Clara Acton was born in 1864. She married Rueben George in 1887 and the couple had three sons, Herbert, Granville and Stanley. By 1901 they were living at 132 Goddard Avenue.
Reuben George came from humble beginnings and spent a lifetime working for the good of the poor man. He became a local politician and founder of the Swindon branch of the Workers’ Education Association. Clara was described as being deeply interested in her husband’s work for the WEA and served on the Executive Committee for a number of years. Clara supported her husband as Mayoress during his mayoral year and reference is also made to the fact that she was connected to the Co-operative Society and also served on the Education Committee for some years.
But as we remember the great and many good works both Rueben George and Clara performed, there is no mention of the son they lost during the First World War. Their eldest son Herbert Gladstone George was a Battery Sergeant Major in the Royal Field Artillery, 6th Bde and serving in Lahore in 1917 when he took his own life. His military records state that he ‘Committed Suicide on May 7, 1917 whilst temporarily insane.’
Suicide, along with soldiers shot for military offences, was frequently seen to have brought disgrace upon their families. Today we are able to bring some humanity and compassion to the situation and on November 7, 2006 the British Government granted posthumous conditional pardons to all soldiers executed in WWI for military offences. It remains unknown whether Reuben and Clara were informed of the cause of their son’s death, and if so whether they would have been able to share that knowledge with anyone. The grief was probably too great.
Reuben George died in June 1936. Clara attended her husband’s funeral at Christ Church against the advice of her doctor. Just hours after the funeral on June 10 she was admitted to the Victoria Hospital where she lay seriously ill for several days. An emergency operation to amputate her arm was undertaken but Clara died hours later. She died on June 20, 1936, just 16 days after her husband.
Former Mayoress of Swindon
A large number of mourners attended the funeral, yesterday, at the parish church, Swindon, of Mrs Clara George, a former Mayoress of the borough, who died in Swindon Hospital exactly a fortnight after her husband, Alderman Reuben George, who died in the same hospital.
Mrs George was buried in the same grave as her husband. Both were 72 years of age, and had been closely identified with the Workers’ Educational Association and other social movements in the town.
The chief mourners were deceased’s two sons, Mr Granvill George, of Manchester, and Mr Stanley George, of Swindon; also a sister (Mrs Symonds) and three brother-in-law, all from Gloucester, of which city Alderman and Mrs George were natives.
Mr A.E. Douglas Smith represented Bristol University and the WEA (Bristol Centre), and Mr A.H. Shipman represented Sir James and Lady Currie.
Letters of condolence were received from the Archbishop of York and Mr Ramsay MacDonald, also from Miss May Morris of Kelmscott, daughter of the late William Morris.
Western Daily Press and Bristol Mirror, Thursday, June 25, 1936.
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Radnor Street Cemetery 
Thank you for looking after Reuben George’s grave.His son Stanley was my Uncle . He married Margaret ,my father’s sister. They were the Rye family who ran a hardware shop in Swindon. I have photos of WEA rambles .also Reubin .
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Hi Sue – thank you so much for getting in touch. I have also done some research into the Rye family and have written about them here https://radnorstreetcemetery.blog/2023/10/06/the-busy-rye-family/ It would be lovely to hear more about your family history and to see your photographs. You can contact me on francesbevan@outlook.com.
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