George Woolford was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Woolford, of Auckland.

George served in the same company as his younger brother Jim (Frederick James Woolford 42841). In a letter dated 14 September 1918, he described to his family in New Zealand the details of Jim's death. On the morning of 25 August, the New Zealanders began shelling the enemy positions at Bapaume, France prior to sending in the infantry. George was in a position to observe Jim in front of him as they began advancing under cover of a heavy mist. However, George believed they advanced too quickly and came under their own artillery barrage. He watched as a shell burst and Jim fell dead. Another friendly shell landed nearby, killing five members of a Lewis machine-gun team. George plucked up his courage and went on to single-handedly capture a German machine-gun post.

Although George survived the attack on Bapaume, he was later wounded and sent to hospital in England. He recovered from his wounds but then succumbed to disease, contracted pernicious anaemia and died in 1919. AWMM