COOMBES, George Roylance
| Service Number: | 1603 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 18th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, 1894 |
| Home Town: | Artarmon, Willoughby, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Clerk |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 19 May 1918 |
| Cemetery: |
Beacon Cemetery, Sailly-Laurette Plot I, Row B, Grave 2, |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 12 May 1915: | Involvement Private, 1603, 18th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '12' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Themistocles embarkation_ship_number: A32 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 12 May 1915: | Embarked Private, 1603, 18th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Themistocles, Sydney | |
| 10 Aug 1916: | Honoured Military Medal, Valuable services as gunner, showing conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. (Pozieres). | |
| 19 May 1918: | Involvement Corporal, 1603, 18th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 1603 awm_unit: 18 Battalion awm_rank: Corporal awm_died_date: 1918-05-19 |
Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
George Roylance COOMBES was born in Newcastle in 1894. His only known connection with the NSWGR was that he was employed in 1912 as an ‘office lad’ in the Traffic Branch in Sydney for a month, before resigning. He gave his ‘trade or calling’ as ‘clerk’ when he enlisted in the AIF at Liverpool in April 1915, aged 21.
He was awarded the Military Medal for services rendered at Pozieres. He spent 11 days continuously in the firing line. He was buried twice underneath the debris caused by the enemy’s big shells. He was the sole survivor of the machine gun section to which he was attached, and he pluckily stuck to his gun until he himself was wounded. (Newcastle Morning Herald & Miners’ Advocate, 27 September 1916)
Submitted 6 June 2023 by John Oakes
Biography contributed by Daryl Jones
Son of William and Sarah Ann COOMBES. Native of Newcastle, New South Wales.
Biography contributed by John Oakes
George Roylance COOMBES was born in Newcastle in 1894. He was employed in 1912 as an ‘office lad’ in the Traffic Branch of the NSW Government Railways in Sydney for a month. He then resigned He gave his occupation as ‘clerk’ when he enlisted in the AIF at Liverpool in April 1915. He was then aged 21.
After being in camp for only a few weeks he volunteered for reinforcements urgently needed at the time to fill up the gaps in the Australian ranks caused by the Gallipoli fighting. He went into the firing line soon after reaching the peninsula. He took part in several of the big battles just before the evacuation. He was then sent to France where he landed in March 1916. He saw much fighting on the western front. He was awarded the Military Medal for services rendered at Pozieres. He spent 11 days continuously in the firing line. He was buried twice underneath the debris caused by the enemy’s big shells. He was the sole survivor of the machine gun section to which he was attached. He pluckily stuck to his gun until he himself was wounded. (Newcastle Morning Herald & Miners’ Advocate, 27 September 1916)
He required treatment only for a day before being transferred to base duties for a month. He rejoined his battalion in September, and was promoted to Corporal. He was sent to hospital with appendicitis in May 1917. It was necessary to transfer him to England to have an operation there. After recuperation in England, he was sent back to France in November 1917. He rejoined his unit. He was killed in action on 19th May 1918. He is buried at Beacon Cemetery, Sailly-Laurette, 9 km SW of Albert, France.
- based on notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.
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