Maud joined the British Red Cross (Voluntary Aid Detachment), as a nurse, and served in from July 1915 through to March 1918, including two spells in France. Maud received the 14-15 Star, British and Victory medals.