George William Woolliscroft 1926
Source: Picture the Past,
www.picturethepast.org.uk
George was the eldest surviving son of Charles and Amelia Woolliscroft born at Ilkeston, Derbyshire on the 17 January 1865. He attended Grove House School, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. Between 1882 and 1884 he served his apprenticeship with L & NW Railway Company located at Crewe in Cheshire. In 1886 he obtained a Whitworth Scholarship and attended Owens College, Manchester, Lancashire.
In 1890 George joined the Midland Railway at Derby as a draughtsman. He was involved in Tunnel Ventilation schemes and visited Germany in this role. In 1898 he was appointed Assistant Chief Draughtsman with joint control of the drawing office at Derby. He was selected to tour the USA with Richard Deeley, Chief Mechanical Engineer, to inspect the railways and engineering works there in the summer of 1901. He became a member of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers on the 31 December 1903. Richard Deeley was one of his sponsors. His obituary states that for many years he was responsible for training apprentices at Derby. He retired in 1930.
George had a keen interest in his local community. In 1907 he was elected as a member for the Derbyshire County Council on which he served for many years. He was appointed a Justice of the Peace in 1918 and served as Lord Mayor of Ilkeston for the year 1925-1926.
During WW1 George was the Section Director in the Timber Supplies Department for the Ministry of Munitions. He resumed his role at Derby at the end of August 1919. In 1920 he was awarded an OBE for his service during WW1.
In 1898 George married Sara Ann Wallis at the Methodist Chapel in Long Eaton, Derbyshire. In 1901 they were living in Derby Road, Long Eaton. By 1911 they had moved to Highfields, Ilkeston The couple had one daughter Phyllis Muriel Woolliscroft in 1900. Phyllis married Samuel Moss in 1926.
George passed away on the 16 June 1948 at The Manor, Ockbrook, Derbyshire at the home of his daughter Phyllis. The funeral service took place at the Parish Church in Ockbrook two days later. Sara Ann passed away on the 8 March 1949. She had been a former chairman of the Ilkeston Branch of the British Legion (Women’s Branch) and past secretary of the Ilkeston Nursing Association. Her funeral took place on the 11 March at the Parish Church in Ockbrook.