Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

George Howard the son of Mrs. Henrietta Marie Howard, of Pratten Street, Warwick, Queensland.

His brother, 3768 Private Arthur Howard 47th Battalion AIF, who served as Cyril Peter Burns, was killed in action at Dernancourt on 5 April 1918.

George was working in the Railways at Lismore, NSW, when he enlisted in early 1915. He was an original member of the 20th Battalion and arrived at Gallipoli on 16 August 1915.

He was awarded a very rare Military Medal for bravery on Gallipoli, on the night of the evacuation, 19-20 December 1915. The award wasn’t entered on his file until almost 12 months later, but the Military Medal wasn’t instituted until March 1916 by King George VI.

The recommendation states, “With Lance Corporal Flecknell J. held an advanced bombing post 8 yards from enemy front line trench, and continually bombed enemy during the 10 hours preceding final withdrawal. They remained after all our front-line trenches had been evacuated, to light time fuses on bombs, set to deceive the enemy. Both showed considerable endurance, ingenuity and pluck in maintaining normal bombing on Russell Top, where 300 bombs were thrown nightly.”

George was promoted to Corporal during May 1916 and was most severely wounded at Pozieres on 27 July 1916. Blown up by a heavy shell he was evacuated to England and diagnosed with a severe concussion of the spinal cord.

He wrote a letter home which was printed in the Warwick Examiner and Times in November 1916.

WARWICK WOUNDED CORPORAL WRITES.

Corporal Geo. Howard, who was wounded in the battle of Pozieres, writes to his mother, Mrs. Howard, Pratten Street West, from Branksmere Hospital, Southsea, England.

In this he says: - “I am getting on alright, slowly but surely. I have been a month on my back, but expect to be up any day. Since the end of May we have moved about a lot, till we landed on the Somme at the beginning of July. Since then, the British, French and Australian troops have been driving the Germans back all along the front. We have had some very hard fighting, I have really seen what war means. People in Australia do not understand and have not the slightest idea what this war is like, and will not have it till it is over.

Of course, thousands of our best and bravest men will never return. It was on the 26th July at Pozieres (a village strongly held by the Germans and which our chaps had just taken after a very fierce struggle) that I met my “Waterloo" in the shape of a high explosive. The German shell blew me up in the air until I thought I was never coming down, because the next thing I remember was waking up in a dressing station behind the firing line on the next morning. It was 8 o'clock at night when I was wounded. Next morning when I came to, I was told I had very severe concussion, and I was unable to move. I had shell wounds in the leg and arm. Being paralysed all over I had no pain. I should never have got out of the firing line if it had not been for the stretcher-bearers. They are brave heroes, carrying wounded through shell and machine gun and rifle fire until they cannot stand themselves. The night I was wounded was just after a charge, and there was nothing but wounded everywhere and most of the bearers were wounded or killed also. As soon as my wounds were dressed, I was put into an Ambulance car and put on train for Rouen Hospital. There are some hundreds of our chaps more or less wounded there, and that is only one hospital. I was there seven days and then sent on to Havre and across the channel to England. I was in Portsmouth Hospital for five days, and have been at this Hospital for 12 days. All wounded are well treated here. The building was a gentleman's private residence, which was given up for Hospital purposes. There are 70 patients, including 8 Australians.”

George’s wounds were so serious he was evacuated to Australia on 12 November 1916 and discharged from the AIF on 23 January 1917. He was granted a pension of 2 pounds 11 shillings per fortnight to start from the day after his discharge.