GRIFFITHS, George
| Service Number: | 892 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 18 August 1914 |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 8th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Talbot, Victoria, Australia, 25 May 1883 |
| Home Town: | Northcote, Darebin, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Talbot State School, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Miner, Rubber Worker |
| Died: | Coronary Occlusion, Northcote, Victoria, Australia, 8 April 1964, aged 80 years |
| Cemetery: |
Warringal Cemetery, Victoria |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 18 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 892, 8th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Oct 1914: | Involvement Private, 892, 8th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Benalla embarkation_ship_number: A24 public_note: '' | |
| 19 Oct 1914: | Embarked Private, 892, 8th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Benalla, Melbourne | |
| 14 May 1915: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, ANZAC / Gallipoli, Gunshot wounds back and arm | |
| 5 Nov 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lance Corporal | |
| 7 Jul 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Corporal | |
| 1 Nov 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Sergeant | |
| 31 Aug 1918: | Wounded AIF WW1, Sergeant, Wounded - "Gassed" | |
| 8 Oct 1918: | Embarked Sergeant, 892, To Australia | |
| 31 Jan 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Sergeant, 892, 8th Infantry Battalion |
Help us honour George Griffiths's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Jan Sweetten
As a youth aged 19, George travelled to New Zealand and joined the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Battalion during the Boer War. However, the South Island Regiment arrived in South Africa just four days before the peace treaty was signed.
Living in Wonthaggi, Victoria, he was amongst the first batch of volunteers to answer the call in August 1914. The 8th Battalion was part of the second wave at the Anzac landing and later fought at the battle of Lone Pine. It seems that patriotism was a strong emotion for him and he performed his duties unflinchingly.
He never married and lived simply with his brother and sister-in-law and their family. I remember he took a great interest in his garden, especially growing cacti. He never talked of the war, to my knowledge, and wasn't involved in returned services affairs. He died just before his 80th birthday.
Biography contributed by Jan Sweetten
George Griffiths aka George Tooher.
During George's military service he used his mother's maiden name "Griffiths" as his surname. His father was Chinese and, over the years, his father's name was in the process of change. Eventually he "adopted" the anglicised name of "George Tooher" which he was known as for the rest of his life.