Biography

Family background

The Rawlings family hav a long association with Collingham with George Haynes Rawlings (Snr) moving to the village around 1914. He had two sons who served in World War 2 - George Haynes Rawlings (Jnr) and Allan Ernest Rawlings.

George Haynes Rawlings (Jnr) was born on the 17th October 1908, the elder son of George Haynes Rawlings and his wife, Florence Rawlings (nee Cullen). In 1911, on census day, the family were living at 23 Hartley Grove, Woodhouse in Leeds. George (Snr) was a commercial traveller in the timber business and was aged 29, originally from Rotherham. Florence was aged 30, from Leeds, and the census shows that George (Jnr) and his younger brother, Allan Ernest Rawlings (aged 5 months) had both been born in Leeds.

Unfortunately Florence Rawlings died in 1914 of phthisis (nowadays termed tuberculosis) and was buried in Leeds General Cemetery, leaving George (Snr) with two young children aged just 4 and 6 years old. At some point around this time, the Rawlings family moved to Collingham. George (Snr) seems still to have due for military service in World War 1 and he applied for an exemption which was reported in the Wetherby News. He appears to have been given a temporary exemption, and he was called again to the Wetherby military tribunal later in the war. It is not clear whether he did eventually get a full exemption, but he continued bringing up his sons in Collingham with the aid of his sister-in-law, Laura Cullen, who lived with the family for at least some of the time. The Rawlings family continue to appear on the electoral roll for Collingham in the early 1920s and on the 1921 Collingham census. In 1921 George (snr) was a timber merchant. Throughout the 1920s the Rawlings family appeared on the Collingham electoral roll, and in the early 1930s, when more detail appears in the electoral rolls, they were listed at Santa Rosa, Langwith Avenue, Collingham.

George Haynes Rawlings (Snr) died on the 23rd December 1936 and is buried in Collingham. George (Jnr) and Allan continued living in Collingham.

In 1938, Allan Ernest Rawlings married Phyllis May Blacker and they set up home in Collingham. When the National Registration was taken in 1939, Allan and Phyllis were living at Harewood Road, Collingham. Allan was a timber merchant and Phyllis a housewife, but both were already contributing to the war effort - Allan with the Leeds Auxiliary Fire Service, and Phyllis in the Womens Voluntary Service. At the same time, Allan's brother, George (Jnr), is on the Collingham National Registration living at Santa Rosa, Langwith Avenue, Collingham. Also registered at this address were Laura Cullen (George Jnr's aunt) and a single millinery buyer and sales manager, Winifred A Wallinger. Just a few months later, Winifred and George Haynes Rawlings (Jnr) married. On the National Register, George (Jnr) is listed as a timber merchant, but he was also giving his time in Civil Defence as a member of the Observer Corps. Winifred also gave her time in Civil Defence as a member of 'C' Report Centre, Leeds Corporation, ARP.

Service record

We have not yet equivocally identified George Rawlings' service in World War 2. There is a report in the London Gazette of 2386056 George Haynes Rawlings (315121) in May 1944 moving from being an Army Cadet to be a 2nd Lieutenant in the Pioneer Corps. Given the slightly unusual middle name this is likely to be 'our' man, but we cannot be 100% certain at present.

After the war

George Haynes Rawlings appears on the Service Register part of the Collingham Electoral Rolls in 1945, 1947 and 1948, so he clearly did not leave the armed forces immediately the war ended. Eventually he came back to live in Collingham and he and Winifred lived from 1945 throughout the 1950s at Kenmore, Langwith Park Avenue, Collingham. He died in on the 3rd March 1973 at Kenmore, Church Lane, Collingham. George Haynes Rawlings (Jnr) (1908-1973) is buried in St. Oswald's Churchyard in Collingham with his father (1881-1936) and wife Winifred Arnold Rawlings (1915-1990).

Biography last updated 23 September 2025 23:51:52.