MAITLAND, Harold George Musgrave
| Service Number: | 3823 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 4th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Oamaru, New Zealand., 15 January 1883 |
| Home Town: | Woollahra, Woollahra, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Tram Conductor |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 16 April 1918, aged 35 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 30 Dec 1915: | Involvement Private, 3823, 4th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '8' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Medic embarkation_ship_number: A7 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 30 Dec 1915: | Embarked Private, 3823, 4th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Medic, Sydney |
Help us honour Harold George Musgrave Maitland's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by John Oakes
Harold George Musgrave MAITLAND was born in Oamaru, New Zealand, on 15th January 1883. On 30th March 1911 he joined the NSW Government Railways and Tramways as a tram conductor (casual) in Sydney. His position was made permanent on 19th February 1912. He was released to join the Expeditionary Forces on 6 January 1916.
His date of joining the AIF was 16th August 1915. He joined with the rank of Private (Service Number 3823) and was posted to the 12th Reinforcements to the 4th Infantry Battalion. He nominated his wife, Jessie Gertrude Maitland, as his next of kin. When he enlisted they were living at Woollahra in Sydney.
He embarked for Egypt aboard HMAT A7 ‘Medic’ at Sydney on 7th January 1916 and disembarked at Alexandria, Egypt, where he went to the 1st Training Battalion camp. From there he was transferred to the Imperial Camel Corps at Abbassia on 14th March 1916. He would have been involved in this unit’s operations against rebelling pro-Turkish Senussi tribesmen in Egypt’s Western Desert in the first half of 1916.
On 11th October 1916 he was admitted to hospital suffering from septic sores but returned to duty on 27th October 1916. However, on 6th November 1916 he returned to hospital, suffering from debility (shell shock) and dysentery. By this time, in late 1916, the Imperial Camel Corps was in action against the Turkish army in the Sinai Desert.
On 25th January 1917 he returned to duty with the Imperial Camel Corps after being discharged from hospital and a period of convalescence. However, on 5th February 1917 he was returned to the 4th Infantry Battalion. A week later, on 12th February 1917, he was admitted to hospital with venereal disease and stayed off duty recovering until 10th March 1917.
On 22nd April 1917 he embarked at Alexandria for France, but on arrival at Marseilles on 29th April 1917 he was admitted to hospital again with a recurrence of venereal disease. He was not discharged fit for duty until 25th June 1917, and eventually reached the 4th Infantry Battalion near Pozières on 8th July 1917. On 14th July 1917 he reported sick once more, this time diagnosed as having nasal catarrh. After admission to hospital in Rouen, on 23rd July 1917, he was diagnosed as having chronic rhinitis, and he was evacuated to England. He was either in hospital or convalescing until 31st October 1917 when he returned to duty at the 1st Overseas Training Brigade. From there he left England for France on 23rd November 1917 where he finally re-joined the 4th Infantry Battalion on 30th November 1917.
On 17th March 1918 he was sent to Brigade Musketry School, returning to his unit on 30th March 1918.
On 16th April 1918 he was killed in action on the Somme.
Depositions in his Red Cross Enquiry File describe what happened. Private R Train (4274) stated:
‘I saw him killed on or about 16th April just near Strazeele. We hopped over to take a position and he was hit by machine gun bullet through the chest and killed instantly. It was about 4 or 5 pm. … he was a Pte in C Coy … initials were H.G.M., was called George … was a popular chap. … Do not know anything of burial. He would not be brought in for a couple of days as the position was right under Fritz’s nose.’
He is commemorated at the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France. His place of association is Woollahra, NSW.
- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.