GILL, George Arthur
| Service Number: | 2908 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 18 September 1916, Enlisted at Royal Agricultural Society Showground, Sydney, NSW |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 59th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Wellington New Zealand, 20 September 1886 |
| Home Town: | Oatley, Hurstville, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Railway Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 8 August 1918, aged 31 years |
| Cemetery: |
Heath Cemetery, Picardie, France Plot 1, Row H, Grave 19, |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 18 Sep 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2908, 59th Infantry Battalion, Enlisted at Royal Agricultural Society Showground, Sydney, NSW | |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Nov 1916: | Involvement Private, 2908, 59th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '20' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Afric embarkation_ship_number: A19 public_note: '' | |
| 3 Nov 1916: | Embarked Private, 2908, 59th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Afric, Sydney |
Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
George Arthur GILL, (Service Number 2908) was born on 19 September 1886 at Wellington, New Zealand. He began working for the NSWGR as a temporary labourer at Eveleigh in June 1913. A year later his work was associated with the electric traverser and when his role became a permanent one at the end of 1914, he was designated a ‘wood labourer’. He joined the Expeditionary Forces in September 1916.
He was killed in action by machine gun fire while advancing at Harbonnières 8 August 1918.
He was buried close to where he fell, but his remains were exhumed in the rationalisation of cemeteries after the war and re-interred in Heath Military Cemetery, 2500 yards N of Harbonnières.
Submitted 20 July 2023 by John Oakes
Biography contributed by John Oakes
George Arthur GILL (Service Number 2908) was born on 19th September 1886 at Wellington, New Zealand. He began working for the NSW Government Railways as a temporary labourer at Eveleigh in June 1913. A year later his work was associated with the electric traverser. When his role became a permanent one at the end of 1914, he was designated a ‘wood labourer’. He joined the Expeditionary Forces in September 1916.
George enlisted at the RAS Showgrounds, Sydney on 18th September. He stated that he was married, to Jessie Isabella. He left Australia from Sydney aboard HMAT ‘Afric’ on 3rd November and reached Plymouth (England) on 9th January 1917. He went to France on 25th June. He was taken on the strength of the 59th Battalion in July. He was accidentally wounded in his right eye in August. He served continuously in France for the next year with a period of hospitalisation due to a wound in late December 1917 and January 1918.
He was killed in action by machine gun fire while advancing at Harbonnières 8th August 1918.
He was buried close to where he fell, but his remains were exhumed in the rationalisation of cemeteries after the war and re-interred in Heath Military Cemetery, 2500 yards North of Harbonnières.
George and Jessie had children. Jessie wrote seeking documentation of her husband’s death to enable access to funds ‘for herself and the children’.
- based on notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
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