MCCOLGAN, George Clarence
| Service Number: | 1069 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 18 September 1914, Enlisted at Rosebery Park Camp (Sydney) |
| Last Rank: | Driver |
| Last Unit: | 2nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Lithgow, New South Wales, Australia, 21 May 1890 |
| Home Town: | Lithgow, Lithgow, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Locomotive Fireman |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 18 August 1916, aged 26 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Lithgow War Memorial, Sutherland WW1 Memorial Wall, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 18 Sep 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1069, 2nd Infantry Battalion, Enlisted at Rosebery Park Camp (Sydney) | |
|---|---|---|
| 18 Oct 1914: | Involvement Private, 1069, 2nd Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Suffolk embarkation_ship_number: A23 public_note: '' | |
| 18 Oct 1914: | Embarked Private, 1069, 2nd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Suffolk, Sydney | |
| 18 Aug 1916: | Involvement Driver, 1069, 2nd Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 1069 awm_unit: 2 Battalion awm_rank: Driver awm_died_date: 1916-08-18 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by John Oakes
George Clarence MCCOLGAN (Service Number 1069) was born on 21st May 1890 at Lithgow. He commenced work with the NSW Government Railways as a cleaner (the first rung in the career path of locomotive driver) at Penrith Locomotive Depot on 2nd November 1910. A year later he had progressed to fireman, but then suffered a demotion to tube sweeper, before regaining the position of fireman. He moved to Eveleigh Locomotive Depot in September 1913.
He was granted leave to join the Expeditionary Forces on 18th September 1914 and enlisted the same day at Rosebery Park Camp. He was not married and nominated his father, who was still living at Lithgow, as his next of kin. He claimed four months’ service in the Senior Cadets. He admitted that he had been ‘convicted by the Civil Power’ for abusive language. He was fined 40 shillings or 14 days hard labour and ‘paid up’.
He was allotted to the 2nd Australian Infantry Battalion and embarked HMAT ‘Suffolk’ at Sydney on 18th October 1914. He reached Alexandria (Egypt) on 8th December. He was taken on the strength of the Transport Section as a driver.
He was disciplined for ‘Stealing timber the property of the Bathing Contractor’ and being Absent Without Leave.
He re-joined the 2nd Battalion at the end of 1915, but remained in Egypt.
On 27th January 1916 he was convicted of the Crime of ‘Disobeying Orders in that he was actively engaged in a game of “Two Up”. A prohibited game, in the rear of the Lines.’
In March 1916 he embarked at Alexandria for passage to Marseilles in France and then went to the Western Front.
He was convicted of being absent from Billet from 0800 to 2130 9/4/16. For this he was confined to barracks for 14 days and forfeited a day’s pay.
McColgan was killed in action on 18th August 1916. He was buried between Pozières and Chalk Pits about 1000 yards SW of Pozières. Sh 57D SE X 10 C4-5. Despite these very precise map references, McColgan’s burial place was not located after the war and he has no known grave. He is remembered on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial in France.
- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.
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