WEST, George Morris
| Service Number: | 4244 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 28 August 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 23rd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Abbotsford, Victoria, Australia, January 1896 |
| Home Town: | Prahran, Stonnington, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Hawksburn State School No 1467, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Warehouseman |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 4 August 1916 |
| Cemetery: |
Serre Road Cemetery No.2 Beaumont Hamel, France Plot XXV, Row M, Grave 3 (remains discovered 1930), Serre Road Cemetery No 2, Beaumont Hamel, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 28 Aug 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 4244, 23rd Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 7 Mar 1916: | Involvement Private, 4244, 23rd Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '14' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Wiltshire embarkation_ship_number: A18 public_note: '' | |
| 7 Mar 1916: | Embarked Private, 4244, 23rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Wiltshire, Melbourne |
Help us honour George Morris West's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
The son of Henry George and Ellen West, of Prahran Victoria. Henry was killed by a shell at Pozieres, according to witnesses in his Red Cross file. He was reported as missing until 17 December 1917, when he was confirmed as killed in action 4 August 1916. During 1930 his remains were discovered and identified by his his disc and two pocket books, named 4244 G.M.WEST 10/23 BATT. These items were never sent on to the family, but they were advised of his reburial in the Serre Road Cemetery No.2.
In a two-page letter to the parents of 4244 Private George Morris West 23rd Battalion, who was killed in action on the night of 4 August 1916, 3901 Lance Corporal Jack MacDonald 23rd Battalion tried to explain the heavy fighting they were involved in, on the night her son died. (Copy in West's Service file)
“It was far and away my worst experience, and I’m sure Mrs. West, if you went through that night with me, saw the awful job that they had to complete, how well they did it and how game they died, you would not mourn your son, George, but take consolation in the fact that George died doing only his plain duty to the country, to you and his loved ones, and he lies in the glorious company of those others who fell that night.
I saw several actions that night worthy of V.C.’s, but things were so bad with us that every man seemed on his mettle, doing magnificent work, but quite unconscious of the fact that he was doing anything out of the ordinary."
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