GREEN, George Edmund John
| Service Number: | 18444 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | Army Medical Corps (AIF) |
| Born: | 1899, place not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Princes Hill State School, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Merchant |
| Died: | Heart Attack, East Ivanhoe, Victoria, Australia, 1964 |
| Cemetery: |
Melbourne General Cemetery, Carlton, Victoria |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 21 Nov 1917: | Involvement Private, 18444, Army Medical Corps (AIF), --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '23' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Nestor embarkation_ship_number: A71 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 21 Nov 1917: | Embarked Private, 18444, Army Medical Corps (AIF), HMAT Nestor, Melbourne |
Help us honour George Edmund John Green's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Rebecca Knol
Born 2 February 1899 to John Green and Jane Penberthy Jenkins, George Edmund John Green was the eldest of three children. Leonard the second son died in infancy and Louisa was 3 years younger.
George’s mother Jane died shortly after Louisa’s birth from pneumonia. Two years later John Green remarried Meloria Ann Woodward. Meloria had been married previously and had a young daughter – Olive. Step brother Jack followed soon after and then twin daughters Meloria and Isobell. They all lived in Fitzroy before moving to Sassafras to run a guest house called Dewrang.
George and Louisa were given a pretty rough deal by their stepmother. George leaving school at 13 to enter the shoe trade.
He joined the army at barely 18years of age. He developed appendicitis in Egypt so joined the NZ regiment when well enough as a stretcher bearer with the Red Cross. His tiny diary gives a detailed description of the long wait to come home after the war.
George met Gwladys Peardon Olver in Fitzroy when Gwladys was 14 years old – it is likely they met through church rather than school however, George’s family were Salvation Army rather than Methodist. Gwladys Peardon married George Edmund John Green in 1923. Together they adopted Leonard Richard prior to having their own children Judith Anne and Elizabeth.
Loui worked in the guest house until making her escape with Hector who was employed at the guest house as a painter. The ‘escape’ was a disaster as he was also an alcoholic with no sense of responsibility. They had seven daughters and lived in poverty all their lives. George always felt responsible for Loui – providing food, clothing and often shelter for many of them in times of crisis. All the girls remember Uncle George with love and affection.
With absolutely nothing to start with, not even an education, George worked his way up to becoming a director at Bryce & Duncan, leather merchants in Hoddle Street, Collingwood (the building still remains).
He had the sort of personality that endeared him to rich and poor alike, always with his hand in the pocket around Collingwood and a boot full of shoes or vegies for those in need. The vegies from Alf Marriott who dropped the leftovers off after market – he had his market gardens in Moorabin.
When George died every suit coat pocket had lollies in it and he owed £60 at one bank and was in credit £60 at the other.
Click images to start slideshow.