The story of Corporal George Tallon
George Tallon was born on 16 March 1923 in Burneside, a village south of the Lake District in Cumbria. Apart from their parents, the family consisted of three children; George, Dick (Richard) and Betty (Elizabeth) Tallon.
After leaving school, George went to work at the local paper mill, Paper Mill James Cropper, until World War II broke out in 1940.
George is keen to join the army, but after 82 days of training as a private in the infantry of the 6th Battalion of The Border Regiment in Edinburgh, he is immediately discharged due to “incorrect statement regarding age at enlistment”. He was only 16 years old at the time and was asked to return when he was “the right age for it”.
On 29 January 1942, he re-enrols in the army in Carlisle and undergoes his basic training as a soldier. The 1st battalion of The King’s Own Scottish Borderers, to which George belongs, is part of the invasion of Normandy on D-Day (6 June 1944).
