Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Name: Gustav Edward Gaertner
Service Number: 51795
Place of Birth: Freeling
Date of Birth: 3 September 1895
Place of Enlistment: Adelaide
Date of Enlistment: 19 November 1917
Age at Enlistment: 22 years 1 month
Next of Kin: Mother – Marne Gaertner
Occupation: Labourer
Religion: Church of England
Rank: Private 50th Battalion
Gustav was the son of Johann and Marne Gaertner [nee Heinrich] of Freeling.
On 1 May 1918, Gustav left from Sydney on HMT Euripides, arriving at
Liverpool, England on 2 July to undertake further training which lasted until 2
September. While there he was hospitalised with influenza on two separate
occasions during the period covering July to November 1918.
Gustav served in France from early 1919 until 11 May. He returned to England
where he married Ada Smith at the Church of Christ, Spitalfields, London on
22 August 1919. He returned to Australia on the Runic on 20 December and
was discharged on 27 February 1920.
After the war Gustav lived in Freeling, working at Neldner’s Chaff Mill. His
father bought a property north of Freeling at Gaertner Street, where his
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brothers Ben and Harry ran the property. He also had a sister, Sylvia who lived
in Sydney.
Lynette Reichstein recalls how Gustav, known locally as Ed, used to live in an
old tin cottage in Derby Street in Freeling and would often help the
Reichsteins when they ran the Railway Hotel. He chopped wood for them and
had his own exclusive seat in the hotel. In his later years Ed suffered from
kidney stones. When he had a fall Mr. Reichstein would render assistance.
He continued labouring and was well into his 80s when he died.