Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

George was born in Sunderland in England to William and Ann Hodgson, but by the age of 14 was living in Durham with his grandmother Isabella. At this time he was working for a glass manufacturer as an office boy until World War One commenced and he went to sea in service with the Merchant Navy. The life at sea agreed with George and following the war he qualified as Master on steamships and headed for the China seas where he plied his trade as a ships captain based from Hong Kong.

Whilst in Hong Kong he married May Baldwin from Adelaide and the couple lived the high life of the British colonialists of the 1920’s. It was not all smooth sailing for George however, as during one voyage in 1927 from Swatow to Shanghai his ship the Yatshing, was seized by pirates. The vessel was transporting both cargo and about 150 passengers, when about 18 pirates who had come aboard under the guise of passengers rushed various parts of the ship brandishing pistols and knives and seized control of the vessel. They were under the impression that the vessel was carrying bullion and about $5000 in cash. It turns out that members of the gang had traveled on the ship before to scope out the cargo and reconnoiter the steamer. Although the ship was taken with shots fired and passengers and crew aggressively treated there were no serious injuries, and after ascertaining there was no bullion or large cash amounts the pirates robbed the passengers and crew of any valuables and directed Captain Hodgson to sail for a quiet inlet on the Chinese coast where they could be put ashore.

It was in the Tam Chau Inlet where, at gunpoint, George was ordered to lower three boats, and he and eight passengers were taken as hostages and rowed ashore. Once ashore, Georges’ reluctant but civil compliance with the pirates demands paid off and he was allowed to return to the ship, taking one of the other hostages with him to help row the life boat. It appears that the pirates were met by other gang members hiding near the shore line, showing they were an organised group although they had had their cargo information wrong. The fate of the seven remaining hostages remains unknown.

By the mid 30’s George and May decided to settle on land where they could be close to May’s family, so they purchased the property ‘Invercauld’ near Macclesfield, which they renamed ‘Heaton Park’ and planned to start a chicken farm. It was not be easy going however, as when the infamous 1939 bushfires struck Heaton Park was one of the worst properties affected.

The Hodgson’s managed to save their house but lost vehicles, harness sheds, stored feed, sheep, chickens and fencing. With the onset of WW2 and the implement of rationing the mammoth task of rebuilding and recovering was always going to be a long and drawn out affair. But stores and equipment were not the only thing in short supply at this time as skilled people were in high demand also, and in 1940 George answered the call of the Australian Navy and was commissioned as a Lieutenant at HMAS Torrens.

Stationed out of HMAS Torrens at Birkenhead, George was appointed as a Staff Officer to coordinate mine-sweeping duties off the South Australian coastline. Any thoughts for South Australians that the war was thousands of miles and another world away, soon disappeared when it arrived on their very doorstep. During the early parts of the war a number of German Raiders sailed through Australia’s southern waters and deployed sea mines to disrupt shipping activities amongst the southern ports as well as shipping lanes. Mines were laid down the east coast, through Bass Strait, along the SA coast, including inside Spencer Gulf, and also up the west coast of Australia. A number of Australian vessels were struck by the mines including SS Hertford off Neptune Island, near to where about 30 mines had broken free and drifted onto beaches from Port Lincoln to Kangaroo Island.

To combat this menace the navy commandeered a number of civilian vessels for the task of being used as Auxiliary Minesweepers. One of these vessels, the Warrawee was used along the South Australian coastline, and to maintain a clear channel through Backstairs Passage. It was aboard the Warrawee that George again found himself at sea protecting his new homeland. If there was any doubt as to the dangers now posed in these waters it was quickly dispelled with the tragic deaths of two young sailors from George’s base while carrying out “Rendering Mines Safe” duties on a mine that had washed ashore at Beachport, killing the men when it exploded.

George’s second foray into war was not to last long however, as while he was on duty at Whyalla he became ill and was transferred to 105th Australian Military Hospital at Daw Park. It was here that he underwent surgery and died under the anesthetic. He was given a Navy funeral and buried with full honours in the War Graves section of Centenial Park. George had had a colourful life, he had served in two world wars, traveled the globe, been captured by pirates and then decided that he wanted to be a chicken farmer in Macclesfield. His time in Macclesfield although short would have been no doubt longer had war not taken him too early.