READE, George Morgan
| Service Number: | 3443 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 31 October 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 49th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Clermont, Queensland, Australia, 29 October 1891 |
| Home Town: | Capella, Central Highlands, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Grazier |
| Died: | Killed in action, Dernancourt, France, 5 April 1918, aged 26 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Capella War Memorial, Clermont All Saint's Parish Roll of Honor, Clermont Remembrance Way Clermont & District Fallen Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 31 Oct 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3443, 49th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 24 Jan 1917: | Involvement Private, 3443, 49th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '19' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Ayrshire embarkation_ship_number: A33 public_note: '' | |
| 24 Jan 1917: | Embarked Private, 3443, 49th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ayrshire, Sydney |
Help us honour George Morgan Reade's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
The son of William James and Catherine Reade of ‘Moonggoo’ Capella, Queensland.
George only joined the 49th Battalion during October 1917. He was six feet one and a half inches in height and gave his occupation as grazier. His younger brother, 428 Pte. Charles Eric Reade 7th Australian Machine Gun Company, also well over six feet in height, was wounded in action on the same day that George was killed.
Family records still have a hand written letter sent to them by the chaplain of the 49th Battalion, only a few weeks after the death of their son.
France April 23, 1918
Dear Mr. Reade, you will have had the sad news of the death in action of your son Pte. G.M. Reade, in the memorable battle of April 5th. A badly wounded man near him called for water and he left the comparatively safe position he was in, in order to give it to him. While doing this he was killed outright by a bullet on the head. He was buried on the field and a cross has been erected there in memory.
With deepest sympathy and trust that God may comfort you in your heavy sorrow, yours sincerely, Sydney Buckley, Chaplain.
George Reade's grave was subsequently lost on the battlefield. His brother, Charles Reade, returned to Australia with a new English wife in late 1919.