ABEL, George William
| Service Number: | 2772 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 10 October 1916, Rockhampton, Qld. |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 41st Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Rockhampton, Qld., 1892 |
| Home Town: | Rockhampton, Rockhampton, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Cook |
| Died: | 8 October 1968, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Rockhampton Crematorium, Qld Wall 9 |
| Memorials: | Queensland Garden of Remembrance (Pinnaroo), Qld, Wooroolin WW1 Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 10 Oct 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2772, 41st Infantry Battalion, Rockhampton, Qld. | |
|---|---|---|
| 23 Dec 1916: | Involvement Private, 2772, 41st Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '18' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Demosthenes embarkation_ship_number: A64 public_note: '' | |
| 23 Dec 1916: | Embarked Private, 2772, 41st Infantry Battalion, HMAT Demosthenes, Sydney |
Abel G – Wooroolin WW1 Honour Board
George William Abel was born at Rockhampton in 1891 the 6th child of John & Caroline Abel. His father died in 1901 when George was just 10 years old. Per the 1913 supplementary Electoral Roll for the Division of Capricorn 22 year old George William Abel was a Coach Painter and lived at Port Curtis Rd, Rockhampton with his mother.
George enlisted in the Australian Army on 10 Oct 1916 at Rockhampton giving his mother as NOK. He stood 5 feet 2 ½ inches in his socks and had a fair complexion with black hair and blue eyes. He had nil distinguishing features. George married Daisy Thorn 5 weeks later on 16 Nov 1916. George embarked from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT A64 Demosthenes on 23 December 1916. His records show that he was a cook with the 1st Machine Gun Battalion. On arrival at Plymouth he was sent to Durrington Training camp and it seems it was not until Oct 1917 that he was transferred overseas to France and transferred from 41st Battalion to 2nd Machine Gun Company. George was wounded in action by gassing in Nov 1917 around Ypres and hospitalised for several months before re-joining his unit.
The 2nd Machine Gun Company was equipped with a total of 64 Vickers medium machine guns – assigned at a scale of 16 per company – and took part in the final stages of the war, seeing action during the Allied defensive operations during the German spring offensive and then the Allied Hundred Days Offensive, which finally brought an end to the war.
The war ended on 11 Nov 1918 and George returned to Australia 5 April 1919. He had spent many months in hospital with scabies, cholecystitis and cystitis – all due to deficiency in crucial nutrients like so many other soldiers during WW1.
George and Daisy lived in Rockhampton until their deaths in 1968 and 1975 and are remembered at Rockhampton Crematorium. The electoral rolls show that George was a Painter. Perhaps his connection to Wooroolin is Painting. Arthur Morris (SN608) had a shop at Wooroolin and his occupation was Painter when he enlisted in the Army in Jul 1916.
Lest We Forget
Submitted 15 January 2023 by Carol Berry
Biography contributed by Faithe Jones
ABEL, George William. Gunner, No. 2772, Second Machine Gun Co.
Son of the late John Abel and Caroline Abel, of Port Curtis Road, Rockhampton. Prior to enlisting, was a coach painter. Enlisted at Rockhampton on October, 1916, and went into camp at Enoggera, where he was attached to the infantry. He was subsequently transferred to the 1 1th Machine Co. He sailed for England on 23rd of December, 1916, and arrived on the 5th March, 1917. He completed his training at Salisbury Plain. In October, 1917, he went to France, and going through the battles of Ypres, Messines, and all the subsequent offensive in 1918. He was gassed, but did not leave the lines.
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