George Tucker was born on 21 June, 1875, at St. John’s in Newfoundland, the son of William and Elizabeth Tucker. Nothing further is known of his upbringing in Newfoundland or whether he had any siblings.

George became a merchant seaman and came to England, where he married Ellen (Nellie) Best in the early summer of 1900, at St. Thomas in Exeter, Devonshire. In 1911 they were shown as having one son, Eddie, who was apparently born around 1906. However, his birth has not been traced. On George Tucker’s subsequent pension card they were shown to have one adopted son, Albert Williams Tucker, born in 1905.

 In 1911 they lived at 3 Victoria Place in Exmouth, Devonshire. Following George’s death his widow and adopted son lived at 14 Victoria Place.

George Tucker served aboard HMS Royal Sovereign for training from 9 February until 19 August, 1898, on which date he enrolled at Plymouth in the Royal Naval Reserve as a seaman, number 8773G.

He was aged 23 and described as being: 5’ 6¾” tall; with blue eyes; a dark complexion; a chest measurement of 39”; tattoos of ‘C.E.T.S.’ and ‘C.P.S.’ on his left forearm; and a slight scar on his left cheek. He served aboard HMS Revenge for training from 2 January to 31 March, 1903, and allocated the new number 735QA. He was advanced to leading seaman on 1 April, 1904, and in 1908 his number changed to 615QB, and then to 558C.

Between 27 November and 24 December, 1912, he underwent training aboard HMS Irresistible.

By the start of World War One George Tucker, as a leading seaman, had the number D2066. He had been working ashore at Exmouth since March, 1914, and commenced his war time service at Exmouth on 17 August, 1914, and posted to HMS Vivid, the shore base at Plymouth. He was allocated to HMS Iron Duke, but on 21 August he transferred to the battleship, HMS Colossus. On 14 September he was injured when the ship was coaling, by his right arm being caught when fending off a hoist of coal. His elbow came against a hatch, and the weight of the hoist came against his right hand, causing a simple fracture of his radius (wrist).

In HMS Colossus, George Tucker served with the 1st Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet, and took part in the Battle of Jutland, 31 May-1 June, 1916. He was advanced to petty officer on 1 April, 1915, and he remained in HMS Colossus until November, 1916, when he returned to HMS Vivid I. He was awarded the Royal Naval Reserve Long Service & Good Conduct Medal on 3 September, 1916.

On 21 December, 1916, he joined the armed merchant cruiser, HMS Hildebrand, which was part of Cruiser Force ‘B’ of the 10th Cruiser Squadron. He remained in HMS Hildebrand until the end of May, 1917, when he returned once more to HMS Vivid.

On 11 April, 1917, he was reprimanded for having sat on the buffers of a train at Carlisle Station whilst the train was in motion! On 30 July, 1917, he was posted to HMS President III, the accounting base for personnel employed on Defensively Armed Merchant Ships.

He served aboard the SS War Knight.

With a crew of 47, and carrying oil, the SS War Knight was in a convoy of 16 ships which had come from New York. In the early hours of 24 March, 1918, the convoy was off the Isle of Wight, and having received warnings of a possible German submarine presence the convoy began travelling without lights.

 Due to the size of the convoy, receiving signals and reacting to them took time, and the SS War Knight did not react with the speed of the other ships. At around 2.15 am the order was given to change direction and again only some of the convoy reacted, splitting into two groups, with the SS War Knight and American ship, O. B. Jennings in separate groups. The captain of HMS Syringa, the lead destroyer escort, attempted to unite the two groups, in doing so bringing the SS War Knight and O.B. Jennings closer together, a situation worsened by the darkness.

As the convoy re-grouped, the master of the O.B. Jennings recognised that the SS War Knight was turning towards them, heading for a collision. The O.B. Jennings was unable to move out of the way in time and SS War Knight struck its side, resulting in the release of the naptha cargo from the O.B. Jennings, which flowed across the deck of the SS War Knight. The nature of the cargo meant that a fire began both on the SS War Knight and on the O.B. Jennings, and also on the surface of the water surrounding the ships. Of the 47 crew aboard SS War Knight there were just 11 survivors, including the Chief Engineer David Falconer, and Apprentice Reginald Clayton, who were both awarded posthumous Albert Medals, after succumbing to their injuries in hospital.

 Falconer was recognised for his gallantry in rescuing men succumbing to flames below deck, whilst Clayton was recognised for his efforts to flood the magazine. George Tucker was one of 36 killed in the collision. He was aged 42.

Having no known grave but the sea, George Tucker is commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial in Devonshire. He is also commemorated on the Exmouth war memorial in Devonshire.

George Tucker’s service earned him the 1914-15 Star; British War Medal, 1914-20; Victory Medal, 1914-19; and Royal Naval Reserve Long Service and Good Conduct Medal (GV), which were issued to his widow.