During World War II, George served as a seaman aboard the HMS Trawler Bredon. On 8 FEB 1943, the U-Boat 521 fired a torpedo spread at a British Naval convoy. The HMS Bredon sank within minutes with all 43 crewmen lost.
George William Oxborough
Born: 13 OCT 1914 in Walpole, Suffolk County, England
Father: William Frederick Oxborough (1884 to 1947)
Mother: Mary Self (1881 to 1958)
Spouse: None
Married: None
Children: None
Died: 8 FEB 1943 off the coast of the Canary Islands.
Timeline:
1943 Death and Burial
Occupation: a seaman in the Royal Navy Patrol Service (1943)
Records:
England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915
The UK, British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, 1730-1960
UK, Commonwealth War Graves, 1914-1921 and 1939-1947
UK and Ireland, Find A Grave Index, 1300s-Current
Variations of Surname: none
George William Oxborough was my great-uncle. My grandmother, Gladys May Oxborough, was his sister. My mother was too young to remember her uncle, but her half-brother, Bob, did. Here is what my cousin, Matthew, shared on my family tree:
“My dad, Robin Norman Goldsmith, loved Uncle George and told me the story of this wonderful man. He never got over his death and took me to see his war memorial at this small village church. Great Uncle George was the only man killed in the village during WW2.”
During World War II, George served as a seaman aboard the HMS Trawler Bredon. On 8 FEB 1943, the U-Boat 521 fired a torpedo spread at a British Naval convoy. The HMS Bredon sank within minutes with all 43 crewmen lost.
Matthew shared a photograph of the plaque that honors our grand-uncle. The memorial is located at St Andrews Church in Wissett, Suffolk County, England.
George’s name also appears on the Lowestoft Naval Memorial. The Find A Grave website notes that this structure was “erected in honor of someone whose remains lie elsewhere.”
Notes:
The surname, Oxborough, originated in Norfolk County, England. It appears in church registers as early as the mid-16th century. As the world population grew, these Oxborough ancestors moved to other counties in England. By the late 19th century, some had immigrated to Canada and Australia.
Creating Your Family Tree
Interested in building a great family tree? Remember these important steps:
Look in your photo albums. You may have old pictures that your parents or grandparents gave you. Or, ask them for copies of photos that they have in their possession. Many people will write names and dates on the backs of photographs. Letters, diaries, and family bibles are also excellent sources for births, marriages, and deaths.
Talk to your older relatives to find out about your ancestry. They may relate stories about an ancestor that you can add to your family tree. Family history is usually not found in newspapers. It is more of a verbal memory that is passed down from generation to generation.
Find the right family tree builder that suits your needs. You can choose one that has a paid subscription like Ancestry.com. There are also free sites like FamilySearch.org.
When you start building your family tree, add documentation to your ancestor’s profile. The records can include birth, marriage, death, census, military, city, and county directory listings. Any information that you can find will help create a life story about your ancestor.
If you have a unique surname, like Wakenight, you may find databases on the internet that are useful in your search. I use SurnameDB.com for my English surnames. There are many others on the internet for other countries like Ireland, Italy, and Germany.
Genealogy is the study of a person’s “line of descent.” As you create your family tree, you would typically start with one individual and go “back into time.” You would add their parents, grandparents, and so on. There are also family trees that go “forward into time.” Many of these family trees start with a famous person, such as a president or royalty, and move forward into the present time. The purpose of this type of pedigree is to establish a person’s bloodline with that famous person.
There is no limit on how big your family tree can grow. The blank canvas is there for you to use. Cherish your family history, and it will be there for generations to come!
Leave a Reply