HEWITT, George
| Service Number: | 3126 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 14 July 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 22nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | South Yarra, Victoria, 1879 |
| Home Town: | Violet Town, Strathbogie, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Pulmonary collapse, Footscray, Victoria, 18 January 1961 |
| Cemetery: |
Western Suburbs Crematorium, Victoria |
| Memorials: | Euroa Telegraph Park, Violet Town A.N.A. Branch No 204 Honor Roll, Violet Town Honour Roll WW1, Violet Town Primary School Honour Roll, Violet Town St Dunstan's Honor Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 14 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1 | |
|---|---|---|
| 26 Nov 1915: | Involvement Private, 3126, 22nd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '14' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Commonwealth embarkation_ship_number: A73 public_note: '' | |
| 26 Nov 1915: | Embarked Private, 3126, 22nd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Commonwealth, Melbourne |
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HEWITT George 3126 SPR
2nd Pioneer Battalion
1887-
George Hewitt’s parents remain a mystery. He was probably employed by the Crocker family as a farm labourer at ‘Honeysuckle’, south of Violet Town. On his service records he named Alice Crocker as his contact. He enlisted on 14 July 1915 aged 36 and was posted to the 22nd Battalion, embarking on the HMAT Commonwealth on 26 November 1915.
After arriving in Egypt he was hospitalised for the next three months suffering from influenza. He re-joined his battalion at Zeitoun to be transferred to the 2nd Pioneer Battalion. On 27 January 1916 George was admitted to No 1 AGH at Heliopolis suffering from severe appendicitis. Two months later he was fit enough to leave hospital and return to his unit in Belgium. Early in 1917 he was again admitted to hospital with influenza. By May he was well enough to be discharged to a Pioneer Training Course at Perham Downs. George re-joined the 2nd Pioneer Battalion in France. There followed another bout of illness from August to November when he was hospitalised in England.
He returned to Australia aboard the HS Castalia on 13 April 1919 and was discharged in Melbourne on 13 August. It is not known whether George married, where he worked after the war, or where or when he died.
Service Medals: British War Medal Victory Medal
Tree No 10 – Brachychiton acerifolius – Illawarra Flame Tree – was planted in 1917 by Mr Ainsworth.
In 2013 it was still standing and was tended by Drusilla Green.
Further research has revealed that George Hewitt was born in South Yarra in 1879; in 1921 when he was 42 he married Catherine Reid in South Yarra. They had three children . . . Irene (1923), Hazel (1924) and Christine ((1926). George’s wife had pre-deceased him so he had been living at 9 Lae Street Kingsville with one of his daughters whose husband ‘E Jackson’, is registered as being his informant. George died on 15 January 1961 at Footscray and District Hospital. He was 81 years old. The cause of his death was ‘pulmonary collapse’.
© 2015 Sheila Burnell
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