WEBB, George Francis
| Service Number: | 2408 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 12 July 1916, Melbourne, Vic. |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 37th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Junee Junction, NSW, 1897 |
| Home Town: | Monegeeta, Macedon Ranges, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Bolinda State School, Private Tuition |
| Occupation: | Station hand |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Belgium, 7 June 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Bolinda State School Honour Roll, Menin Gate Memorial (Commonwealth Memorial to the Missing of the Ypres Salient), Romsey Soldiers Honor Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 12 Jul 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2408, 37th Infantry Battalion, Melbourne, Vic. | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Oct 1916: | Involvement Private, 2408, 37th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '17' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Port Lincoln embarkation_ship_number: A17 public_note: '' | |
| 20 Oct 1916: | Embarked Private, 2408, 37th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Port Lincoln, Melbourne |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Peter Sneddon
George Francis (Frank) Webb was born in 1897 in Junee, New South Wales, to George Webb and Kathleen Ann Tobin (married 1896). Frank had at least four siblings: Alexander Edward (b. 1899), John Henry (b. 1900), Robert Joseph (b. 1904), and Mary Alves (b. 1909).
Frank and his brothers Robert and John attended Bolinda School sometime between 1899 and 1913 and their sister Mary attended between 1914 and 1924. The Webb family lived 4 ¾ miles from the school and the children rode their ponies to and from school each day. The family were in “straitened circumstances” and received financial assistance from the Education Department to help defray the cost of chaff for the ponies.
Frank was only 19 years old when he enlisted and had been previously employed as a station hand on Teryawynina Station in New South Wales and another in South Monegetta. He embarked from Melbourne for England aboard the “Plymouth” in October 1916, and after recovering from a bout of flu for which he had to be hospitalized, marched out to France and Belgium. He fought in the Battle of Messines (7 to 14 June 1917) where he was killed in action. One informant stated that he was shot by a sniper while another recalled that he had been hit in the head by shrapnel sometime between 7 and 9 June 1917. It was agreed by all that he died instantaneously. His burial place was recorded as “a spot 3/4 of a mile due east of Messines Village” His father received a memorial scroll, memorial plaque, Where the Australians Rest, and Frank’s medals.
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