HOLLAND, George Whitfield
| Service Number: | 3808 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 14 July 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 14th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Undera, Victoria, Australia, 1893 |
| Home Town: | Shepparton, Greater Shepparton, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Shepparton Park State School, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Dairy farmer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 1 July 1916 |
| Cemetery: |
Brewery Orchard Cemetery, Bois-Grenier Plot IV, Row D, Grave No.14. HOW MUCH OF LOVE AND LIGHT AND JOY IS BURIED WITH OUR SOLDIER BOY |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Mooroopna Shepparton News Calendar & Pictorial Honour Roll of Fallen Heroes, Shepparton & District War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 14 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3808, 8th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 23 Nov 1915: | Involvement Private, 3808, 8th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Ceramic embarkation_ship_number: A40 public_note: '' | |
| 23 Nov 1915: | Embarked Private, 3808, 8th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ceramic, Adelaide | |
| 1 Jul 1916: | Involvement Private, 3808, 14th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 3808 awm_unit: 14 Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1916-07-01 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Brothers Charles Spurgeon Holland and George Whitfield Holland, aged 23 and 21, joined up together on July 14th 1915. They attended Shepparton Park State School and were living in Benalla Road Shepparton when they enlisted. A few months later their oldest brother John Wesley Holland, 26, also enlisted.
The three brothers were issued with consecutive regimental numbers, 3807, 3808, 3809, and left Australia aboard the same ship on the 23rd November 1915.
They trained in Egypt during the early part of 1916, all being transferred to the 14th Battalion before it arrived in France on the 8th June 1916.
On 18 June, the battalion marched to Fort Rompu, close to the front. While the men carried out further training there, platoons were rotated into the front line to acclimatize them to the real thing. On the 28th June, the men began moving to the firing line at nearby Bois Grenier and were shelled by the enemy the next day and night. Even though this was a ‘quiet’ part of the front, danger still lurked especially in the form of high explosive shells. After only three days in the front line George and Tom were both hit, possibly both by the same shell on the 1st July 1916. 3808 Private George Whitfield Holland was killed instantly and buried later in the Brewery Orchard Cemetery at Bois-Grenier.
3809 Private John Wesley Holland was evacuated to England a few days later with most severe shell wounds to his leg, and suffering from shellshock.
3807 Private Charles Spurgeon Holland was left to fight with the 14th Battalion until 6 weeks later during the savage fighting around Mouquet Farm he was most severely wounded by shell fire. Carried to a dressing station on the 28th August 1916, legs fractured, he died a few hours later. Charles was buried in the Warloy-Baillon Communal Cemetery Extension.
On George's Roll of Honour form his father stated, "He was a good quiet boy and well liked by everybody who knew him"
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