George Carr Barker Snowdon

Forename(s):
George Carr Barker

Surname:
Snowdon

Initial(s):
G C B

Service Number:
2238

Rank:
Private

Regiment:
Northumberland Fusiliers, 1/6th Battalion Territorial Force

Died:
14/04/1916

Aged:
21

Buried:
Ballieul Communal Cemetery & Extension

Service History:
Enlisted at Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland in 1914.

Snowdon arrived in France on 20 April 1915 at what turned out to be a critical moment during the Second Battle of Ypres (22 April-25 May) when the Germans first used poison gas as a weapon of war.

In April 1916 the battalion was holding the front line in the Wytschaete sector below the Messines Ridge. On 9 April the Germans began heavy shelling of the positions held by the Fusiliers which continued on & off for 4 days until the battalion was relieved on 13 April.

Snowdon was wounded during the relief operation. He died of his wounds the following day.
(Source: 'Felton War Memorial: The Men behind the names'; Eleanor George [formerly Hall]; 2009; p. 36)

Background:
Born in 1893, at Newcastle upon Tyne, the elder of two children born to the late William Frain Snowdon (a Mechanical Engineer & an Indian Rubber Merchant, with premises at 25, Clive Street, Newcastle; d. 1913), by his second wife Ann Snowdon (née Barker).

At the age of 16, Snowdon was still at school in Newcastle. His link to Felton is unclear. It is possible that another member of his family moved to the village during or immediately after WW1. At least one family with the surname Snowdon is known to have lived in the village between the wars.
(Source: 'Felton War Memorial: The Men behind the names'; Eleanor George [formerly Hall]; 2009; p. 36)

Local Memorial:
Felton War Memorial incorporating Acton, Eshott, Swarland & Thirston