View source for Arthur Edward George

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{{Infobox person
| name               = Arthur Edward George
| image              = 
| caption            = 
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|df=yes|1875|06|17}}
| birth_place        = [[Fordington, Dorset]], England
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1951|09|08|1875|06|17}}
| death_place        = [[Bingley]], Yorkshire, England
| other_names        = 
| known_for          = 
| occupation         = 
| nationality        = British
}}
'''Arthur Edward George''' (17 June 1875 – 8 September 1951) was an accomplished sportsman, an aviation pioneer, aircraft designer, racing driver, engineer and businessman. He served in the [[Second Boer War]] (in the British [[Cape Colony]] armed forces), in [[World War I]] and in [[World War II]], and was awarded the Silver medal of the [[Royal Aero Club]] posthumously for his "Services to aviation over 50 years".

==Early life==
'''Arthur Edward George''' was born in [[Fordington, Dorset|Fordington]], near [[Dorchester, Dorset|Dorchester]], Dorset, England on 17 June 1875; his family moved to Newcastle upon Tyne while he was a child. He was a talented athlete, being a swimmer, figure skater and racing cyclist at international level.<ref name=DennisH106>[https://archive.today/20130421125652/http://members.multimania.co.uk/aegeorge/Page_3x.htm Encyclopaedic site about A.E.George and George & Joblin]</ref>

After serving an [[engineering apprentice]]ship in Newcastle, he lived for some time in South Africa, where he became national cycling champion{{Citation needed|date=June 2010}} and represented South Africa at the 1899 [[UCI Track Cycling World Championships]] in Montreal, Canada.{{Citation needed|date=June 2010}} He served with the Cape Colony Cyclist Corps from 7 January 1901 until 12 May 1902 in the [[Second Boer War]], receiving the [[Queen's South Africa Medal]] with three [[Medal bar|clasps]].<ref name=NatArchive>[http://yourarchives.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php?title=Arthur_Edward_George National Archive information about A.E.George]</ref><ref Name=CCCC-medal>[http://www.dnw.co.uk/medals/auctionarchive/searchcataloguearchive/itemdetail.lasso?itemid=21646 Medals awarded to Sergeant A.E.George in 1901 and 1902]</ref> On his attestation (joining-up) form he is described as being "Age: 23(?), Nationality: English, Trade: Cycle Mechanic, Height: 5 ft 10½in, Weight: 150 lbs, Chest: 38in, Complexion: Fair, Eyes: Blue, Hair: Black, Character: Very good." It was noted that he "Supplies own bicycle".<ref name=CCCC-papers>[http://www.genealogyworld.net/boer/cyclist_f.html National Archives Ref WO 126/20 for the Boer War service records]</ref>

==Later life==
In 1902, having returned to England, he formed the company '''George and Jobling''' in [[Newcastle upon Tyne]] with Robert ("Bob") Lee Jobling. In 1904 the company moved to premises which had previously been used by [[Robert Stephenson and Company]], which it was to occupy for 60 years. George and Jobling first manufactured [[bicycles]] and later motor vehicles and [[Coachbuilder|automobile bodywork]]. It also sold motor vehicles and was an agent for many manufacturers. In addition to its coachbuilding business, George & Jobling| sold motor vehicles and was an agent for many manufacturers, including [[Argyll (car)|Argyll]], [[Darracq and Company London|Darracq]], [[Hillman]], [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] and [[Fordson tractor|Fordson]]. Between 1907 and 1970, the firm had branches in [[Hexham]], Glasgow, [[Darlington]], [[Bowness-on-Windermere|Bowness]] and [[Leeds]] and is credited with inventing the forerunner of the trolley-jack and the breakdown-truck. It became well known as 'expert witnesses' in court cases involving serious motoring accidents.<ref name=DennisH106/>

George was a keen racing driver and competed at home and in mainland Europe in road races, hill climbs and sand racing. He achieved third place driving a Darracq in the 1908 [[RAC Tourist Trophy]] race{{#tag:ref|Two other pioneer aviators, [[John Moore-Brabazon, 1st Baron Brabazon of Tara|John Moore-Brabazon]] and [[Sir Alfred Rawlinson, 3rd Baronet|Alfred "Toby" Rawlinson]], also took part in the 1908 IOM TT, the former finishing in 7th place in his Darracq, the latter having to retire after the 6th lap due to a faulty exhaust valve on his [[Metallurgique]].<ref name=IOMTT1908/>|group=nb}}, during which he also set the fastest lap time,<ref name=IOMTT1908>{{Cite web |url=http://www.teamdan.com/archive/gen/1908/1908.html#fir |title=Results of the Isle of Man 1908 TT race |access-date=18 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080821123337/http://www.teamdan.com/archive/gen/1908/1908.html#fir |archive-date=21 August 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and won many races in a stripped-down [[Ford Model T]] at [[Brooklands]] and [[Saltburn-by-the-Sea|Saltburn]]. This same car was later fitted with a polished brass body and became known as the 'Golden Ford', which is still preserved.{{#tag:ref|A photograph of the "Golden Ford" can be seen [http://www.startline.org.uk/slol26/retro.htm here].|group=nb}} During the National Strike of 1926, he was involved in driving newspapers from Newcastle to London."<ref name=NatArchive/>

In August 1909 George became an active member<ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1909/1909%20-%200554.html A.E.George donated 4 guineas toward the purchase of the club's clubhouse ''Flight Magazine'' 11 September 1909]</ref> of the [[Royal Aero Club]] of the United Kingdom<ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1909/1909%20-%200492.html 14 August 1909], ''[[Flight Magazine]]''</ref> and learned to fly on a [[Voisin (aircraft)|Voisin]] [[biplane]] called ''[[Voisin 197 biplane|Bird of Passage]]'' which he had bought from [[J.T.C. Moore-Brabazon]],<ref name=Turner>Turner, p.14.</ref> holder of [[List of pilots awarded an Aviator's Certificate by the Royal Aero Club in 1910|Aviator's Certificate no. 1]];<ref name=DennisH106/> he later sold the ''Bird of Passage'' to [[Cecil Grace]].<ref name=Turner/> He designed and built his own aeroplane, which featured hollow spars, a steerable tail-wheel and unique 'triplicate control column which controlled not only [[Flight dynamics|roll]] and [[Flight dynamics|pitch]] but also [[Flight dynamics|yaw]]. The control column has been preserved and is on display at the [[Discovery Museum]] in Newcastle upon Tyne. On 6 September 1910 he gained [[List of pilots awarded an Aviator's Certificate by the Royal Aero Club in 1910|Aviator's Certificate no. 19]] flying this prototype aircraft.<ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1910/1910%20-%200738.html 10 September 1910], ''[[Flight Magazine]]''</ref> Front and side elevation views of his aircraft, which was displayed at the Olympia Exhibition in 1910, can be found in the [[Flight Magazine]] archive.<ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1910/1910%20-%200253.html Front and side views of the George & Jobling biplane] at ''[[Flight Magazine]]'' 2 April 1910</ref> Later the same year he crashed it at an [[Air display]] in Newcastle; his application to the banks for more funds to continue designing and building aircraft was refused on the grounds that it was too dangerous; after this setback, he concentrated his efforts on customising and selling cars.

He nevertheless took an active interest in flying throughout his life: he was a leading member of the Newcastle upon Tyne Aero Club; he obtained his Civil Aviation Class A Pilot's Licence in 1935 and his Class A glider pilot's licence in 1937; in [[World War II]] he served from July 1939 until November 1940 as Commanding Officer of 131 Tyneside Squadron, [[Air Defence Cadet Corps]].<ref name=DennisH106/>

A.E.George volunteered for military service in [[World War I]], rising to the rank of (temporary) Major in the Northumberland Motor Volunteer Corps.<ref>
{{cite journal
  | last =
  | first =
  | authorlink =
  | author2 =
  | title =Volunteer Force
  | journal =London Gazette
  | volume =
  | issue = 31179
  | pages = 2264
  | publisher =[[His Majesty's Stationery Office|HMSO]]
  | date = 14 February 1919
  | url =http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/31179/supplements/2264
  | format =
  | doi =
  | id =
  | accessdate = 18 June 2010}}</ref> Between the wars he pursued his business, sporting and flying interests, serving again in World War II as Commanding Officer of the local [[Air Defence Cadet Corps]] between 1939 and 1940, followed by volunteer service in both the [[British Home Guard|Home Guard]] and the [[Royal Navy]].

On 8 September 1951 George died of cancer in [[Bingley]], Yorkshire, aged 76. His funeral was held in Newcastle and was attended by local dignitaries, representatives of the aviation world and previous employees.<ref name=NatArchive/> The local RAF Air Cadets performed a fly-past over the funeral ceremony. In honour of his services to aviation, the Royal Aero Club awarded him a posthumous Silver Medal.<ref name=RaeCSilver>{{cite web
  | last =
  | first =
  | authorlink =
  | author2 =
  | title =Awards and Trophies: Silver medal of the Royal Aero Club
  | publisher =[[Royal Aero Club]]
  | year =2009
  | url =http://www.royalaeroclub.org/awardSilver.htm
  | doi =
  | accessdate =19 June 2010
  | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20150725074804/http://www.royalaeroclub.org/awardSilver.htm
  | archive-date =25 July 2015
  | url-status =dead
  }}</ref>

==References==

===Footnotes===
{{Reflist|2|group=nb}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* {{cite book
 |title=The Old Flying Days
 |last= Turner
 |first= Charles Cyril
 |authorlink=
 |year=1927
 |publisher=S. Low, Marston & Co. Ltd.
 |location=London
 |isbn=
 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/oldflyingdays00turn/page/374 374]
 |url=https://archive.org/details/oldflyingdays00turn
 |url-access=limited
 }}

{{DEFAULTSORT:George, Arthur Edward}}
[[Category:1875 births]]
[[Category:1951 deaths]]
[[Category:British Home Guard officers]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:British Army officers]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Dorset]]
[[Category:Royal Navy personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:English aviators]]
[[Category:Aviation pioneers]]
[[Category:English racing drivers]]
[[Category:English male cyclists]]
[[Category:British male cyclists]]
[[Category:People from Dorset]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Dorset]]