George Grundy (Service No. 3861331) was killed in action on 14 October 1944. He was aged 31 and was a Private in the 1st Battalion of the Royal Norfolk Regiment. He was initially buried at Cemetery Venrayseweg, Overloon and subsequently re-interred on 17 May 1947 in grave III. B. 11 at the Overloon Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in Overloon.

No photo of George has yet been found. Should anyone reading this have a photo of him or further information regarding him – or if they are aware of any errors in his biography below can they please contact the Foundation?

Military Career

It isn’t known when George Grundy joined up in the 1st Battalion of the Royal Norfolk Regiment.

The Battalion was still in India at the outbreak of the Second World War. It remained there until July 1940, when it returned home. It then spent the next few years training in Scotland and elsewhere in preparation for what was to come.

It landed in Normandy at Sword Beach on D-Day (6 June 1944). It played its part in the 1st and 2nd Battles for Caen which succeeded on 9 July after which the Battalion had its first rest period since D-Day. It continued the fight in Normandy through mid July and early August and was involved with Operation Goodwood and then in the preparation for the break out from Normandy which succeeded in late August.

From 17 August until 3 September the Battalion had a rest period which also allowed them to take on reinforcements to replace the substantial number of men they had lost. It then moved to Villers en Vexin until 17 September.

By this time, the Allied troops were making a fast advance through France and Belgium to the Escaut canal south of Eindhoven in readiness for Operation Market Garden. On 17 September, airborne troops landed in a corridor from the Belgian/Dutch border via Eindhoven and Nijmegen to Arnhem to secure bridges and allow ground forces to move forward with speed – then to reinforce and strike east into Germany.

The role of the Battalion along with others was to protect the main line of communications northwards along this corridor. It moved on from Villers en Vexin on 18 September and reached Peer on 19 September then Asten on 23 September. They entered Helmond, just east of Eindhoven, on 25 September. It had just been taken by another Battalion and they received an uproarious welcome from the Dutch people.

On 29 September, it moved out of Helmond and on over the River Maas at Grave through Heumen and on to Maldens Vlak. Here they spent time patrolling the area facing the Reichswald Forest in Germany not far to the east. On 9 October the Battalion retraced its steps to Grave, then south to dominate a stretch of the River Maas in the Cuijk area.

Problems with supply lines had resulted in the failure of the Allies to hold the bridge at Arnhem, so plans changed. The Allies found themselves in a narrow salient through the Netherlands and so it was decided to clear the enemy to the south in Overloon, Venray and Venlo while also securing Antwerp to help with supply issues. American Troops initially attempted to take Overloon, but did not succeed so the British Army took on the task.

On 11 October, the Battalion therefore moved on foot from Cuijk through Haps and St Hubert and on again the next day to Wanroij, St Anthonis and Oploo, arriving north of Overloon on 13 October. At this time, other British Troops were engaged in capturing Overloon, using an artillery barrage which caused heavy damage to the village.

The Battalion spent the night of 13 October in the woods around Overloon. The ground forward of the woods was flat and featureless and about midway between Overloon and Venray ran a stream called the Molen Beek. From its far bank the enemy had a clear view over a distance of 1000 yards of the British Troops leaving the shelter of the woods.

At 0700 hrs on the morning of 14 October, two companies led the attack to the south with support from two troops of Churchill tanks. They reached the edge of the woods without difficulty. As they emerged from the woods, a flail tank proceeded ahead of the Churchill tanks, This had massive chains attached to a revolving shaft at the front of the tank which flailed the ground ahead to explode anti tank mines. As the troops emerged from the wood, the Churchill tanks spread out with the infantry behind them. However enemy fire increased as they became visible. Within minutes some tanks were hit and others retreated back into the woods, leaving the Infantry without support. The men continued to push forward, using whatever scraps of cover they could find. They were visible to the enemy and vulnerable to his fire. Without tank support progress became increasingly difficult. They eventually reached their objective for the day which was a crossing track about 400 yds short of the Molen Beek, though they had attracted a lot of fire. The men took cover in a ditch. The ground in front was absolutely flat and the only cover was a low and meagre hedge beyond the far dich which was no more than 2 feet deep and very wet. They were extremely exposed and had to remain there for a second day while other units caught up.

Eleven men from the Battalion died on 14 October, including George Grundy. By 18 October Venray had been taken. Between 13 and 18 October, the Battalion incurred 43 fatal casualties and about 200 wounded.

Family Background

George Grundy was the son of George Grundy and Sarah Ann Sykes who had married in Leigh in Lancashire in 1901. George (Snr) was born on 2/12/1879 at Marsland Green, Astley which is just east of Leigh. Sarah Ann was born on 19/5/1882 in Leigh. They had children as follows, all born in Leigh: Elizabeth Alice 25/9/1901, James 22/9/1903, Albert 1906, George 15/2/1913 and John T Grundy 18/12/1916. Sadly, Albert died in infancy.

The family lived a 20 Thomas Street, Leigh from 1901 to at least 1939.

In 1901 George and Sarah were living at that address. Sarah’s widowed mother, Elizabeth Sykes, was the head of the household. She had been born in 1845 in Pennington, Lancashire. She had been a widow since 1883 when Sarah was not yet 1 year old. There too were two of her unmarried sons: Robert born in 1871 and Henry born in 1877. George Grundy and Robert and Henry Sykes were all working below ground in the Coal industry. George and Robert were both Coalminer – Hewers while Henry was a Collier Labourer. The Coal industry was a major employer in Leigh at that time.

Elizabeth Sykes died in 1904, so by 1911 George (Snr) was the head of the household. He was now a Colliery Drawer – which meant he brought the empty coal tubs to the coal face and returned them loaded to the bottom of the pit shaft. With George and Sarah were their children Elizabeth and John; George’s widowed father, John Grundy born 1835 in Leigh; George’s sister, Mary Jane Bailey, born 1883 and her husband Edward Bailey born 1878 – both in Leigh. There too were two of Edward and Mary Jane’s children – Elizabeth born 1906 in Leigh and Annie born 1911 in Yorkshire. Edward Bailey also worked as a Colliery Drawer.

In 1921 George and Sarah were still living at 20 Thomas Street. There too were their four children including George Jnr. George (Snr) was a Coal Hewer for John Speakman & Sons; Elizabeth was working as a Jack Frame Tenter for Butts Spinning Co. while James was working as a Piecer for the same company. The Cotton Industry was another major industry in Leigh. Butts Spinning Co. was a Cotton Weaving business. A Jack Frame was a machine which twisted threads for weaving and a Piecer pieced threads together when they broke during the process.

By September 1939, only their youngest child, John, was still living with George and Sarah. George (Snr) was a Colliery labourer and John was a Cotton Piecer Operative.

Elizabeth had married Joseph Sheeley in Leigh in 1923. They had two children: Alice on 19/7/1926 and Norma in 1932, though Norma died the following year. In 1939 Joseph and Elizabeth were living at 14 Thomas Street, Leigh – the same street as Elizabeth’s parents. Joseph, born 8/6/1904, was working as a Colliery Loader. Sarah Grundy’s brother, Henry Sykes, was living with his wife at No. 18.

James Grundy had married Ada Parry in spring 1939. In 1939 they were living at 8 Pennington Road, Leigh. James was working as a Fitter Labourer while Ada was a Draw Frame Tenter in a Cotton Mill. 

George Grundy (Jnr) had married Bridget Crusham in Leigh in 1938.

Bridget was the daughter of John Crusham and Sabina Ridge who had married in Leigh in 1894. John was born around 1871 in Ireland and Sabina around 1876 in Leigh. Bridget was born on 28/6/1916 in Leigh. She was the third youngest of 13 children born between 1896 and 1923 – though a girl, also called Bridget, was born and died in 1915, another sister died aged just two and a third sister aged 19.

John and Sabina were living with their children at 15, Smithy Street, Leigh in 1901 and 1911 but by June 1921 they had moved to 14, Navigation Street, Leigh where Bridget was the youngest of eight children present. Like George’s father, her father worked in the Coal Industry as a Coal Hewer. In 1921, her father and three of her brothers had been working at the Coal Mine of Ackers Witley Co. Two of her brothers were Datallers which meant they were paid by the day for the days when they were required. One brother was a Haulage Hand. However, all four were out of work. At this time in June 1921 the Coal Owners were in the middle of a three month dispute with their workers and many owners had locked their workers out. Another brother was working as a Piecer for a Cotton Spinning Company while a sister was working as Comber Tenter for F T Bouth & Co., Cotton Spinners.

Bridget’s mother, Sabina Crusham, died in Leigh in 1923 when Bridget was just 7 years old.

In September 1939, about a year after their marriage, George and Bridget Grundy were living at 17 Navigation Street, Leigh, the same street where Bridget had lived as a child. George was working as a Colliery Loader.

At that time, three of Bridget’s brothers were still living nearby at 14 Navigation Street as was her now married sister, Margaret, with her husband Dennis Murphy and a child whose name was not disclosed – most likely their daughter, Patricia Murphy. Her father, John Crusham, was not present – but died shortly afterwards in 1939.

George and Bridget had three children in Leigh as follows: John in 1940, then twins Granville and Joan in 1942.

Given George’s occupation in the Coal Industry, it is surprising that he entered the army as it was likely to have been a restricted occupation. However, he did join the 1st Battalion of the Royal Norfolk Regiment and sadly died on 14 October 1944. The death of Pte. George Grundy of Navigation Street, Leigh was announced in the Manchester Evening News of 20 November 1944.

Bridget went on to marry James Davies in Leigh in 1946. They had one child, Thomas Davies, in 1946 in Leigh.

George’s father, George Grundy, died in 1953 and his mother, Sarah Grundy, in 1964 – both in Leigh.

His wife, Bridget Davies, died in 2003 in Leigh.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission attempted to contact Bridget after the war but were unsuccessful, therefore no personal inscription was put on George’s grave. It was only in 2011 that his family were made aware of where he was buried.

From FindMyPast website: Civil and Parish Birth, Marriage and Death Records; England Census and 1939 Register Records; Electoral Rolls; Military Records
Information from “Thank God and the Infantry – from D-Day to VE-Day with the 1st Battalion, the Royal Norfolk Regiment” by John Lincoln
History of the 1st Battalion The Royal Norfolk Regiment
Wikipedia Royal Norfolk Regiment
Manchester evening news. 20 November 1944
Assistance from Rebecca Hesketh, George’s granddaughter

Research Elaine Gathercole