George Albert Skelly was born in Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland,England on 5 April 1887. He was the youngest child of William McGall Skelly and Jane Douglas Skelly. His parents had a total of 13 children but 5 of them did not survive childhood and one more died at the age of 16. His mother died when he was four years old and he was brought up by his eldest sister Elizabeth. Elizabeth who was married to Thomas Paulin had three daughters.So here were four children one of which was the uncle of the other three.

George had his schooling in Berwick. I believe that he told me that he had the equivalent of a grade 8 education. It appears that after he left school he went to work for his two eldest brothers, Bill and Robert. Bill had a butcher shop

Pte.G.A.Skelly,in England, 1915.in Berwick and Robert operated a grocery store. He learned both the butcher business and the grocery business. George,I was told was a bit of a rebel. He apparently was always getting "sacked" because he would get involved in soccer and not turn up for work!       George was interested in singing. He had voice training in Edinburgh under the same tutor that trained the famous Irish tenor of the 20's and 30's, John McCormick. George hada beautiful tenor voice and sang in many church choirs and had many soloist engagements throughout the years. It appears that the future didn't look bright in Berwick for George so he decided to go to the New World to seek his fortune. He set sail for Canada and settled in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada in 1913. He gained employment as a butcher but this lasted only a year or so because of the commencement of hostilities of World War 1 in August 1914.

On 31 December 1914 he enlisted in the 43rd Battalion Cameron Highlanders of Canada, Canadian Expeditionary force (CEF). After training in the winter of 1914-15 the 43rd left Winnipeg on the 13 May and embarked for England from Montreal on 1 June 1915.They sailed to England aboard the H.M.T.S. Grampian, arrived at Devonport, England and moved by train to the Lower St. Martin's Plain in the Shornecliffe area.At first the 43rd was a reinforcement battalion but this changed and they were given their place in the 9th Brigade, 3rd Canadian Division. They proceeded to France on 21 February 1916. They moved into the Ypres Salient where they occupied the trenches from March through May 1916. Here they received their baptism of fire in the Battle of Mount Sorrel at the beginning of June. The Somme battles of Fleurs-Courcellette (Zollern Trench), Thiepval and Ancre Heights (Regina Trench) of 1916 began in June and ended on 18 November 1916. 125 square miles captured with a cost of 1,265,000 casualties. George Skelly took part in all of them. He was awarded the Military Medal for bravery during one of the actions of the Somme. The 43rd Camerons attacked Regina Trench and it was reported that the barbed wire was cut. It wasn't and the battalion was slaughtered. Only 6 officers and 67 other ranks answered roll call the next morning. George Skelly was one of the lucky ones. He was promoted to the rank of Sergeant in December 1916.

L-->R -- The Military Medal, The British War Medal, the Victory Medal --

April 1917 saw the Camerons in the Vimy Ridge area and they were involved in trench raid operations. On 5 April 1917, four days before the Canadian attack on Vimy Ridge and the day of his 30th birthday, George was involved in a trench raid and was severely wounded by a gunshot wound in the chest. He was hit by an exploding bullet that blew his left chest wide open. He was lucky in this respect because the bullet exploded and fragmented when it hit his ribs. If it hadn't exploded it would have pierced his heart and he would have died instantly. He spent several months recuperating and in May 1918 he contracted a severe case of influenza during the influenza epidemic of 1918. He survived the "flu. He returned to Canada on the Empress of Britain and was discharged in Winnipeg in April 1919. He was one of the few "Originals" of the 43rd Bn Cameron Highlanders of Canada to survive the war.

After the war he gained employment as a salesman with Campbell Brothers and Wilson and The Hudson's Bay Company prior to starting his own company The Skelly Candy Company with the logo "Buddy Boy Nuts and Sweets". He married IVY MADELINE ROSE CHOWNE ON 10 June 1927. They had one son George Alfred Skelly who was born 25 May 1929. He retired in 1952 and died in 1968 at the age of 81 of lung cancer.

    Ivy Madeline Rose Chowne was born in Dorchester, England on 17 February 1903. She was the third child of four and the only daughter of Battery Sergeant-Major Alfred James Chowne DCM, Royal Horse Artillery, of Henfield and Alice Willis Chowne of Poole. She had two older brothers (Harold and Reginald) and one younger brother.(Ronald). She emigrated from England to Canada with her parents in 1913 at the age of 10. They settled in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. She Ivy & George, Wedding Day 10 June 1927was educated in Winnipeg and graduated from Lord Selkirk High School. Following graduation she attended Business College and worked as a court reporter. She married George Albert Skelly in June of 1927 and a son George Jr was born     in May of 1929.The Great Depression hit George and Ivy hard in 1929 and both were out of work. Ivy was lucky enough to obtain a job in those hard times with M.A. Gray and Co., Travel agents in the early 30's. She managed the Travel Agency until her retirement in 1968. She died on 5 May 1996 at the age of 93 of congestive heart failure.