Tributes paid to long-serving Bottesford butcher Eric George after his passing at 98

A long-standing butcher has been remembered for his hard work and quiet nature following his death at the age of 98.

Eric George was well-known in Bottesford for running the village butchers with his wife Margaret until 1991 when they retired. He died in January.

“He was very quiet, but he was well-liked,” Margaret said, remembering her husband and their years together in Bottesford.

Born in Knipton in 1926 to John and Mary George, Eric moved to Bottesford, near Grantham, with his family in 1928.

His father worked for Walter Miller as a butcher, and in 1951, the family bought and ran Mr Miller’s shop in the village.

Eric joined the trade in the 1950s, working with his father before taking over with his wife, Margaret. The couple ran their shop until 1991, when they retired.

Margaret, who now lives in Whatton, recalled that Eric had a deep appreciation for farming and the outdoors, enjoying fishing and following Nottingham Forest football club.

“He liked being outside on the farm,” she said.

Eric worked from the age of 14 for local farmers, including Tommy Samuel on his land on Normanton Lane and the Jackson family farm off Nottingham Road.

Eric and Margaret George were married in 1958 at the Methodist Chapel in Whatton. For their honeymoon, they took a trip to the Isle of Wight. However, apart from that, they rarely took time away from their shop, one of only three in the tight-knit community.

When new health laws made on-site slaughter impractical, Eric began sourcing meat from wholesale markets. His traditional sausage recipe remained a staple in the community.

“We never had a holiday until we retired,” Margaret said. After the business was sold though, they did take a trip to Scotland.

The couple had two children - Clive, born in 1961, and Carol, born in 1964. They also have two grandsons and four great-grandchildren.

When Eric and Margaret retired in 1991, another butcher took over, but the business closed five years later.

The building was then sold to postmistress Gloria Shawcross, who used it as a sorting office for the Post Office until the service moved across the road to the Spar shop and the sorting office relocated to Bingham.

Eric died on January 5 at Oakham Grange Care Home.

His well-attended funeral at Bottesford Church on January 27 raised £271.35 for Dementia UK.

Family mourners at the funeral were wife Margaret, son and daughter-in-law Clive and Karen, daughter and son-in-law Carol and Trevor, grandchildren Jamie, Sian, Matthew and Jordan, nephew Brian and Tina, Brian’s children Alex and JP (Jon Peter), and cousin Brian and his wife Nancy, sister in law Annette and her children Joanne and Michelle, and grandchildren.