George Fawcett Pitts Abbott (1897 - 1977)

Born 18 Sep 1897 in Nelson, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Died 10 Jun 1977 at age 79 in Higham, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom

Biography

George Abbott was awarded the George Cross.

George Abbott is Notable.

George Abbott was born in Lancashire, England.

George Fawcett Pitts Abbott was born on 18 Sep 1897 in Nelson, Lancashire. He was the son of Samuel Pitts Abbott and Sarah Agnes (Chapman) Abbott.

His sister Eleanor Ann was born on 6 Sep 1899 in Nelson, and christened on 8 Oct 1899 at St Paul's Church in Little Marsden, Lancashire. Her father's occupation was recorded as warp dresser, and the family's address as 186 Hibson Road.

By March 31st 1901, the family were still living in the parish of St Paul's in Little Marsden, in Nelson. George's father was working as a cotton warpdresser.

George attended Whitefield School.

By April 2nd 1911, George was thirteen, and working as a reacher in a cotton mill. His father was a cotton mill warp dresser.

After leaving school, George worked as a warp-dresser in a textile factory called Schofield & Preston & Co Ltd. He was involved in founding the Warp Dressers Club.

In August 1916, George enlisted in the Royal Naval Reserve. His service record describes him as 5 feet 8½ inches with a fresh complexion and brown eyes, and a scar above his right eyebrow. His address was 176 Brunswick Street, Nelson. He was assigned to the Victory at Portsmouth.

On 14 September 1917, George was a deckhand, and he was at Portsea Island when a seaplane collided with a Poulsen mast there. This was an early wireless radio mast invented by Valdemar Poulsen, and was about 350 feet high and made of latticed steel girders. The plane got stuck in the mast at a height of over 300 feet from the ground, and the pilot, E. A. de Ville, was knocked unconscious by the collision and ended up precariously on top of one of the wings.

On seeing this, George and two other ordinary sailors - Nicholas Rath and Richard Knoulton - rushed to climb the mast and try and rescue the pilot, despite the damaged condition of the mast after being hit - it had lost one of its three supports, and was bent where the plane had hit it, and the mast and plane were both swaying alarmingly. The three men got up the first hundred feet together, at which point more men who were on the ground were able to help them get higher - there was a boatswain's chair fitted to the inside of the mast, and Nicholas got into it and they hoisted him up to the level of the seaplane. He climbed out onto it, and held the pilot. Then George and Richard were gotten up to the level of the plane as well, and passed the gantline to Nicholas. He fixed it to the pilot, and they got the pilot to the inside of the mast and from there safely to the ground.

In Nov 1917 George was transferred to the Zana.

In December 1917 the three men were awarded the Albert Medal for their bravery in rescuing the pilot - Nicholas' medal was in gold, George and Richard's medals were bronze. George's medal was presented to him at Buckingham Palace by the King, on 16 February 1918.

In June 1918 George was transferred to the Pastolus.

George was demobilised on 23 June 1919.

George married Alice Emily Harris (or Bramhall) in 1946 in Bromley district, Kent. According to one account, they had both worked at a munitions factory in Coventry during the Second World War.

After the war they kept a fish and chip shop in Northfleet, Kent. In 1961, they returned to Nelson, and George ran a grocer's there for about 5 years till he retired. During his retirement, he is said to have enjoyed walking, betting on horses, and Guinness.

In 1971, the Albert Medal was discontinued, and those who had received it were invited to exchange theirs for a George Cross. George declined to exchange his.

George died in 10 Jun 1977 in the hospital in Higham, Lancashire. He was cremated at Burnley Crematorium. His ashes were scattered in Downham Churchyard.

Sources

• Birth registration: George Fawcett Pitts Abbott, last quarter 1897, Burnley district, mother's maiden name Chapman, accessed on GRO website (free registration required)

• Marriage registration: https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=6l5%2Fj7YLkkFwKm6PdvM%2B8w&scan=1 and https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=%2FXOawbbDDQcLUDJOSNQyKQ&scan=1

• Death registration: "England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVCR-76SN : 4 September 2014), George Fawcett P Abbott, 1977; from "England & Wales Deaths, 1837-2006," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing Death, Burnley & Pendle, Lancashire, England, General Register Office, Southport, England.

• Burial: Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 01 April 2021), memorial page for George Fawcett Pitts Abbott (18 Sep 1897–10 Jun 1977), Find A Grave: Memorial #175999802 ; Maintained by markg1234 (contributor 48642069).

• "England and Wales Census, 1901," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X9LB-9KP : 21 May 2019), George F P Abbott in household of Samuel Pitts Abbott, Nelson, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom; from "1901 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing Nelson subdistrict, PRO RG 13, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.

• "England and Wales Census, 1911," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X4MK-JPG : 6 May 2019), George Fawcott Pitts Abbott in household of Samuel Pitts Abbott, Nelson, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom; from "1911 England and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 14, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.

• http://www.vconline.org.uk/george-f-p-abbott-am/4588961175

• https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/30428/page/13086

• https://www.rcn.org.uk/servicescrapbooks/josephine-angois/transcript

• National Archives Catalogue Reference: HO 45/11180. Description: HONOURS: Albert Medal: Nicholas Rath, Richard Knoulton and George Faucett Pitts Abbott. Date: 1917-1923. Accessed on https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C4763054

• National Archives Catalogue Reference: Reference: BT 377/7/60885. Description: Name Abbott, George Faucett Pitts. Place of Birth: Nelson, Lancashire. Number: DA 14433. Date of Birth: 18 September 1897. Accessed on https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8521932

See also:

• Wikipedia: George Faucett Pitts Abbott
• Wikidata: Item Q16981789