Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

George was the son of Noah TALBOT & Annie GODDARD and was born on the 6th of March 1894 in Church Street, Port Adelaide, SA.
He was baptised on the 2nd of May in St Paul’s Church, Pt Adelaide.

His parents were married on the 18th of July 1892 in Port Adelaide, SA.

His father was the son of John TALBOT & Hannah Maria BLACKBURN and was born on the 15th of August 1872 in Netherton, Thornhill, Yorkshire, England.
His mother was the daughter of Samuel Charles GODDARD & Annie Winifred HUNT and was born on the 5th of June 1876 in Cannon Street, Pt Adelaide, SA.

George was the second child born into this family of 12 children.

George’s father had arrived in South Australia with his mother and siblings on board the Devon on the 10th of February 1880 as his father had immigrated the previous year.

His father was a lumper (wharf labourer) and George grew up in Church Street, Pt Adelaide before the family moved to Cannon Street, Pt Adelaide.

On the 23rd of August 1909 George was sentenced to the Magill Boys Reformatory for 7 days for playing “Pitch and Toss”.
"Pitch and toss" is a historical illegal gambling game involving tossing coins to land near a designated mark, with the closest player getting to toss all the coins and win those landing heads up.

After George had completed his education he gained employment as a labourer and the family moved to 15 James Street, Graytown, Pt Adelaide (now Rosewater).

With the outbreak of WW1 George and his older brother; John Samuel decided to enlist into the 1st AIF.

On the 19th of January 1915 they went to Oaklands Camp and enlisted.
George was allotted the service number 1922 and John was allotted the Service number 1923 and they were both posted to E Company, Base Infantry in Exhibition Camp.

They were then transferred to 12th Battalion, 5th Reinforcements Morphettville Camp.
They embarked from Adelaide on board HMAT Hororata on the 20th of April 1915, disembarked in Port Suez on the 18th of May and marched into Tel-el-Kebir Camp.
After a few weeks of training in the desert they embarked for the Dardanelles and were taken on strength with the 12th Battalion on the 16th of June at Gallipoli.

By the end of June they were working on Tasmania Post, which was nearly completed when George badly sprained his ankle on the 28th of June and was admitted into No.1 Australian Casualty Clearing Station on ANZAC Beach, 3 days later.
He was transferred to the Imtarfa Military Hospital in Malta and then to the Military Hospital Cottonera in Birgu, Malta.

Whilst George was recuperating here, John and the 12th Battalion was heavily involved in establishing and defending the front line of the ANZAC position.
With the attack on Lone Pine on the 6th of August the 12th Battalion contributed two companies to the attack, which included John. They were the only Battalion in the Brigade to do so.

It was in this attack, the following day, that John suffered a Gun Shot Wound to his head and left shoulder and was admitted into No.1 Australian Casualty Clearing Station on ANZAC Beach and evacuated to Mudros.
John was then evacuated to Alexandria and admitted into the 15th General Hospital, diagnosed with a Coracoid fracture to his scapula and invalided back to Australia.

George rejoined his Battalion at Gallipoli on the 25th of October and now learnt of John’s injuries.
After the evacuation of Gallipoli George was transferred to the 52nd Battalion and then the 4th Division Artillery and served in France.

On the 16th of October 1916 his younger brother; Henry Joseph, enlisted into the AIF (4606) and was posted to the 32nd Battalion, 12th Reinforcements.
In November, George suffered a fractured left Fibula and was hospitalised and evacuated to England and whilst here Henry embarked from Adelaide.

George recovered and returned to France where he remained until he suffered from scabies and was evacuated to England.
George embarked from England on the 10th of December 1918 on board HT Somali and disembarked in Adelaide on the 1st of February 1919.

George was discharged, medically unfit, from the AIF on the 31st of March 1919 and went home to live with his parents.

His mother died on the 28th of October 1927 and they buried her in the Cheltenham Cemetery; Section P, Drive C, Path 36, Site Number 251S.

On the 20th of October 1929 his sister in-law Alice died and they buried her in the Cheltenham Cemetery, with George’s mother.

George died on Friday the 27th of December 1929 and was buried the following day in the Cheltenham Cemetery; Section P, Drive C, Path 36, Site Number 251S, with his mother and sister in-law.

TALBOT - The Friend of the late Mr. GEOBGE TALBOT (late AIF) are respectfully informed that his remains were removed from the residence of his father Mr. N. Talbot, 15 James Street, Graytown, on SATURDAY MORNING and peacefully Laid to Rest in the Cheltenham Cemetery. Rev. T.P Willaston officiated.
SYDNEY HARRISON, Undertaker.

With the outbreak of WW2 George’s younger brothers enlisted;
Frederick TALBOT (S24563).
Edward TALBOT (SX10924).
Alfred David TALBOT (S29668)

Military

With the outbreak of WW1 George and his older brother; John Samuel decided to enlist into the 1st AIF.

On the 19th of January 1915 they went to Oaklands Camp and enlisted.
George, aged 21, was allotted the service number 1922 and John, aged 20, was allotted the Service number 1923 and they were both posted to E Company, Base Infantry in Exhibition Camp.
They listed their mother, of James Street, Graytown, SA, as their next of kin.

On the 17th of February the brothers were transferred to 12th Battalion, 5th Reinforcements Morphettville Camp.
They embarked from Adelaide on board HMAT Hororata on the 20th of April 1915, disembarked in Port Suez on the 18th of May and marched into Tel-el-Kebir Camp.

After a few weeks of training in the desert they embarked for the Dardanelles and were taken on strength with the 12th Battalion on the 16th of June at Gallipoli.

The first days of June saw uncomfortably hot weather settling in with the attendant swarms of flies.
The shortage of water now became very serious and caused a great deal of distress. The ration per man was well under two quarts per day for all purposes, and washing was out of the question unless permission was obtained to visit the beach.
In the evening, Brighton Beach presented the appearance of a popular seaside resort, minus, however, bathing sheds and costumes. How those evening swims were enjoyed, until the Olive Grove batteries one evening opened on the bathers.

By the end of June they were working on Tasmania Post, which was nearly completed when George badly sprained his ankle on the 28th of June and was admitted into No.1 Australian Casualty Clearing Station on ANZAC Beach, 3 days later.
He was then transferred to HMAT Seang Bee and transferred and admitted into the Imtarfa Military Hospital in Malta on the 9th of July.
After newly 3 weeks here he was transferred the Military Hospital Cottonera in Birgu, Malta on the 27th of May.

Whilst George was recuperating here, John and the 12th Battalion was heavily involved in establishing and defending the front line of the ANZAC position.
With the attack on Lone Pine on the 6th of August the 12th Battalion contributed two companies to the attack, which included John. They were the only Battalion in the Brigade to do so.

It was in this attack, the following day, that John suffered a Gun Shot Wound to his head and left shoulder and was admitted into No.1 Australian Casualty Clearing Station on ANZAC Beach and evacuated to Mudros.
John was then evacuated to Alexandria on the 9th of August on board HS Delta and admitted into the 15th General Hospital in Alexandria 2 days later, on the 11th.
Here he was diagnosed with a Coracoid fracture to his scapula.

On this same day George was transferred to the All Saints Hospital in Malta.

On the 29th of August John was transferred by Hospital Train to Suez, embarked for Australia on board HS Ulysses on the 4th of September and disembarked in Melbourne on the 30th of September.
Six days later George embarked from Malta on board HMT Karoa, disembarked in Egypt and was taken on strength with the Overseas Training Battalion at the Mustapha Convalescent Camp, near Alexandria, on the 9th of September.

After 5 weeks of training, George embarked from Alexandria on the 18th of October on board HMAT Borda and rejoined Battalion at Gallipoli on the 25th of October.
It was not until now that George learnt of John’s injuries.

Then on the 25th of November they received orders to move to the beach via Shrapnel & Rest Gully for embarkation.
At 12:30am they began to embark on board El Kaliera, sailed at 6am on the 26th of November and arrived in Mudros Harbour at 12:30pm, disembarked and marched to Sarpi Camp.

On the 1st of December the entire Brigade was placed into quarantine due to a Diphtheria outbreak.
They spent Christmas 1915 here before embarking for Alexandria on board HMT Lake Michigan on New Years Day 1916.
They sailed at 2:30am on the 4th of January, disembarked 2 days later and entrained to Tel-el-Kebir Camp and commenced training.

Training continued in the camp and efforts were made to improve the conditions of living for the men. Mess sheds and baths were erected and the sergeants were given a tent in which to re-establish their mess.
During their stay at Tel-el-Kebir Camp they received a huge accumulated mail numbering over fifty bags and the orderly room staff, who mostly dealt with mail matters, worked well after "Lights Out " for several nights before it was disposed of.

Their sojourn at Tel-el-Kebir was brought to a close on 24th of January and all the afternoon the whole Battalion was at work striking tents and returning them with other camp equipment back to ordnance. The military custom was carried out as usual on this instance, for the work of striking and cleaning up the camp was completed about 6pm, after which, there was nothing to do and nowhere to go.
It was not until about 9pm that they were told that the troop train would leave at 2am.

They entrained at 2am and started at 2:40am, once again in open trucks. They thought it was cold on their journey from Alexandrina, but now, it was freezing.
The air was biting and as they travelled fairly rapidly it was impossible to keep it out. They were blue with the cold when they arrived at Serapeum, on the western bank of the Suez Canal, at 7am.
A march of some 300 to 400 yards in the loose sand helped to warm them and they crossed the pontoon bridge across the Canal and pitched their camp about 400 yards inland from the bank.

They now formed a part of the Canal defence line, which consisted of garrisoned posts situated at intervals right along the eastern bank of the Canal.
On the 14th of February George suffered from Otitis media and was admitted into the 1st Australian Stationary Hospital in Ismailia for 9 days before rejoining his Battalion at Serapeum Camp.

On the 1st of March the Commanding Officer of the 3rd Infantry Brigade addressed the troops who were being transferred to the newly raised 52nd Battalion, and George was one of these men.

The 52nd Battalion was raised at Tel-el-Kebir in Egypt on the same day as part of the "doubling" of the AIF. Approximately half of its recruits were veterans from the 12th Battalion, and the other half, fresh reinforcements from Australia. Reflecting the composition of the 12th, the 52nd was originally a mix of men from South and Western Australia and Tasmania.
The 52nd became part of the 13th Brigade of the 4th Australian Division.

That afternoon George and these men marched to Serapeum Siding and entrained to Tel-el-Kebir.
Then on the 14th of March George was transferred to the new 4th Division Artillery and posted to the 4th Division Artillery Column.
The 4th Division Artillery was formed with its units including the 10th, 11th, and 12th Field Artillery Brigades and the 24th Field Artillery Brigade (Howitzer).

After further training they embarked from Alexandria on the 6th of June 1916 on board HMT Oriana and disembarked in Marseilles 7 days later.
The following day George was posted to the 24th Field Artillery Brigade (Howitzer), 111th Battery.
By the 1st of June they had moved to Castre and then to Bois-Grenier to support the 4th Division at the front and then to Armentieres.

When the 4th Division moved to the Somme to fight in the battle of Pozieres, George and the entire artillery unit was left behind. They were considered too inexperienced for a major conflict.
George and the 4th Division artillery were merged with the 5th Division artillery.
The artillery bombardment that preceded the infantry attack at Fromelles was in the hands of these units from the 4th and 5th Divisions. Inexperience was not the only problem with the vital artillery support for the battle.
The bombardment was reduced from three days to eleven hours. There were fewer guns than promised and less ammunition. The bombardment was late starting and failed to destroy the barbed wire in front of the German trenches.
The Germans were well entrenched deep below ground and the Australian shells had no major impact. They did, however, alert the Germans that the attack was imminent.

The Germans began shelling the British and Australian positions which caused many casualties long before the battle began.

They then spent August at Esquerdes in training before moving to Ypres on the 24th of August and then to Dickebusch on the 31st.
Two days later George was transferred to the 44th Battery and then they rejoined the 4th Division in Ypres on the 14th of September.

The 4th Division was then heavily engaged in the fighting around Pozières and Mouquet Farm, advancing the line towards Mouquet Farm before being withdrawn for rest to Dickebusch.
On the 8th of November, whilst at Dickebusch, George fractured his left Fibula and was admitted into the 3rd Casualty Clearing Station at Puchevillers.
Three days later he was admitted into the 13th General Hospital in Boulogne and was then evacuated to England on board HS Dieppe on the 18th of November.

The following day he was admitted into the Edmonton Military Hospital where he spent Christmas 1916 before he was discharged to 2 weeks furlo on the 2nd of January 1917.
George reported to No.1 Command Depot in Perham Downs on the 17th of January and was posted to the Reserve Brigade Australian Artillery in Heytesbury.
After 2 months here in training George proceeded back to France on the 15th of March and reported to the AGBD (Australian General Base Depot) in Etaples.

Whilst George was in England the 44th Battery was disbanded in January 1917 so George was then posted to the posted to the 4th Division Artillery Column on the 8th of April at Bullecourt.
Their task was to keep ammunition up to the guns by moving it from "Third line" storage up to the Front ("First Line"). It was a mammoth task involving motor and horse drawn transport, heavy and light rail and tramways. Ammunition dumps and transport near the Front Line were high priority targets of the enemy's guns, and later, aircraft.
Horse drawn transport laden with ammunition was a doubly risky business. Horses were vulnerable to all forms of small arms and artillery and the cargo was such that a hit was generally catastrophic.

They participated in the first Battle of Bullecourt on the 11th of April and then the Battle of Messines between the 7th and 10th of June.
Five days later George was transferred to the Medium Trench Mortar Battery of the 4th Division.
The Medium Trench Mortar Battery had been in Bullecourt to assist the British 62nd Division on the 3rd of May. The men with their mortars and ammunition were waiting on the railway embankment on that flank when, at 4.30am on the 3rd of May, a German shell exploded their ammunition, destroying all the mortars and ammunition, killing 27 men and wounding many others.

There next moved was to Pozieres Ridge and onto Mouquet Farm, where on the 12th of September, George suffered from scabies and was admitted into the 7th Australian Field Ambulance for 13 days.
He rejoined his Battery on the 25th of September, but the following day he was admitted into the 50th Casualty Clearing Station at Mont des Cats.
George remained here until the 21st of October when he was transferred to the 2nd Australian General Hospital in Wimereux.

Three weeks later George was transferred to the 25th General Hospital in Wimereux before he was evacuated to England on the 3rd of November and admitted into No.2 Military Hospital, Old Park, Canterbury with boils.
After a few weeks of treatment he was discharged to 2 weeks furlo on the 23rd of November and then reported to No.1 Command Depot in Sutton Veny on the 7th of December and medically classified B1A2 (Fit for overseas training camp in three to four weeks).

However, George remained here until the 18th of July when he was posted to the Machine Gun Details.
George was here when the Armistice was signed on the 11th of November 1918 and 2 days later he was transferred to No.2 Command Depot in Weymouth for return to Australia.

George embarked from England on the 10th of December 1918 on board HT Somali and disembarked in Adelaide on the 1st of February 1919.

George was discharged, medically unfit, from the AIF on the 31st of March 1919 and awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War & Victory Medals.