FREEMAN, George Elliott
| Service Number: | 4192 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 46th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Daylesford, Victoria, Australia, 12 August 1892 |
| Home Town: | Daylesford, Hepburn, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Daylesford School, Victoria |
| Occupation: | Joiner |
| Died: | Died of wounds – G.S.W. Head, 3rd London General Hospital, Wandsworth, England , 16 September 1916, aged 24 years |
| Cemetery: |
Wandsworth (Earlsfield) Cemetery, London England Earlsfield Cemetery, London, England, United Kingdom |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Daylesford War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 29 Dec 1915: | Involvement Private, 4192, 5th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '8' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Demosthenes embarkation_ship_number: A64 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 29 Dec 1915: | Embarked Private, 4192, 5th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Demosthenes, Melbourne | |
| 16 Sep 1916: | Involvement Private, 4192, 46th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 4192 awm_unit: 46th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1916-09-16 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Cathy Sedgwick
The summary below was completed by Cathy Sedgwick (OAM) – Facebook “WW1 Australian War Graves in UK & Ireland”
George Elliott Freeman was born on 12th August, 1892 at Daylesford, Victoria to parents George Isaac & Katherine Howard Freeman (nee Bebee).
He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F.) on 4th August, 1915 aged 22 years & 11 months, single & a Joiner from West Street, Daylesford, Victoria.
Private George Elliott Freeman, Service number 4195, embarked from Melbourne, Victoria on HMAT Demosthenes (A64) on 29th December, 1915 with the 5th Infantry Battalion, 13th Reinforcements.
On 2nd March, 1916 Private Freeman was allotted to & proceeded to join 46th Battalion while at Zeitoun. He was taken on strength of 46th Battalion at Serapeum on 3rd March, 1916 from 5th Battalion.
He proceeded from Alexandria on H.M.T. Kinfauns Castle on 2nd June, 1916 to join B.E.F. (British Expeditionary Force). He disembarked at Marseilles, France on 8th June, 1916.
Private George Elliott Freeman was wounded in action on 14th August, 1916 at Pozieres. He was admitted to 3rd Casualty Clearing Station on 14th August, 1916 with G.S.W. (gunshot wound/s) to Head then transferred to Ambulance Train on 15th August, 1916. Private Freeman was admitted to 9th General Hospital at Rouen, France on 17th August, 1916. He embarked for England on Hospital Ship Aberdonian on 26th August, 1916. (Note: Some forms were altered to show date of wounded from 16th to 14th August, 1916. Some forms were not altered & still show the date as 16th)
He was admitted to 3rd London General Hospital, Wandsworth, England. Private Freeman was reported to be seriously ill on 7th September, 1916.
Private George Elliott Freeman died at 12.30 am on 16th September, 1916 at 3rd London General Hospital, Wandsworth, England from wounds received in action in France – G.S.W. Head.
He was buried in Wandsworth (Earlsfield) Cemetery, London, England – Grave site B. 19; Grave No. F 30.
Mr G. I. Freeman, West Street, Daylesford, Victoria was advised by Base Records on 17th April, 1920: With reference to my communication of the 9th March, 1917, regarding the regrettable loss of your son, the late No. 4192 Private G. E. Freeman, 46th Battalion, I am now in receipt of further advice which shows that his remains have been exhumed from grave site B. 19 grave No. F 30, Wandsworth Cemetery, and re-interred in grave No. 12, Australian Section, Wandsworth Cemetery, Wandsworth, London. This work is carried out with every measure of care and reverence in the presence of a Chaplain.
This is now recorded by CWGC as Plot number Aust. 12 and he now has a Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstone.
Newspaper item - Daylesford Advocate, Yandoit, Glenlyon and Eganstown Chronicle, Victoria – 6 October, 1916:
DIED FOR THEIR COUNTRY
PRIVATE G. E. FREEMAN
The deepest sympathy of the whole community is extended to Mr and Mrs G. I. Freeman, of West Street, they having received word from the Defence Department to the effect that their son, Private George E. Freeman, had died as a result of a gunshot wound in the head. The young soldier was a particularly good living lad and earned the highest respect of everyone with whom he came in contact. He had just reached manhood's years, and gave every indication of developing into a man of more than average ability. His father on September 8th received word that Private Freeman had been wounded in France on August 14th. On September 22 a message arrived stating that he was seriously ill, suffering from a gunshot wound in the head. Then on September 29th the parents received a letter from himself, in which he stated that he was getting on well. Both Mr and Mrs Freeman were hopeful that their son would pull through, particularly as such a length of time elapsed after the wound was received without any fatal consequences; the shock of his death therefore, came with stunning suddenness at the beginning of this week. [A letter written by Private Free man, prior to his death, will be published in our next issue.]
(The above is a summary of my research. The full research can be found by following the link below)
https://ww1austburialsuk.weebly.com/wandsworth-earlsfield.html
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