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Pte. George Tebb
British Army Royal Army Medical Corps
from:St Helens, Lancashire
My grandfather, George Tebb, was born on 27 Jan 1896 in St Helens, Lancashire to George Tebb and Frances Jane (nee Ashcroft). His family were devout Salvation Army members, his father a bandsman, band leader and a Professor of Music. My grandfather, too, was a pianist and also played the cornet in the SA Band. He worked in the local glass factory by day and involved himself with the SA in all his spare time. My grandfather was a pacifist but knew that he had to join up at the outbreak of war. So, he decided to join the RAMC - the Medical Corps, probably feeling that this would not compromise his pacifist beliefs but no doubt aware that he would often be in the 'thick of it' for much of his service.
I think that although he survived the war and went back to glass making and piano tuning (as a side-line) and remained with the Salvation Army to the end of his life, he was terribly affected by his war-time service. He was a man who suffered from mental problems on and off for the remainder of his life with spells in hospital. Thankfully, he had married my grandmother, Minnie Tebb, an immensely practical woman who often had to keep the family together (they just had one daughter, Eileen, my mother) and they had a boarding house in Blackpool so that granddad's recurring illnesses could be covered by income from the business. It was his music that kept him going for much of the time - although after an accident in the glass factory that severely damaged his right hand he could no longer play the piano, sadly. However, for his services to brass bands he was recognised by Sir Malcolm Sergeant in 1964. George died in Blackpool in 1969.
