Although born in Hampshire, George Woodford’s footballing career commenced under Tom Parker’s guidance at Norwich. That was because he had been recommended to Parker by ex-Saint, and current Norwich scout Jim Angell. He made ten appearances for the Canaries before following his manager to The Dell and in 1937-38 became a useful and able deputy for either Charlie Sillett or Bert Roberts.

Able to use both feet with equal facility, George’s play was summed up by one onlooker, as “the outstanding traits of his game are industry and mobility”.

Those qualities were insufficient however to get him more than one outing during the 1938-39 season and so George went home to Hampshire League side Lymington, on a free transfer in the summer of 1939. He then enlisted in the army where he became a sergeant in the Middlesex regiment and then, after the war, he joined the Wellworthy company, and, along with a few other ex-pro footballers revitalised the Wellworthy football team. It was about this time the mobile mass x-ray units were touring the country and it was at one of these units he discovered he had very serious tuberculosis and he subsequently spent a long spell in sanitariums having operation after operation. Unable to do any physical work, he was employed by Lymington council as a (very popular) car park attendant at the Bath Rd car park and remained there until the illness finally caught up with him and he died in hospital a day before his 51^st birthday.

In 2022 George’s great granddaughter’s husband, Nathan Jones became Saints manager.