SHELTON, George Harold
| Service Number: | 2972 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 1st Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Manchester, England, 27 November 1884 |
| Home Town: | Glebe, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Traveller, shoe worker |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 18 September 1918, aged 33 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 30 Sep 1915: | Involvement Private, 2972, 1st Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Argyllshire embarkation_ship_number: A8 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 30 Sep 1915: | Embarked Private, 2972, 1st Infantry Battalion, HMAT Argyllshire, Sydney | |
| 22 Jul 1916: | Wounded Battle for Pozières , Shellshock | |
| 9 Apr 1917: | Wounded GSW right arm | |
| 21 May 1918: | Wounded Gassed | |
| 18 Sep 1918: | Involvement Sergeant, 2972, 1st Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 2972 awm_unit: 1 Battalion awm_rank: Sergeant awm_died_date: 1918-09-18 |
George H. Shelton, 1884 - 1918
George Harold Shelton was born in Manchester, England on November 27, 1884. He immigrated to the United States in 1904 and settled in Lynn, Massachusetts. Two years later, still living in Lynn, he married Leah Smith, who was originally from Wiltshire. In late 1910 George filed papers with the US courts declaring his intention to become a US citizen.
Also in 1910, George’s brother, Horace, came to the US and moved in with the couple. Horace remained in Massachusetts until his death in 1938.
In September, 1914 George and Leah Shelton depart London for Adelaide, intending to reside permanently in South Australia. (Online records do not document when they moved from the US to the UK.)
In August 1915 George Shelton joined the AIF at Liverpool, NSW as part of the 9th reinforcements to the 1st Battalion. He claimed 3 years prior service with the 5th Ardwick Bn., Manchester Regiment. According to his service papers, his wife was living in Sydney in August 1916 but by August 1917 she had relocated to Manchester, England.
Shelton’s service records show that he was wounded three times while fighting in France but always returned to his battalion. (22 July 1916 - shell shock, 9 April 1917 - GSW right arm, 21 May 1918 - gassed). On September 18, 1918, during attempt to breach the Hindenburg Line near the village of Épehy, Sergeant Shelton was shot in the head by a sniper and killed instantly.
Although his body was recorded as being buried S.W. of Hargicourt, Sergeant Shelton’s remains were not recovered after the war and he is now remembered with honour on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial.
Because of his former residency, in 1924 the Commission on the History of Massachusetts in the World War requested details of Shelton’s military service from the Australian government, which were duly provided.
Details of Leah Shelton’s life after 1922 are unclear. A woman by the same name and age married in Manchester, England in 1934 and died there in 1961, but records are not conclusive that this was George’s widow.
Submitted 16 April 2022 by Adam Rohloff
Biography contributed by Adam Rohloff
George Harold Shelton was born in Manchester, England on November 27, 1884. He immigrated to the United States in 1904 and settled in Lynn, Massachusetts. Two years later, still living in Lynn, he married Leah Smith, who was originally from Wiltshire. In late 1910 George filed papers with the US courts declaring his intention to become a US citizen. Also in 1910, George’s brother, Horace, came to the US and moved in with the couple. Horace remained in Massachusetts until his death in 1938.
In September, 1914 George and Leah Shelton depart London for Adelaide, intending to reside permanently in South Australia. (Online records do not document when they moved from the US to the UK.)
In August 1915 George Shelton joined the AIF at Liverpool, NSW as part of the 9th reinforcements to the 1st Battalion. He claimed 3 years prior service with the 5th Ardwick Bn., Manchester Regiment. According to his service papers, his wife was living in Sydney in August 1916 but by August 1917 she had relocated to Manchester, England.
Shelton’s service records show that he was wounded three times while fighting in France but always returned to his battalion. (22 July 1916 - shell shock, 9 April 1917 - GSW right arm, 21 May 1918 - gassed). On September 18, 1918, during attempt to breach the Hindenburg Line near the village of Épehy, Sergeant Shelton was shot in the head by a sniper and killed instantly.
Although his body was recorded as being buried S.W. of Hargicourt, Sergeant Shelton’s remains were not recovered after the war and he is now remembered with honour on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial.
Because of his former residency, in 1924 the Commission on the History of Massachusetts in the World War requested details of Shelton’s military service from the Australian government, which were duly provided.
Details of Leah Shelton’s life after 1922 are unclear. A woman by the same name and age married in Manchester, England in 1934 and died there in 1961, but records are not conclusive that this was George’s widow.
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