Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

George was born on 25 May 1893 in Upper Sturt, SA, making him 21 in 1914 the year he signed up to the military (although he claimed he was 24). George was 6 foot, weighing 103 lbs, with brown hair, brown eyes and dark complexion. He grew up alongside his farther, they shared the same love for engineering. When George was older, he continued that path making electrical engineering his full-time job. Before the war George had not been a part of any military. He lived with his family in Upper Sturt.

George enlisted on the 29th of August 1914 in Adelaide. He embarked on the 5th of December 1914 on the ship HMAT Kyarra A55. George was never transferred to a different unit he stayed in the same one for his whole time of service.  During the war he was thought to have paratyphoid and Tuberculosis. George was also very skinny throughout the war, he had a lung problem which made him feel short of breath and was eventually the reason why he got discharged. He was not killed in action but spent 7 weeks convalescing in several different hospitals/ 5 weeks in Anzac and 2 weeks in Malta with suspected Tuberculosis and paratyphoid. Medical certificate states  he was very thin short in breath, and he had a history of night sweats. Paratyphoid was the diagnosis followed by jaundice. Jaundice may occur if the liver can't process red blood cells as they break down. He would have developed Yellow skin caused by the build-up of bilirubin in the blood. George returned from service, he was discharged on the 14th of July 1916 for being medically unfit. After 1 year and 321 days of service.

G.L.A Coates survived the war and recovered from life threatening illnesses, which he overcame after his active service. When he was home eating properly and resting lots. When he returned and was back to normal heath George went on to receive an Order of the British Empire Award. Records show that in 1967 GLA. Coates writes to the secretary of the Department of the Army in Canberra saying what he did in the war and at the top of the page it says that he has an Order of the British Empire Award. Meaning he was awarded this sometime after the war, and he survived until at least 1967 the year he wrote the letter. The OBE award is a British order of chivalry which rewards people who contribute to charitable and welfare organisations and public service outside of civil service. It was also noted that in his last known letter he signed as Lieutenant Colonel George Coates. There was no documents of his family, all it said was they lived in Upper Sturt.