The story of England’s patron saint in his battle against the legendary dragon is an iconic as his red and white flag. But like many early saints very little is known of the details of his life be that fact or fiction.
We would like to share a legendary story of our own St George which is totally fact…
Nickii Gilbert is our Business Development Manager for Oren Environmental, a newly formed department within Severn Trent Services. She would like to share why St Georges day is particularly special to her and her family.
The year was 2009, Nickii had been married for 9 years to her partner Quintin, they had been blessed with two children already, Charlotte born in 2003 and Olivia born in 2006. After two girls the desire for a boy or as Nickii puts it a “mini Quin” was deep.
“I like to be organised so when asked whether we wanted to know the gender of our babies I have always decided that, if possible, I would like to know,” she says.
“Our 20-week scan fell on St Georges day 2009, and this was the first opportunity for us to be told what gender our third baby would be.
“They confidently confirmed that we were to have a son, so the fact that we found this out on St George’s Day, and that it was also the name of Quintin’s grandfather, it seemed fate that he should be named George. However what I will say is that my now-almost teenage George is a far cry from being a saint!!!!”
But the name’s not where the resemblance stops. Here’s a few more similarities between the two Georges:
ST GEORGE WASN’T ENGLISH – he may be hailed as a national hero, but he was actually born more than 2,000 miles away in Cappadocia (modern day Turkey). George Gilbert isn’t fully English either, although Nickii is of predominant English roots, George’s father was born in South Africa to a British father and Dutch mother!
HE WASN’T A KNIGHT EITHER – whilst he was depicted as chivalric knight or a warrior on horseback it was more likely he was an officer in the Roman Army – And both Nickii and George’s Dads served in the British Army.
AND NEITHER OF THEM FOUGHT A DRAGON – Sorry to disappoint any Game of Thrones fans, but dragons are not, and have never been real. The story of St George fighting one is apocryphal, and likely derives from legends of his bravery in the Middle East, where he was a popular figure. These stories were brought back to England by Crusaders in the Middle Ages.
Following the battle of Agincourt in 1415, St Georges Day became one of the most important feast days in the English calendar. England is not the only place to celebrate St George. Venice, Genoa, Portugal, Ethiopia and Catalonia amongst others also share St George as their patron saint. ST GEORGE REPRESENTS THOSE WE HONOUR – The order of the garter (founded by Edward III in 1348) is the highest order of chivalry in the country, and Queen Elizabeth II is at the helm as Sovereign of the Garter. To this day St George’s cross still appears on the Garter badge and his image is the pendant of the Garter chain.
