George was very pleased to welcome HRH the Prince of Wales to St. George's Hall where his exhibition was held
George meets Prince Charles for the second time at Bayeux Cemetery...George began painting after being asked to make a rummage sale sign for his church and spent the next 30 years painting Liverpool landmarks on bits of cupboard. Organisers of a community project stumbled across his work and persuaded him to share it with the world.
"Originally I was just asked to paint a sign with poster paints but I must have enjoyed doing it because I got in my car, parked up, and painted a picture of a church and it started from there. Then a neighbour gave me some old oil paints and I just kept going. People would tell me I should sell them, but I never really thought they were good enough. I was very proud of the exhibition. It was a wonderful experience."
George moved from the Welsh Streets in Toxteth where he lived for 71 years with his late wife, Ivy, when the area was earmarked for demolition. He now lives in his new modern apartment which the housing firm named after him in a special ceremony which included children from St. Charles primary school, Aigburth who sang to him.
"I'm a happy person. You'll often find me singing to myself and I'm out and about three nights a week!"
George returned to Juno beach where he landed 65 years ago and with the help of his old postcards and sketches, he and some of the D-Day Revisited team managed to track down the exact spot where he buried his comrade in the sand. It was an incredibly moving experience for those involved and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. George takes comfort in the knowledge that he has been able to keep the promise he made to that young man all those years ago...
