George Norman was the son of James Norman, a Bath surgeon who had moved from Bristol, and who helped found the Bath Casualty Hospital which opened in 1788. George was apprenticed to his father and in 1801 became one of the original members of the Royal College of Surgeons

When his father retired as surgeon to the Casualty Hospital, George took his place. He was the main driving force behind the amalgamation of the Casualty Hospital and the Bath City Dispensary and Infirmary to form the Bath United Hospital

He was very well respected by his peers and patients. He published a number of medical papers in the BMJ and the Lancet, and was a Vice President of the BMA. He lived with his family at 1, The Circus and was reputed to earn £3000 per year, a considerable sum for a surgeon in those days