Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

George Lucas Drennan

George Lucas Drennan was born on 13 August 1885 in Clare, South Australia. His parents, John Drennan (1843-1921) and Ann Murray Lucas (1846-1900), had emigrated to Australia from Scotland in 1879, where they had married in 1865. George was one of 14 children in the family.

At the time he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) on 2 February 1916 at Blackboy Hill, Western Australia, George was working as a labourer. At 29 years old, his records indicate that he had previously been rejected for His Majesty’s Service due to “bad feet.” He was assigned service number 22007. Following his initial training in Western Australia, George was sent to Broadmeadows Camp in Victoria for specialist artillery training.

He embarked from Melbourne on 20 May 1916 aboard HMAT Medic with the 23rd Howitzer Brigade, 107th Battery. The photo from the Australian War Memorial showing Medic leaving Melbourne that day may well include George lining the deck. The Medic carried reinforcements from several units, including the 8th Field Artillery Brigade, 23rd Field Artillery Brigade, and others. Given George’s roots in South Australia and enlistment in Western Australia, there would have been few, if any, family members among the crowd waving farewell.

George disembarked at Plymouth on 18 July 1916. By 4 December, he had fallen ill with influenza and spent two weeks in Fargo Military Hospital, Larkhill, on Salisbury Plain. He recovered and proceeded to France on 31 December 1916, boarding HMT Archimedes from Southampton to Le Havre, arriving in France early on New Year's Day.

On 6 January 1917, George was transferred to the 7th Field Artillery Brigade (FAB), 27th Battery, a newly formed New South Wales unit camped at Strazeele, France. He was allocated to “D” Section of the battery, created from the reorganisation of the 23rd Howitzer Brigade. George arrived in the middle of a harsh winter, and conditions were severe:

“Night after night gunners and drivers would be dismissed about 5 pm until the following morning, wet through up to their waists through working all day in the mud and slime.”

Service at the Front

Houplines (18 January 1917 – 29 February 1917)

On 18 January 1917, the 27th Battery moved to Nouvelle Houplines to support the 3rd Division, AIF. The battery’s gun pits were mostly located within roofed houses, except for George’s “D” Section, which was camouflaged in a cupola pit. The sector extended from Perenchies Church in the north to Lomme Church Spire in the south, with open fields and a formidable ridge in the background.
On 20 January, the battery bombarded German support trenches, firing two rounds per gun per minute. A few days later, on 23 January, the 27th Battery became the first in the Division to be shelled, receiving about 140 enemy shells. Despite the battery taking damage and casualties, George was unscathed. A shell hit the shield of “F” Sub’s gun, just missing George, who was sitting on the Number Two’s seat.

The following weeks saw the battery firing on machine gun positions, disrupting enemy work parties, and engaging in artillery duels. The period was marked by continuous action, culminating in a significant engagement on 13 February 1917, when the German artillery bombarded the area to support a trench raid. The 7th FAB put up an effective counter-barrage, disrupting the raid.

Chapelle D’Armentieres and Ploegsteert (1 March – 4 April 1917)

The battery shifted positions to Chapelle D’Armentieres on 1 March and spent two weeks there before moving to Ploegsteert, three miles north of Armentieres, on 15 March. Sporadic enemy shelling was a constant threat, but the unit managed to conduct harassing fire missions and support raids against enemy positions.
On 4 June, George was wounded in a gas attack and evacuated to hospital, missing the Battle of Messines. He rejoined his unit on 7 July 1917. The attack at Messines had been an Allied success, with more than 7,000 German prisoners captured.

Battles of Menin Road and Polygon Wood (19 September – 30 September 1917)

From 15 September, the 27th Battery supported infantry attacks in the Battles of Menin Road and Polygon Wood. The unit faced intense shelling and counterattacks but continued its support missions until 30 September, when it exchanged positions with a New Zealand unit.

The Final Action

In October 1917, the 27th Battery supported Australian troops near Ypres in Belgium. On 16 October 1917, during an exceptionally heavy period of enemy artillery fire, George was killed in action alongside another gunner, Gunner Havard, when a shell hit their dugout. The incident occurred during a night when traffic congestion on the road, alongside where the battery was positioned, made the area a tempting target for German gunners.

George Lucas Drennan now rests in Brandhoek New Military Cemetery, Belgium. His death was a devastating loss for his family, as his brother, David Drennan of the 48th Battalion AIF, had been killed earlier that year at Bullecourt on 11 April 1917.