Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

GEORGE ERIC KLUG who died from wounds in France on 12th May 1918 was the elder son of Mr. G. E. Klug. He was born in 1898 and was at the School from 1911 to 1915.

He enlisted in April 1916 and left with the Third Divisional Ammunition Column in the following June. He served in France till February 1917, when he was recommended for officers' training, and returned to England. After training at St. John's Wood he gained his commission on 26th July 1917, and was attached to 3rd Divisional Artillery.

He was promoted to Lieutenant after the Passchendaele fight
on 26th October 1917. On 11th May 1918 he was with his battery in action in front of Heilly when it was subjected to a heavy bombardment, during which a gas shell burst alongside him, wounding him severely in the leg. He was taken to the Dressing
Station, but died the following day at No. 61 Casualty Clearing Station. His commanding officer writes thus of him : "By his death his battery, and also the brigade, has sustained a great loss, as Lieutenant Klug, apart from being a keen and capable officer, had earned the well-merited respect of both officers and men of his battery."

Another officer writes: " He was one of the gamest lads that ever
walked and absolutely a white man, and I, together with the rest of the officers and men of the battery, miss him badly."

Brigadier-General H. W. Grimwade (No. 1621 on the School Roll) wrote thus to Mr. Klug: " He was such a splendid fellow, and I looked on him, as I know his commanding officer did also, as one of the best and most promising officers of this Divisional Artillery. He was gallant and enthusiastic at his work, and capable, and at all times cheerful, and will be sadly missed by all who have been with him. The righteousness of our cause is our mainstay, but it is terrible to see so many splendid boys cut off on the threshold of life. A sense of duty is what keeps us going, and no one amongst us had this more strongly before him than your splendid son."

He was buried in the Vignacourt British Cemetery, 8 miles from Amiens.

From François Berthout

Lt George Eric Klug
 
On the old battlefields and cemeteries of the Somme, the seasons pass over the rising and setting of the sun which, in its light, illuminates the names of thousands of young men who rest in peace under the countless white rows of their graves between which the poppies keep growing and blooming.The seasons go by, imperturbable but the Remembrance of these young men remains alive and strong on these soils now silent and peaceful on which they stand side by side as they were in life, in the trenches and on the battlefields on which they gave their today and their lives for our tomorrow and on which they are today remembered and honored so that they will never be forgotten and so that they will live forever.

Today, it is with the highest respect and gratitude that I would like to honor the memory of one of these young men,one of my boys of the Somme who, for Australia and France, fought and gave his life.I would like to pay a very respectful tribute to Lieutenant number 24595 George Eric Klug who fought in the 108th Howitzer Battery, 8th Brigade, 3rd Divisional Ammunition Column, 3rd Divisional Artillery of the Australian Field Artillery and who died of his wounds 103 years ago , on May 12, 1918 at the age of 20 on the Somme front.

George Eric Klug was born on January 1, 1898 in Broken Hill, New South Wales,and was the son of George Charles and Emma Jane Klug. George and his parents first lived in Collins House, Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria and then in Brookwood, Queen's Road, Melbourne.George was educated at the C of E Melbourne Grammar School between 1911 and 1915 and served three years in the Senior Cadets and before the outbreak of the war he was a student and a cricketer in the Melbourne Cricket Club.

George enlisted on April 12, 1916 in Melbourne, Victoria, as Driver in the 3rd Divisional Ammunition Column, Section 3 and embarked with his unit from Melbourne, on board HMAT A37 Barambah on June 27, 1916 and sailed for Plymouth, England, where he was disembarked on August 25, 1916 and admitted two months later, on October 26,suffering from synovitis.

A month later, on November 8, 1916, George left the hospital and joined the 3rd Divisional Ammuntition Column and on November 24, he embarked with his unit and proceeded overseas for France where he arrived the same day.Three months later, on February 15, 1917, after being recommended for officers'training, George returned to England and joined the Royal Artillery Cadet School of St John's Wood and gained his commission on July 26, 1917 and appointed Second Lieutenant.

A month later, on August 9, 1917, George embarked from Southampton, England, and proceeded overseas for France and was disembarked at Rouelles the next day, on August 10 then joined the 3rd Divisional Artillery on August 13 and fought at Ypres where he was posted on August 16 in the 8th Field Artillery Brigade, 108th Howitzer Battery and two months later, on October 26, 1917, after intense and furious fighting at Ypres and Passchendaele, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant.

Three months later, on January 9, 1918, George was detached from the 8th Field Artillery Brigade for intelligence course then joined the 8th Field Artillery Brigade on January 20 and the following month, on February 17, he was granted leave in England and on March 7, 1918, he joined the 8th Field Artillery Bigade, 108th Howitzer Battery, 3rd Divisional Artillery in the Somme to stop the German spring offensive of 1918 called the "Kaiserschlacht".

Unfortunately, two months later, on May 12, 1918, it was in the Somme that George met his fate.
On May 11, 1918,he was with his battery in action in front of Heilly, Somme, when it was subjected to a heavy bombardment, during which a gas shell burst alongside him, wounding him severely in the leg. George was immediately evacuated to the 61st Casualty Clearing Station in Vignacourt, Somme, but despite the greatest care, he died of his injuries the next day, on May 12, 1918, he was 20 years old.

After George's death, his commanding officer wrote this of him:
"By his death his battery, and also the brigade, has sustained a great loss, as Lieutenant Klug, apart from being a keen and capable officer, had earned the well-merited respect of both officers and men of his battery".

Another officer wrote:
"He was one of the gamest lads that ever walked and absolutely a white man, and I, together with the rest of the officers and men of the battery, miss him badly".

Brigadier General Harold William Grimwade wrote this to George's father:
"He was such a splendid fellow, and I looked on him, as I know his commanding officer did also, as one of the best and most promising officers of this Divisional Artillery. He was gallant and enthusiastic at his work, and capable, and at all times cheerful, and will be sadly missed by all who have been with him. The righteousness of our cause is our mainstay, but it is terrible to see so many splendid boys cut off on the threshold of life. A sense of duty is what keeps us going, and no one amongst us had this more strongly before him than your splendid son."

Today, Lieutenant George Eric Klug rests in peace with his friends, comrades and brothers in arms at Vignacourt British Cemetery, Somme, and his grave bears the following inscription "In memory of the beloved son of G. and E . Klug of Melbourne aged 20.
George, you who, at the dawn of your life, so young and so brave have, for Australia and France, served and fought with pride and who, on the battlefields, gave your youth and your life in the fields of poppies on which stand proudly your grave and that of your brothers in arms who did not have the chance to return to their homes and who, here, side by side, in the Somme, on the soil of a friendly country rest in peace , I would like, with all my heart, to express to you my gratitude and my respect for the man that you were but also for what you are for me, a hero.But I would also like to say thank you for everything you have done for my country in the darkest hours of history, in the trenches, in the flames of a world at war, under the noise and fury of cannons who spit death and destruction on the shoulders of a generation of exceptional men who fought with dedication and courage in once peaceful fields which became fields of death which were endlessly pounded and plowed by tons of shells and scarified by miles of sharp barbed wire in which millions of young men were stopped and mowed down who paid the supreme sacrifice in the blood they shed on no man's land.With courage and determination, they showed the courage and conviction of a whole nation, of a whole young country, Australia which lost so many of its sons and which for our old country, France, did so much. When they were disembarked in France, they did not know much about our country and yet, alongside their French brothers in arms, they fought together with courage and were deeply admired and respected but not only under fire because in the towns and villages of the Somme, wherever they were, they were deeply loved by the French people, by the children of France whom they carried in their arms and for whom they fought with so much perseverance and in Amiens, in Villers-bretonneux, they were forever engraved in our hearts and on the walls of the schools we could see and read "Do not forget australia".This is how between our two countries was born the most beautiful of friendships, a friendship of which we are proud and honored.We will always remember those proud and smiling young men who fought with so much bravery in the Somme and more particularly here, in Amiens, in Pozieres, Villers-Bretonneux, Flers, Gueudecourt, Bazentin, they were always in the front line, under the fire of cannons and machine guns, under deluges of fire and steel under which they lived day and night.Brave among the bravest they put their hearts in the battle and stood admirably under the fire of the artillery and machine guns which swept the battlefield but in this hell they kept their heads high, nothing was too hard for them, they were always volunteers and each of them, in the trenches, in the air and underground fought with determination for their country but also for justice, for freedom and peace, for their comrades and their families, they never did a step back despite the horrors they went through and together, side by side, they remained strong and brave, they held the line.soldiers and officers, men above all, fought for each other and found in each other strength and courage, during four years of a war that changed the face of the world, they remained faithful to themselves and faithful to those who fought and suffered by their side in the same horrible conditions and you George, found the courage to guide these men with righteousness and courage, with determination and enthusiasm, the enthusiasm and good humor which determined the Australian Soldiers.Man and officer loved and deeply respected by those who fought and served with you, your death was a terrible loss for these young men who were proud and honored to fight and serve under your orders, by your side they gave the best of themselves because you were for them a source of inspiration and it is today by their side, always together that you rest in peace in a very beautiful cemetery, under the spring sun under which the poppies grow which remind us that it over a hundred years ago, a whole generation of men gathered, fought and fell on these now peaceful fields on which I walk in your footsteps to learn from you, to understand what you have gone through but more important than anything , to honor your memory.I would always give my dedication and heart so that they are never forgotten and keep their stories alive, to bring them back to life so that their names live forever.Thank you so much George,for everything.At the going down of the sun and in the morning,we will remember him,we will remember them.