MACKENZIE, George Hector
| Service Number: | 3234 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 4 August 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 32nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Penola, South Australia, 7 July 1898 |
| Home Town: | Marryatville, Norwood Payneham St Peters, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Norwood High School, South Australia |
| Occupation: | Civil Servant |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Fromelles, France, 20 July 1916, aged 18 years |
| Cemetery: |
VC Corner Cemetery and Memorial, Fromelles, France No known grave Panel No 5, VC Corner Australian Cemetery and Memorial, Fromelles, Lille, Nord Pas de Calais, France |
| Memorials: | Burnside District Fallen Soldiers' Memorial - Rose Park, Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Burnside & District - Fallen Soldiers Memorial Trees - Rose Park, Hazelwood Park (Knightsbridge) War Memorial, Norwood Primary School Honour Board, V.C. Corner Australian Cemetery Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 4 Aug 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 3234, 27th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1 | |
|---|---|---|
| 4 Aug 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3234, 27th Infantry Battalion | |
| 12 Jan 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 3234, 27th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '15' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Medic embarkation_ship_number: A7 public_note: '' | |
| 20 Jul 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 3234, 32nd Infantry Battalion, Fromelles (Fleurbaix), --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 3234 awm_unit: 32nd Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1916-07-20 |
Help us honour George Hector MacKenzie's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Carol Foster
George Hector Mackenzie as the son of James Chalmers MacKenzie and Annie Hamilton MacKenzie nee Mitchell of 19 Tusmore Avenue, Marryatville (Knightsbridge) SA. Knightsbridge was an old suburb in the Burnside area, now known as Leabrook.The family was formerly from Penola, SA, where George had been born.
He was a brother of Annie Aver MacKenzie, Isabel Ruth MacKenzie and Robert Kenneth MacKenzie and step brother to several other siblings.
George enlisted into the 27th Infantry Battalion and embarked with the 7th Reinforcements in early 1916
On arrival in Egypt George and his colleagues were part of a great assembly of men as reinforcements flooded in and the 1st and 2nd Divisions had returned from Gallipoli. The AIF was being 'doubled' to form Five Divisions. Many new arrivals and seasoned Gallipoli veterans found themselves moved into new Battalions, so all units had a mix of youth and experience.
On 6 April 1916, George was taken on strength of the 32nd Battalion and like many who had been awarded temporary rank for the journey from Australia, reverted to the rank of Private. At the time they were based at Duntroon Plateau, in the Sinai Peninsula near the Suez Canal.
The 5th Division embarked at Alexandria to join the British Expeditionary Force on 17 June 1916; disembarking in Marseilles, France, on 23 June 1916, when they began the long rail journey north to Armentieres near the Belgian border. Each of the other Divisions had cycled through the area near Fleurbaix opposite the village of Fromelles, behind German lines, known as the Nursery'; a quiet sector where troops could be introduced to the conduct of trench warfare.
The quiet ended on 19th July 1916, when George took part in the ill fated attack by the 5th Division at Fromelles on the 19/20th July 1916. He like so many others, was posted missing on the 20 July 1916.
A Court of Enquiry, held in the field, 12 August 1917, pronounced his fate as 'Killed in Action, 20 July 1916'. George was one of nearly 2,000 Australians killed overnight, with another 5,000 wounded across the Division. It was rendered non-effective as a result of the scale of casualties, and took no further part in combat operations until the following year. It was a frightful introduction to warfare on the Western Front.
George has no known grave. He is commemorated on the VC Corner Cemetery Memorial Wall at Fromelles. His remians may be among those discovered at Pheasant Wood in 2008. DNA matching has been used to successfuly identify the remins of many of the soldiers interred therein.
Medals: British War Medal, Victory Medal
Compiled by Carol Foster and added to by Steve Larkins
Click images to start slideshow.