Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

George Frederick Wraith was the youngest son of Henry and Marion Wraith. Born at Harrietville on the 16th of September 1878. As a youth George worked as a storeman in the Wraith store at Harrietville alongside brother Frank (Francis Antoine Wraith). George was an active member of the rifle club at Harrietville and later at Bright. By 1907 the Bright Rifle Club had sixty members and George Wraith was a rated marksman and the club top scorer with a total of 179 points.

In 1909 George travelled to western Victoria to help his brother run the Railway restaurant at Serviceton, in Western Victoria. It was here that George met his future wife Emma Amelia Fallon. The couple’s children came in quick succession, the eldest Gwen was born in South Australia in 1910, next came Nellie, born at St Kilda in 1911, Hazel born in Melbourne in 1913 and son Jack born in Melbourne in 1915. The family settled down at 346 Victoria Street, North Melbourne. George worked as a labourer and Emmie stayed home and looked after the children. In February 1915 George enlisted in the A.I.F, he was thirty-six years old. George’s timing could not have been worse as Emmie was very close to giving birth to son Jack, so I can only imagine the conversation around the dinner table that night! Probably succumbing to pressure from his wife the couple absconded to Mundulla, South Australia. George Wraith’s enlistment paper is stamped “Deserter BRM No. 7/192” (NAA: B2455, Wraith George Frederick).

With the family settled at his mother-in-laws house in Mundulla George had another go at enlisting in February 1917. This time dropping his middle name and changing his surname to Raith, he also changes his age to thirty-three when in fact he is now thirty-nine years old. He is assigned to the 59th Battalion, 5th Division at Broadmeadows, Victoria. After a period of training George embarked Melbourne on May 11th, 1917, aboard the troopship Ascanius, arriving in Devonport England on July 20th, 1917. In November of 1917 George was sent to France with reinforcements for the 59th Battalion, which was then participating in some of the fighting around Ypres and Passchendaele. By January of 1918 George had succumbed to Trench Fever. This disease is caused by the bacteria bartonella quintana and is transmitted by contamination of a skin abrasion with the faeces of an infected body louse. Relatively common the disease causes a sudden five-day fever after which the patient will experience relapses, recovery can take a month or more and in severe cases muscle pain (myalgia) and weakness, which can persist for some time. In George’s case it seems that the disease did indeed progress to myalgia, and he was evacuated to England where he remained for the rest of the war. On the 3rd of March 1919 George was given a medical discharge and put on a troop transport returning to Australia. Sadly, it is likely that George’s health was ruined by the effects of the bacteria, in rare cases bartonella bacteria can cause life-long health problems.

After returning home George lived in South Australia, in 1921 he was living at Filsell Street, The Barton, South Australia and by the early thirties he was living at 72 Wright Street, Adelaide. It is not known whether the family was together during this period, but certainly sometime in the 1930’s George and Emmie separated. In 1938 George was back in Melbourne living with his brother Jim Wraith and by 1949 he was living at the war veterans Hostel in Cheltenham, Victoria. George Frederick Wraith died on February 18, 1961.