George Goss was born on 8 October 1913 in Clifton, Bristol, the son of Arthur Henry Goss, a chauffeur, and Mary Agnes Goss. His father, then Sergeant Arthur Goss, was killed in France in May 1915 whilst serving with the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry. In the 1939 Register (compiled in September 1939) George Goss is recorded as a lino type operator living at 112, Heath Road, Twickenham and was noted to be an Ordinary Seaman, RNVR.

He was promoted to Temporary Sub Lieutenant, RNVR on 16 April 1942. A volunteer for ‘Special Service’, he was appointed to the Submarine Depot Ship HMS TITANIA and he was trained as a charioteer. George Goss, as the No. 1 Crewman was paired up with Able Seaman Bernard Trevethan as his No. 2 Crewman. A night training attack on the battleship HMS HOWE was successful and they were able to place their charge under the stern of HMS HOWE and return undetected to the Depot Ship.

George Goss was allocated to a team of Charioteers formed for an Operation to attack Italian shipping at the port of La Maddelena. The team was embarked in HMS P311 for the operation with three chariots – Nos. X, XVIII & one other. P311 had completed the passage through the Sicilian Channel – reported at 0130 on 31st December 1942 – but no further reports were received from the submarine and P311 was presumed ‘lost with all hands’ in a minefield near La Maddelena on or about 2 January 1943. Also lost were the three chariots, the three chariot crews and the team of four dressers – ten personnel in all. The date of the loss of P311, was assumed to have been 8 January 1943 which is the date that the submarine was due to arrive back at Malta.

George Goss listed his Next of Kin as his mother, Agnes Mary Dewe (formerly Goss). He is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval War Memorial on Panel No. 80 Column No 1 and on the 12th Submarine Flotilla Memorials at Rothesay on the Isle of Bute and at Kylesku.