George was born on 6th November 1935, and lived his early life at no. 47 Naval Bungalows in Grimsby.  He was the son of William and Gladys, sibling to the late Jim, David and Dennis, and is survived by his sister, Shirley.

George often told stories of his younger days.  He knew every Lincolnshire pub from travelling as a child with his father who, as a drayman for Conways, would deliver barrels of beer to pubs across the County. Each delivery came with a beer on arrival (for both father and son). Just when you thought you’d heard all his childhood tales of people, places and events, he would dig around in his childhood memory archive and find some more! Georgeloved to follow the local history sites on Facebook and share his own family stories on them.

George attended Old Clee Grammar School and, until very recently, loved the annual get-together reunions with former pupils, singing the old school songs and reminiscing.

George was to meet the love of his life, Pat, at the age of 15.  It was perhaps not the conventional hearts and roses love story, but it was one which stood the test of time, and they shared 61 years of loving marriage. At the time of meeting, Pat was just 12. Their two mothers were well acquainted,and Pat used to stay at George’s house on occasion, where she would bump into George. She admits she “didn’t like him at all” and that she “avoided him like the plague!”

Pat went on to join the Queen Alexandra Royal Nursing Corps and George followed his dream to enter the Royal Air Force. He joined the Admin Apprentices as a Boy Entrant in 1952 in the 17th intake as a Pay Accountant, graduating two years later, before being posted to Germany.

One night, a couple of years ago, over a few beers, he told me how,from the moment he met Pat, he knew there was no other woman for him. Their paths continued to cross in the coming years, and George told me he had proposed (and been rejected) several timesbefore one day she said, “so, are you going to marry me then, or not?” She says she got so fed up with him asking her, she thought she’d better do so! He still kept trinkets and treasures from their dating days in his wallet and, it must be said, he loved her to his last breath.

The Royal Air Force was such a huge part of George’s life, and their life as a couple. He enjoyed lots of postings with the Royal Air Force both at home and abroad. Favourites included the British Embassy in Paris, RAF Gatow in Berlin, RAF Rheindahlen in Germany and his final posting abroad, RAF Decimomannu in Sardinia.  He would revisit his experiences at AFCENT in Fontainebleau when meeting up with other veterans of the Fontainebleau Association annually. He was also an honorary member of the RAF Eindhoven Association, travelling to Eindhoven each yearto enjoy the hospitality on offer at the Queen Hotel, proudly instigating lock-ins and consuming ample amounts of port, beer and Sambuca, all in the name of his beloved late brother, Jim.

During his time in the RAF, he enjoyed many detachments and still had vivid memories of these.  He recently spotted a pot of Tiger Balm on the side and asked me to google Tiger Balm Gardensin Singapore to see if it still existed, and if it had any connection to the cream. He never lost the lust for learning. Tiger Balm Gardens does still exist, and it’s fascinating – please do look it up!

His final posting before retiring from the RAF in 1990 was RAF Scampton, and Pat and George moved to New Waltham. George worked as a Families Officer, and he took the liberty of taking Ben, the car-sick retriever, each day to work.  This ‘non-dog-lover’ became an avid fan over the ensuing years,and lately he would often have Tom, a hefty retriever, on his knee for a cuddle!  Tom is missing his Master and continues to wait for George to come home to play.  

Civvy Street and home ownership brought its challenges. For example, George had never been one for DIY, but his first job was to build the base for a garage. This turned out to resemble a two-foot-deep helicopter landing pad and was undoubtedly a huge lesson in leaving things to the professionals in future! It is fair to say that whenever a hammer, screwdriver or drill appeared, you would never quite have the result you might have expected! He also seemed to lose his ability to BBQ –staple weekend entertainment in the Forces wherever he was stationed – but having burnt the BBQ itself and set it alight, he left the task to others in the future!

George went to work for Arlington Motors, which then became Dixons, in the cashier’s office. He had an amazing ability to compute a whole line of numbers in his head that most of us would struggle to input into a calculatorwithin the same time. This brilliant mathematical brain could be frustrating to the rest of us though, we never quite understood how, when playing dominoes, he could calculate just what tiles each person had left to play.  Needless to say, he would always win!

He made many friends at Dixons, and during this era took up a season ticket at Blundell Park, which he would continue to have for over 25 years.During his time at Dixons, and in the years after, he quietly and diligently went about his local charity work, which he continued to do until a couple of days before Christmas, and for which this community will always be indebted.He would regularly drive around the county delivering, collecting, and helping in any way he could. George loved helping others and was proud to call some of the celebrities he met his friends. He would have been particularly honoured that the Emmerdale filming schedule was altered so that some of those could be here today to celebrate his life.

In the early 2000s, he joined no. 298 Tennyson Mess in Louth. It’s fair to say that while he enjoyed his get-togethers with like-minded gentlemen, the almost-secret mess unfortunately folded because of a clause that prevented discussion about it. A little too protected, one might say.

In recent years, and during Covid, dad spent much time doing jigsaws. He would be assisted by mum on many occasions, and this helped to while away the time of long isolation. He left behind a part completed jigsaw, of bombers flying over Lincoln Cathedral, and eventually we hope to complete this for him.

George was blessed with many wonderful neighbours and ex-RAF colleagues. He joins Harry, Audrey, Brommy, George, and Jim (and more) in Heaven’s Mess Bar now, debating the rights and wrongs of the modern-day RAF, and knowing George, he will quickly take over the running of it!

On his behalf, I know he would have wanted thanks to go to Debbie and Bert, for their years of friendship and support, and particularly to those others, including Derek and Jan, Helen, Steve and Dawn and many more who have stepped up for Pat at this difficult time - he would have been so grateful to you. He particularly would have wanted his thanks passing on for the donations already received in lieu of flowers for his chosen cause, he would have felt both humbled and amazed.

George was a gentleman of the finest order. He had a dry sense of humour and was often a man of few words - we would joke that he thought he was paying for text messages by the word! As one friend commented, “George was simply ace!”

We, his family and friends, will miss George but are so grateful for the times we all spent together.

Thank you for the precious memories. Thank you for being you.

Rest in Peace, Gorgeous George.

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A Tribute To George Wright