Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Very little information is known about George’s life prior to, or after, his enlistment in the AIF. It is known that he was born in 1894, at Corryong, Victoria and that his mother was Mrs J Meldrum.

On the 11 February, 1915, George enlisted in the AIF (Australian Imperial Forces) at Melbourne, Victoria. He was given the service number 671 and was put on strength with the 1st Reinforcements of the 13th Light Horse.

Upon enlistment, George was a 21-year-old farmer, living in Corryong, Victoria. His description gave him as being 5 foot, 6 ¼ Inches tall (168 cm) and weighing 9 stone and 13 pounds (62kgs). His complexion was given as fair, eye colour grey and hair colour fair. George’s records showed that he had the distinctive marks of 4 vaccinations on his right arm, and scars on head and crown of head. George’s religious denomination was given as Church of England.

George embarked on HMAT A1 Ceramic on the 26 May, 1915, sailing from Sydney, New South Wales and arriving at Suez some weeks later. Arriving in Egypt, George would have found a world vastly different from the one he experienced in the Upper Murray. Being the most highly paid of all Commonwealth soldiers, many Australians took no notice of the warnings from the medical personnel about the dangers of contracting venereal diseases. Arthur Butler, in the Official History of the Australian Army Medical Services stated that those afflicted brought ‘serious and far-reaching consequences and introduced the medical service to its most difficult problem in the war”. In the first four weeks of 1915, over one thousand men had been hospitalised. It was decided to send home many of those affected so that they would be shamed of their behaviour by their families at home. George contracted a case of gonorrhoea in Alexandria and he was sent home, along with close to 300 others, on the HMAT A18 Wiltshire on 25 September.

Upon returning to Australia, George was sent to a camp at Langwarrin in Victoria in an effort to heal his condition. George was released from the camp on the 19 May, 1916, and sent to the training camp at Seymour on the following day, being placed on strength with the 10th Reinforcements for the 13th Light Horse Regiment.

One month later, it was discovered that George had left camp and was absent without leave, just prior to his unit leaving for overseas service. A Military Court of Inquiry, held at Seymour on the 14 July, reached the decision that George had deserted. His file contains correspondence from 1920 which still seeks to find information on his whereabouts.

As a result of his desertion, George was not entitled to any service medals or benefits from having been enlisted in the AIF. No information has yet been located regarding George’s life after 1916.

Extract from "Light Horsemen of the Upper Murray", Year 5 and 6 Project, Corryong College.