RICHES, George Frederick
| Service Number: | 3925 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 8 September 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Sydney New South Wales, Australia, 30 May 1895 |
| Home Town: | Leichhardt, Leichhardt, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Coach painter |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Belgium , 6 November 1917, aged 22 years |
| Cemetery: |
Potijze Chateau Grounds Cemetery Plot I, Row C, Grave 38 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Leichhardt War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 8 Sep 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3925, 2nd Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 30 Dec 1915: | Involvement Private, 3925, 2nd Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Medic embarkation_ship_number: A7 public_note: '' | |
| 30 Dec 1915: | Embarked Private, 3925, 2nd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Medic, Sydney |
Help us honour George Frederick Riches's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Robert Kearney
Ancestry birth details
Name: George Frederick Riches
Record Type: Baptism
Birth Date: 30 May 1895
Baptism Date: 12 Feb 1896
Baptism Place: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Parish as it Appears: St Thomas Balmain
Father: Albert Edward Riches
Mother: Minnie Riches
Biography contributed by Lawrence Cutler
IGeorge was born in Sydney in 1895. He lived with his family in Rofe Sreet, Leichhardt (an inner Sydney suburb) until he enlisted in the AIF at Holsworthy on 8/9/1915 and became a private in the 2nd Australian Infantry Battalion.
According to the AIF Nominal Roll, he was aged 20 at enlistment, and his occupation was coach painter. His religion was Church of England. His mother Minnie Riches (at same Leichhardt address) was listed as next of kin. I don't know his father's name or whether he was alive or living at Leichhardt when George enlisted.
The Nominal Roll also noted that George was or had been a member of the 31st Infantry of the Australian Military Forces (militia).
George had, I believe five siblings, with two brothers who also enlisted. His older sister Agnes Lillian married Charles Henry (Harry) Krinks during World War I, and some years later bought a new home at 103 Willison Road, Carlton in Sydney. The street was originally called Webber but was deemed to sound too German and was renamed in honour of a local young man who had died in the war.
Tragically, in those pre penicillin day, Agnes Lillian died of an ear nfection in the 1920s, leaving her husband to bring up four little girls.
Harry and Agnes had four daughters, the eldest Jean Agnes Krinks (later Churchill) being the mother of my late wife Susan Agnes who died on 31/12/2018.
The Nominal Roll listed George's address as 91 Rofe Street, although my research shows there is no such number today. Perhaps it was a clerical error as modern street images show that the street still has the same streetscape with federation cottages that George would still recognise.
So at his death, only a little more than two years after his enlistment, George was only 22 years old. As I don't know his exact day and month of birth, he may have turned 23.
I know he first went to Egypt as I have an undated letter written by him to his family.
From the date and place of his death, I think he almost certainly was killed at the Third Battle of Ypres, also known as Passchendaele, the notorious quagmire of a battle into which many literally sank. Apart from Killed in Action, Iknow nothing about the circumstances of his death assuming any were recorded in the Battalion Diary.
Unfortunately, I don't know anything about his participation in other engagements during his two years of service.
Entry by Lawrence (Larry) Cutler, Yarrawarrah NSW on 23/11/2021. Widower of Susan Agnes Cutler nee Churchill, who was George's great niece.
Click images to start slideshow.