Introduction
After a childhood spent at Hardington Mandeville, George Albert Rendell enlisted in the Royal Garrison Artillery early in the First World War. After the war, he served at the Coast Artillery School at Shoeburyness, where he eventually settled with his wife.
Early years
George was born on 31 October 1895 at Hardington Mandeville, the eighth of nine children of Edward Rendell and his second wife, Elizabeth (nee Davis).[1] The family lived in a cottage in Rectory Lane. By the age of fifteen, George was working as a road labourer, probably alongside his father.
Military career
George enlisted in the Royal Garrison Artillery early in the First World War and was included in Hardington’s Roll of Honour in January 1915.[2]
By 1921 he was a lance bombardier stationed at the Coast Artillery School at Shoeburyness, an important centre for the instruction of coast-artillery personnel. It is unclear whether George was undergoing training himself or serving on the permanent staff.
Marriage and later life
While at Shoeburyness, George met Gladys Iona Gentry, who lived with her widowed mother and younger sister at 101 Guildford Road, Southend-on-Sea. Gladys was employed as a corsetiere in the town. The couple married in late 1922 or early 1923, and settled in the area.
In the late 1920s, George received a small inheritance following the death of George’s mother in July 1929. His father’s will directed that the family home be sold, and the proceeds divided equally among his sons.[3] As his father’s estate was valued at £109 10, and there were five sons, George probably inherited no more than about £20.
By 1939, George and Gladys lived at 43 Pentland Avenue, Shoeburyness, where they remained for the rest of their lives. Having left the army, George took on a role as a civil service clerk.
Gladys died in February 1984 at the age of eighty-four. Three years later, George died on 26 August 1987, at the age of ninety-one, leaving an estate valued at £62,410.[4] They did not have any children.
Conclusion
George’s military service took him away from the road work of his youth and from Somerset. His posting to Shoeburyness led to marriage, civilian employment and a permanent home in Essex.
References
[1] Civil registration birth index; 1939 Register, family reconstitution.
[2] Western Chronicle, 5 February 1915, p.6.
[3] Will of Edward Rendell, dated 7 March 1921, proved at Taunton on 23 March 1927.
[4] National probate calendar.
