KING, George Austin
| Service Number: | 1370 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 26 November 1914, Adelaide, South Australia |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 10th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Sandown, England , 1 October 1889 |
| Home Town: | Glenelg, Holdfast Bay, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Carpenter |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Gallipoli, Turkey, 25 April 1915, aged 25 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Lone Pine Memorial, Gallipoli Peninsula, Canakkale Province, Turkey Panel 32 |
| Memorials: | Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Lone Pine Memorial to the Missing |
World War 1 Service
| 26 Nov 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Adelaide, South Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Feb 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 1370, 10th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Clan McGillivray embarkation_ship_number: A46 public_note: '' | |
| 2 Feb 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 1370, 10th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Clan McGillivray, Melbourne | |
| Date unknown: | Involvement 10th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières |
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"A SOLDIERS WILL. BLOOD-STAINED DOCUMENT FROM GALLIPOLI. SHOT THROUGH BY A BULLET.
An application was made by Mr. S. Talbot Smith at the South Australian Full Court, before their Honors the Chief Justice, Mr. Justice Gordon, and Mr. Justice Buchanan, on Wednesday, on behalf of the executors, in the estate of the late George Austin King, a member of the A.I.F., who was killed in the landing at Gallipoli on April 25, 1915, for an order for the administration of the will of the deceased, including certain partly-obliterated words (reports the "Advertiser").
Mr. Smith explained that the testator was one or the first Australians to be killed in connection with the landing at Gallipoli. In his breast pocket was found a pay-book, in which was the ordinary soldiers' will-form, which had been filled in by the testator and bore date April 23, 1915. The bullet which ended his life had passed through the paybook and the will. Parts of some of the words had been cut out by the bullet or obliterated by the flow of blood, but there was sufficient left to enable the court to decipher the document by supplying a few missing letters. For instance, some letters were missing from the word "property," but the "pro," and the final "ty" were visible. In like manner the word "mother," following "father," was partly destroyed, but the first three letters were clearly decipherable, and the names of the father and mother were clear.
The deceased was a young Englishman who had settled at Glenelg and had accumulated considerable property, which he had devised to relatives. There could be no doubt concerning his intentions, which were sufficiently disclosed in the document as it then existed. There were no sigatures to the will, but this was not necessary in connection with a soldier's will, so long as there was a strong affidavit identifying the handwriting. The will had crossed the ocean five times, and it was becoming less easy to decipher the more it was handled. Fortunately, it had been pasted on a piece of paper at an early stage, and that had helped to preserve it.
Mr. Justice Gordon said it would be a good practice to have a will of that kind photographed as soon as possible after the death of a testator. All the judges examined the document, and his Honor the Chief Justice, said the names and the descriptions of beneficiaries were visible, and there could be no doubt as to what the partly obliterated words had been. There was a tendency to relax the strict rule in connection with soldiers' wills. The only question was whether the document was in the deceased's hand-writing, and that was sufficiently identified in the affidavits. Letters of administration would issue with the testament annexed. Mr. Justice Gordon and Mr. Justice Buchanan concurred." - from the Broken Hill Barrier Miner 30 Aug 1917 (nla.gov.au)
N.O.K. - Father: John Austin King, Isle of Wight, England.
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