Pte 30160 George O'Born

• Age: 20
• From: Liverpool
• Regiment: The King's (Liverpool Regiment) 17th Btn
• K.I.A Thursday 12th October 1916
• Commemorated at: Thiepval Memorial
  Panel Ref: P&F1D8B &8 C.

George Oborn was born on the 15th January 1896 in Liverpool. He was the eldest child of George Oborn and his wife Sarah Elizabeth (nee Jamieson) who were married in St Peters Church, Liverpool on the 10th December 1894. George and Sarah Elizabeth were both born in Liverpool. George was baptised at St Ambrose Church, Everton on the 22nd January 1896, his parents’ residence given as 11 Netherfield Place, and his father’s occupation as labourer. 

In 1901 the family, listed as Aborn, is found in court housing in Portland Place, with two children. His father is aged 27, and is a sugar house labourer, mother Elizabeth is aged 25. George's age 2, and Samuel’s, 5, have been transposed.

The 1911 Census shows the family living at 48 Beresford Street, Everton, Liverpool. His father George is aged 36 and his occupation is a sugar boiler, his mother  Sarah Elizabeth is aged 35. They have been married for 16 years and have had seven children, one of whom has died. All of the children have been born in Liverpool. Those listed on the Census are; George aged 15 is an errand boy, Samuel aged 12 is at school, William aged 9, Sarah Elizabeth aged 6, Lilian aged 2 and Ernest born early in 1911. Their daughter Louise born in 1907 had died in 1909 aged 2.

Sadly baby Ernest died later in 1911 aged just 8 months. Six more children were born in the following few years; Sidney in 1912, Agnes in 1913, Ruth in 1915 and twins George Edward and John Ernest in 1917 and Roseina in 1919. The family were then living at 78 Kilshaw Street, Everton.

George enlisted in Liverpool and was serving in the 17th Battalion, The King’s Liverpool Regiment as Private No 30160. The amount of the War Gratuity suggests that George enlisted in about May 1915, when he was 19 years old, and the medal roll shows that he arrived in France on 29th December 1915.

He was killed in action on the 12th October 1916, aged 20, during the Battle of the Transloy Ridges which was part of the ongoing Somme Offensive. It appears that the military records are the only ones that record his name as O'Born, every other record refers to him as Oborn.

17th Bn War Diary: Battle of Transloy Ridge –

11-10-16 - Gird Trench/Gird Support – Battalion in front line and support trenches. British bombardment of enemy front line system commenced about midday. Hostile shelling was intermittent throughout the day.

12-10-16 - Our bombardment continued. Enemy reply weak. 2.5 p.m. Zero hour. Attack on German front line system commenced. Enemy wire was found to be uncut and attack was unsuccessful. Hostile machine gun fire was very heavy and caused many casualties. Battalion H.Q. and Support Trench were heavily shelled throughout afternoon and evening. […] During this action all communication had to be carried out by runners and carrier pigeons as all wires were being continually cut by enemy shelling.

Casualties: 5 officers killed, 5 officers wounded, 38 OR killed, about 225 OR wounded/missing etc.

Graham Maddocks, in “Liverpool Pals” p.140, adds:

“As the whistle blew, the 17th Battalion left its trenches to move forward. […] As soon as the attacking waves left their trenches the enemy artillery began to register on them, and at the same time, the defending infantry commenced a murderous rain of fire. […] Although their numbers had been depleted by the British bombardment, they were trained and experienced soldiers, well dug in on high ground, and for the most part, looking out on uncut wire. As such, it was virtually impossible for them to miss the City Battalion men struggling to advance in the mud towards them. The 17th Battalion, on the left, was particularly badly hit, as its portion of No Man’s Land contained a slight rise in the ground, and as the troops emerged onto it they were silhouetted against the sky and became easy targets. Those on the left of the attack, who managed to avoid the hail of bullets and make it to the German wire, then found that it was totally uncut, and thus trapped, they too became easy targets, to be picked off almost at the enemy’s will. It was hardly surprising that, seeing the first waves being wiped out, some of the following waves turned back and made for their start lines. These lines were now packed with other waves of troops, however, and the fleeing men added to the congestion already there, and became easy prey for the German gunners. There is some evidence also, to suggest that at this stage, the British trenches were also being hit by their own heavy artillery shells which were falling short.”

His name appeared in the list of K.L.R. killed on 20th November 1916. 

King's (Liverpool Regiment) - Oborn, 30160, G  

George's body was not recovered or was subsequently lost as he has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the Misisng of the Somme, France.

The Thiepval Memorial, the Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, bears the names of more than 72,000 officers and men of the United Kingdom and South African forces who died in the Somme sector before 20 March 1918 and have no known grave. Over 90% of those commemorated died between July and November 1916. 

On 01st August 1932 the Prince of Wales and the President of France inaugurated the Thiepval Memorial in Picardy. The inscription reads: “Here are recorded the names of officers and men of the British Armies who fell on the Somme battlefields between July 1915 and March 1918 but to whom the fortune of war denied the known and honoured burial given to their comrades in death.”

George earned his three medals. One medal roll shows his surname as Oborn and the other as O’born.

His mother received his Army pay and a War Gratuity of £5.  The pension card (O’Born) in the name of his mother, at 78 Kilshaw Street, and later 14 Oxford Drive, Waterloo, shows that she was awarded a pension of 10/6d a week from May 1917.

Sadly, George has not been found on any memorial. 

Having already suffered the loss of two children, baby Ernest and 2 year old Louisa, George senior and Sarah Elizabeth had now lost their 20 year old son George. As if this wasn’t enough tragedy for one family to suffer, 5 year old Sidney and 4 year old Agnes died within weeks of each other in December 1917 and baby George Edward, (who had presumably been named after his brother) died in February 1918 aged just 11 months.

Their son Samuel also enlisted aged 17 in September 1916 and served in France as Private 54771 in the Manchester Regiment. He was demobilised in May 1919.

George’s parents were retired and still living at Kilshaw Street at the time of the 1939 Register. George’s parents were retired and still living at Kilshaw Street at the time of the 1939 Register, George dob 26th Oct 1874, Sarah E. dob 7th March 1874, and brother John E. 

His mother died, aged 80, in 1955 in Crosby. 

His father George died, aged 87, in 1962.

We currently have no further information on George O’Born or Oborn, If you have or know someone who may be able to add to the history of this soldier, please contact us.