WILLIS, George Joseph
| Service Number: | 2766 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 16 May 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 54th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Lithgow, New South Wales, Australia, May 1890 |
| Home Town: | Lithgow, Lithgow, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Coke worker |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Queen Mary’s Military Hospital, Whalley, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom, Belgium, 9 November 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
Whalley (Queen Mary's Hospital) Military Cemetery, Lancashire, England Grave No. 307, Queen Marys Hospital Military Cemetery, Whalley, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom, Potijze Chateau Grounds Cemetery, Ypres, Flanders, Belgium |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Lithgow War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 16 May 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2766, 54th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 7 Oct 1916: | Involvement Private, 2766, 54th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '19' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Ceramic embarkation_ship_number: A40 public_note: '' | |
| 7 Oct 1916: | Embarked Private, 2766, 54th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ceramic, Sydney | |
| 17 Oct 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 2766, 54th Infantry Battalion, 1st Passchendaele, GSW to left hip DoW England |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
The summary below was completed by Cathy Sedgwick – Facebook “WW1 Australian War Graves in England/UK/Scotland/Ireland
Died on this date – 8th November……Private George Joseph Willis was born at Lithgow, NSW in 1890. He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F.) on 16th May, 1916 as a 26 year old, single, Coke-worker from King Street, Lithgow, NSW.
Private George Joseph Willis embarked from Sydney, NSW on HMAT Ceramic (A40) on 7th October, 1916 with the 54th Infantry Battalion, 6th Reinforcements & disembarked at Plymouth, England on 21st November, 1916 where he would receive further training before being sent to the War Front.
On 21st December, 1916 Private Willis proceeded overseas to France on Princess Victoria from Folkestone from 14th Training Battalion. He was posted to 5th Australian Divisional Base Depot at Etaples, France on 22nd December, 1916. Private Willis was marched out from 5th A.D.B.D. on 6th February, 1917 & was taken on strength of 54th Battalion from 6th Reinforcements on 8th February, 1917.
Private George Joseph Willis was wounded in action in France on 17th October, 1917 at Westhoek Ridge, Belgium. He was admitted to 3rd Australian Field Ambulance on 18th October, 1917 with shrapnel wounds to leg knee. Pte Willis was transferred to 2nd Canadian Casualty Clearing Station then transferred again & admitted to 54th General Hospital on 19th October, 1917. He embarked for England on 28th October, 1917.
From the 54th Battalion War Diary: “……. Our casualties for the day were:- 4 O/Ranks Killed, Lt. Carrick and 40 O/Ranks wounded, 31 O/Ranks gassed. A great number of these casualties were the result of the heavy enemy shelling mentioned in the diary of the 16th inst., but which were not evacuated until today….”
On 29th October, 1917 Private Willis was admitted to Queen Mary’s Military Hospital, Whalley, Lancashire, England with gunshot wounds to left hip (severe).
Private George Joseph Willis died at 2.40 pm on 8th November, 1917 (four hours after operation) at Queen Mary’s Military Hospital, Whalley, Lancashire, England from wounds received in action – gunshot wounds to left knee, toxaemia and shell shock.
He was buried in Queen Mary’s Hospital Military Cemetery, Whalley, Lancashire, England where one other WW1 Australian Soldier is also buried.
(The above is a summary of my research. The full research can be found by following the link below)
https://ww1austburialsuk.weebly.com/whalley.html
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