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BLYTH, George John Ernest
Service Number: | 3919 |
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Enlisted: | 25 August 1915 |
Last Rank: | Private |
Last Unit: | 52nd Infantry Battalion |
Born: | Nabowla, Tasmania, Australia, 29 September 1898 |
Home Town: | Nabowla, Dorset, Tasmania |
Schooling: | Nabowla State School, Tasmania, Australia |
Occupation: | Blacksmith |
Died: | Killed in action, Mouquet Farm, France, 4 September 1916, aged 17 years |
Cemetery: |
Bouzincourt Ridge Cemetery Plot III, Row G, Grave No. 9. ONE OF THE BEST A LOVING SON A BROTHER KIND & TRUE SO DEARLY LOVED |
Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
25 Aug 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3919, 12th Infantry Battalion | |
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24 Nov 1915: | Involvement Private, 3919, 12th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: RMS Orontes embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
24 Nov 1915: | Embarked Private, 3919, 12th Infantry Battalion, RMS Orontes, Melbourne | |
4 Sep 1916: | Involvement Private, 3919, 52nd Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 3919 awm_unit: 52nd Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1916-09-04 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
George Blythe enlisted in Tasmania during August 1915 when he was still only 16 years of age. He was transferred to the 52nd Battalion in Egypt during April 1916. On 3 September 1916 the 52nd Battalion was in the middle of the last attack conducted by the Australians the battle of Pozieres. His company was to support the 51st Battalion as they tried to capture Mouquet Farm. However, his company advanced too far and ran into their own artillery barrage.
George was reported as missing. He was four weeks short of his 18th birthday. His death was officially confirmed some eight months later. During 1923, his remains were discovered by the Commonwealth War Graves, identified by his identity disc. He was found in the same place as Captain R.R.R. Ekin-Smyth 52nd Battalion who was killed the same day. Today they are still buried beside one another, in the Bouzincourt Ridge Cemetery, Albert, France.