George Witherby Riches; Corporal, Rifle Brigade.

The Cap Badge of the Rifle Brigade

George was born in Melton on 22nd January 1882 and, by 1901, he had left home to work as a footman to a family in Hyde Park Square. He married Daisy Marsh in Dunkirk, Kent, in 1910 and his occupation was listed as a trainee civil servant. In 1911, the couple were living in Wandsworth and George was working as a treasury messenger.

George enlisted in the Rifle Brigade and rose to the rank of Corporal. He was wounded in 1917 and, on recovery, was posted to a Labour Company. For his war service, George received the British War and Victory Medals.

George and Daisy had two sons, George, born in 1911, and Raymond in 1920; Daisy died in 1927. In 1939, George married Gertrude Fairley and they were living at Sutton Court Road in Chiswick. In the 1944 New Year’s Honours, George Riches was awarded the British Empire Medal for services as an office keeper at the Ministry of Pensions. George died in 1970 while living in Buckinghamshire.