MOLLISON, George
| Service Number: | 522 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 17 August 1914 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 6th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Numurkah, Victoria, Australia, July 1893 |
| Home Town: | Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Bootmaker |
| Died: | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 24 January 1972, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Fawkner Memorial Park Cemetery, Victoria |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 17 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 522, 6th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Oct 1914: | Involvement Private, 522, 6th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '8' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Hororata embarkation_ship_number: A20 public_note: '' | |
| 19 Oct 1914: | Embarked Private, 522, 6th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Hororata, Melbourne | |
| 15 May 1915: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 522, 6th Infantry Battalion, GSW thing - Dardanelles admitted to HS Gilbert Castle, then 17th AGH Alexandria | |
| 3 Jun 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 522, 66th Infantry Battalion, embarked Alexandria for England on board Letitia | |
| 12 Dec 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 522, 6th Infantry Battalion, embarked Portland for Melbourne on board HMT Star of India ‘Though I’m going home a cripple, There are brighter days in store And a sight of dear Australia Will cheer me more and more’ (G M Morrison; 8 Dec 1915; Versesp11) | |
| 6 Oct 1916: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 522, 6th Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Private George Mollison (Service No:522) enlisted in the AIF in Melbourne on 17 August 1914 and was attached to 6th Infantry Battalion on 19 October 1914 when he embarked with his Unit from Melbourne for Gallipoli Peninsula on board HMAT A20 Hororata. Private Mollison was WiA on 16 May 1915 at the Dardanelles and was initially treated on HS Gilbert Castle before being hospitalised at 17th Australian General Hospital (AGH) Alexandria. He wrote from London General Hospital on 3 August 1915 (Trove) 'I was badly wounded and for a month did not know whether to live or die ... I was very frightened the first day .... There was very heavy fighting at the Dardanelles, and Australia caught it. We lost a lot of men, and it was at a bayonet charge in Cape Helles that I went down ....'. It was when he was first in hospital in Egypt that Private Mollison commenced writing poetry, and his first publication 'Verses' (dedicated to Sister E Rogers - 'It was mainly due to your untiring energy and devotion that I was spared to return to Australia') was published in 1926. Private Mollison embarked from Alexandria for London on 3 June 1915 on board the Letitia, and embarked from Portland for Melbourne on 12 December 1915 on board the Star of India. Private Mollison was attached to 6th Infantry Battalion at Discharge (Medical) on 6 October 1916. Two of his sons - Jack and Graham - served in WWII, and three of his siblings - Arthur, David and John - served in WWI.
Born Geordie Medwick Mollison at Numurkah, Victoria in 1893, Mac was third of six children of John Mollison (b1842 in Sydney, NSW) and his second wife Eleanor Medwick (b1862 in Kilmore, Victoria). John (a Widow) was a Boardinghouse Keeper in 1887 when he and Eleanor married in Eurora. They settled at Numurkah where they raised their family, and John was a Labourer before being awarded a land grant under the Katamatite Village Settlement Scheme in 1896. Following John's death in 1903, the land was granted to Eleanor, however by 1904 she was obliged to relinquish it and moved to Melbourne, where she died in 1911.
Mac was a Bootmaker in Melbourne in 1914 when he enlisted in the AIF. Following his Discharge, Mac participated in Vocational Training Programs and worked as a Liftman until retirement. He wrote and published poetry, and in the dedication of his first volume (Verses; published 1926; NLA) wrote 'Though the war left me permanently disabled, it also left me deeply grateful for the many kindnesses and considerations shown me since my disability eleven years ago'. In 1923 in Melbourne, Mac married Florence (Florrie) Emily Mary Holt (b1894 at Bacchus Marsh, Victoria). The couple settled in Melbourne where they raised their family and Mac worked as a Liftman. Mac died in 1972 and Florrie in 1979. In his poem 'To Australian Citizens', written in 1918 (Verses; 1926; NLA) he wrote:
'The questions now before us
(The polling day is nigh)
Shall we assist or fighting men
Or will we pass them by?
For the honour of Australia
The ANZACS who have gone
Oh send the boys the help they need
That they may carry on' (GMM; 1918)