George Diggins was the second landlord of the Rovers Return. George and wife Mary ran the pub from 1918 to 1937 and were the immediate predecessors of Jack and Annie Walker. George was a former police sergeant, and was aged 45 when he got the Rovers. He re-enlisted as a special policeman during the Depression and was the first officer on the scene when neighbour Thomas Hewitt was caught stealing raincoats from Elliston's Raincoat Factory. He resigned from the forces so he could join his neighbours when they went on a march on the Town Hall.