b. 25/12/1908 Hurlford, Kilmarnock, Scotland. d. 01/02/1987 Tower Hamlets, London.
DATE AND PLACE OF GC ACTION: 12/09/1940 London.
George Cameron “Jock” Wyllie GC was the son of Archibald and Mary Jane (nee Houston). They had married in 1886 and George was born on Christmas Day 1908 in Hurlford, where the family lived at Holyoak Terrace. His father was a coal miner. Not much is known of his life following school, though it is known that in the 1930s, George was working in Manchester at the Avro aircraft factory.
George C Wyllie GC
Due to a dispute with his foreman in 1939 and the outbreak of war, George enlisted with the Royal Engineers and began training at Chatham. He found life as a sapper tough and volunteered instead for bomb disposal and joined the squad of Lieutenant Robert Davies (later GC). It was called the 16th and 17th Bomb Disposal Company and it was this company that dealt with the St Paul’s bomb on 12th September 1940 that led to both Davies and Wyllie receiving the GC.
On Christmas Day 1940, George married Violet Mylrea in Hackney and they went on to have a son, Keith. In 1943, George was discharged from the Royal Engineers due to a bad leg caused by blood poisoning which over his lifetime saw him operated on over 20 times. He had the condition prior to joining the Royal Engineers but somehow made it through the selection process.
He then joined the staff of a battery factory in Stamford Hill. One night he heard a “doodle bug” heading straight for the factory. He shouted for the manager to duck and threw the “governor” behind a wall. The manager was killed and the factory destroyed but George and his governor walked away unhurt. Later George worked for the Ford’s Foundry at Dagenham in Essex for over 24 years prior to retirement on 28th December 1973. George died on 1st February 1987 in Tower Hamlets and was cremated. His medal is owned and displayed at St Paul’s Cathedral.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: ST PAULS CATHEDRAL, LONDON.
BURIAL PLACE: CITY OF LONDON CREMATORIUM, MANOR PARK, LONDON.
