SMAIL, George Stanley
| Service Number: | 2485 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 5 May 1916, Place of Enlistment Melbourne, Victoria. |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd Pioneer Battalion |
| Born: | Moonee Ponds, Victoria, Australia, 23 May 1891 |
| Home Town: | Ascot Vale, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Engineer |
| Died: | Murwillumbah, New South Wales , Australia, 5 May 1966, aged 74 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 5 May 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2485, 2nd/2nd Pioneer Battalion, Place of Enlistment Melbourne, Victoria. | |
|---|---|---|
| 28 Jul 1916: | Involvement Private, 2485, 2nd Pioneer Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '5' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Themistocles embarkation_ship_number: A32 public_note: '' | |
| 28 Jul 1916: | Embarked Private, 2485, 2nd Pioneer Battalion, HMAT Themistocles, Melbourne | |
| 2 Aug 1917: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 2485, Take up Australian Munitions Worker, London. |
George Stanley Smail.
George was born in 1891 in Moonee Ponds, Victoria, the son of George Paterson Smail and his wife Maria, nee Gilders.
George was a fitter and turner by trade. He served a seven years apprenticeship with Robinson Bros. & Co. P/L. of Melbourne, Victoria on general engineering work. After completing his apprenticeship he worked for the Victorian Government Railways at the Newport Railway Workshops as a turner.
On 15 May 1916 George enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force as a Private at Melbourne, VIC. At the time he was single, an engineer andlived with hisparents at Ascot Vale, VIC. He was 5 ft 3 & 3/4 in tall, with a fair complexion, blue eyes and light brown hair.
George was allocated to the 4th Reinforcements, 2nd Pioneers (No. 2485). He embarked on 28 Jul 1916 on A.35 HMAT "Themistocles", disembarking at Plymouth, England on 11 Sep 1916. He was detached for duty with the AIF Kit Stores in London on 13 Nov 1916.
He was discharged in England on 26 Jun 1917 for munitions work. He revealed that his nerves were shattered which lead to a serious speech impediment when flustered and was now unfit for active service.
George was accepted as an Australian Munitions Worker (Badge No. 2713). He commenced a probation at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich in the Gun Factory as a turner on 26 Jun 1917.
While working there he married Olive Ella Davey in Fulham in 1918.
He and Olive returned to Australia on the SS "Kenilworth Castle", departing England 14 Feb 1919. His agreement was terminated as complete on 10 Apr 1919 on disembarkation at Port Melbourne, VIC. A daughter, Shirley Irene was born in Essendon, VIC in 1919.
In 1938 he was a farmer in Stokers Siding in the Tweed Valley of NSW when he was assaulted by his neighbour. He was living at Chillingham, NSW, not far away in 1947 when he published a retraction for insulting and slandering a neighbour.
He died in Murwillumbah, NSW in 1966.
Courtesy Wikitree
Submitted 20 May 2022 by Lynette Turner
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