Family :

Education & Career :

Secretary, (1908).

Service Life:

Campaigns:

• The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.

France & Flanders covers all the dates and corresponding locations which are outside the official battle nomenclature dates on the Western Front. Therefore the actions in which these men died could be considered 'normal' trench duty - the daily attrition losses which were an everyday fact of duty on the Western Front.

Detail :

David Barnes: "George HAMPTON was a survivor of a Richtofen 'kill' on 14-2-1917 at 4:45pm over Mazingarbe in the Loos sector. With Hampton was Captain George Cyril Bailey (Who survived the war and died 6-1-1972. He was 82 years old.) They were flying a BE2c. 2nd Lt. George William Betts HAMPTON was later KIA 11-3-1917. Buried at Vermelles British Cemetery. He was killed with 2/Lieut George Chandos Hopkins MC, in BE2c 4541"

In the Footsteps of the Red Baron by Michael O'Connor: "George William Betts Hampton (V A 26) For many years von Richthofen's 21st victory was though to be a Morane Parasol of 3 Squadron crewed by Lieutenant Thomas S Green and Second Lieutenant W K Carse who were both killed. In the last few years it has become apparent that this was an attempt to make the evidence fit the facts, and further research has shown that the victims were Captain George Bailey and Second Lieutenant George Hampton of 2 Squadron, flying an BE2c on Artillery Observation duty with 24th Division Artillery over Loos.

Although the timing and location fit with von Richthofen's combat report, one discrepancy remains in that he reported the aircraft as having crashed, and seeing a heavy cloud of smoke in the snow, although he does admit that it was foggy and was already getting rather dark. In fact the BE2 survived the action, although the aircraft was badly shot about, with Bailey reporting bullets through its fuselage, wing and own seat. Indeed Bailey had been wounded in the knee during the fight. Whether the smoke was caused by fire from the gun batteries being directed by Bailey and Hampton we will never know.

Although George Hampton survived the combat with the Baron on 14 February 1917, he did not last long after the encounter, being killed in action with another pilot less than a month later, on 11 March, probably shot down by one of von Richthofen's Jasta 11 proteges, Karl Schaefer. His pilot, Second Lieutenant G. C. Hoskins is buried in the next grave, V A 25.

Like Geoffrey Brichta in Barlin, George Hampton was somewhat older than his fellow officers, being aged 31 at the time of his death. Born in 1886, he lived with his wife Violet at 7 St. Mary Road, Walthamstow, Essex. At the outbreak of war he volunteered immediately and became a private soldier in the 1/4 Cameroon Highlanders, crossing to France with them on 15 February 1915.

Selected for officer training, he was commissioned into the 3/5 Suffolk Regiment, but became bored with life in a training/feeder battalion and successfully applied for a transfer to the Royal Flying Corps, soon afterwards finding himself in France as an observer with 2 Squadron."

See also: Air War 1914-1918.

Masonic :

Joining member of Bulawayo Lodge 7th April 1909, but resigned 24.3.1911.

Source :

The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:

• The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
• The (UK) National Archives
• Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
• ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry

Additional Source:

• Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
• Researcher : Bruce Littley