FAY, George
| Service Number: | Officer |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 16 July 1915, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Last Rank: | Captain |
| Last Unit: | 8th Light Horse Regiment |
| Born: | Longwood, Victoria, Australia, 14 June 1877 |
| Home Town: | Creighton Creek, Strathbogie, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Killed In Action, El Burj, Palestine, 1 December 1917, aged 40 years |
| Cemetery: |
Ramleh War Cemetery, Israel |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Euroa Fallen of Euroa District Honour Roll, Euroa War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 16 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, Melbourne, Victoria | |
|---|---|---|
| 27 Sep 1915: |
Involvement
AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, Officer, 8th Light Horse Regiment, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '2' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Hororata embarkation_ship_number: A20 public_note: '' |
|
| 27 Sep 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, Officer, 8th Light Horse Regiment, HMAT Hororata, Melbourne | |
| 1 Dec 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Captain, 8th Light Horse Regiment, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: awm_unit: 8th Australian Light Horse Regiment awm_rank: Captain awm_died_date: 1917-12-01 |
Euroa Gazette Entry
Captain GEORGE FAY
Born: 14/06/1877 Cluny Farm Creightons Creek
Died: 01/12/1917 El Burj Hills Egypt
(2nd Lieutenant Fay)
Captain George Fay was born in Longwood on the 14th June 1877; he was first commissioned into the 8th Australian Light Horse Regiment of the Commonwealth Military Forces on the 17th March 1908. With the re-organization of the CMF, he transferred to the 16th (Indi) Light Horse on the 1st June 1915 as a Lieutenant in A squadron. Troops of A squadron were based at Beeac, Myrtleford, Bright and Moyhu. He volunteered for service in the AIF and was alotted to command the 9th Reinforcements of the 8th Light Horse Regiment AIF, which left to join the regiment already at Gallipoli on board HMAT Hororata on the 27th September 1915. On his enlistment he gave his address as Euroa his occupation as farmer and his next of kin as his wife Mrs EJ Fay. Promoted captain in the regiment on the 1st of February 1917 he was killed in action at El Burj on the 1st of December 1917. He is mentioned twice (p325; 508Volum VII) of the official history of Australia in the Great War.
George Fay's memorial plaque is along the avenue of honour in Euroa under the tree opposite the Caltex petrol station;
George was a Captain in the army in the First World War. George and Elizabeth had been farming "Cluny Farm" in partnership with Jack and Edith Fay. After George was killed, their share of the property was sold to Laurence and Nellie Barns. (In later years Joe Fay was able to buy the land back.)
Euroa Gazette
Gallant Office Killed
Quite a wave of sorrow swept over Euroa and district when the news was received last Thursday that Captain Fay had been killed in action. Only a couple of weeks back his wife was notified that he was wounded and remaining on duty then later that he was wounded again (slight), so it was an awful shock to get news of his death. Captain Fay, who was always much loved and admired by his brother officers and men, was a sterling fellow and a good soldier. He was a prominent member of the 8th ALH. He volunteered for service very early I this war, even though he was a married man with six children, perhaps feeling for that reason, that he had more to fight for. He had spent all the time in hot dreary Egypt and Sinai, in company with Lieut. Colonel. Maygar (who was recently killed). Captain Fay was wounded and was ill some months back, but had returned to the firing line long ago. It is assumed that there being a shortage of officers to take his place, he chose to remain and lead his men even though wounded, and by his unselfishness and devotion to duty, hastened his death. The sympathy of the whole community is extended to his widow and children.
Capt. Geo. Fay Killed
A few days ago it was announced that Capt Geo Fay of Creighton’s Creek one of the most popular and most capable of our local soldiers had been wounded during the fighting in Palestine but had refused t leave his men whole he was able to sit in the saddle. Yesterday the Rev WM Warry Longwood received the sad message that the gallant officer has now been killed. The local public has scarcely recovered from the shock occasioned by Lt Colonel Maygar’s death in the same field of action and a worthy crusader comrade has now made the supreme sacrifice in the cause of the empire. He was a splendid fellow beloved by all his men a worthy son of Australia. Hats off, fellow citizens, the soul of a brave man passes!
Submitted 11 November 2018 by Nicolette Caggiati-Shortell
Biography
"...Captain George Fay, 8th Light Horse Regiment (8LHR), of Creighton Creek, Victoria. Capt Fay was a 38 year old farmer with six young children when he was appointed a 2nd Lieutenant in 8 LHR, AIF, on 16 July 1915. He had previously served in the militia for 15 years, with the Victorian Mounted rifles and 16 LHR and had become a commissioned officer in 1908. Fay sailed from Melbourne with the 9th reinforcements to 8 LHR, aboard HMAT A20 Hororata, on 27 September 1915. At the end of December he joined his regiment in Heliopolis in Egypt where he was appointed to A Squadron. He was promoted to lieutenant in March 1916. In 1916 Fay took part in battles at Bir el Abd and Magdhaba, followed by Rafa early in 1917. He was shot through the thigh during the Second Battle of Gaza in April 1917 and did not rejoin his regiment until July, when he was promoted to captain. On 12 November Fay was slightly wounded in the final stages of the Third Battle of Gaza but elected to remain with his regiment.
On 26 November 3 Light Horse Brigade, of which 8 LHR was a part, together with 4 Brigade was sent to the relief of the British Yeomanry. This unit had been fighting to take control of the Nablus Road in the face of determined Turkish resistance for over a week. The two light horse brigades were sent into the line with the British 52nd Division on their right near El Burj and the 74th Division to their left. The country was steep and rocky, the weather wet and cold. All horses except those needed by regimental runners were sent back to Ramleh and the light horsemen fought purely as infantry. Both brigades were reduced in strength; 8 LHR had only 105 men available, which were organised into two squadrons. The 3rd Brigade went into the line in the evening of 29 November. Because its regiments were so depleted 4 Brigade was sent in for added strength the following day. This meant that 3 Brigade had to move closer to El Burj. The 8th Regiment's two depleted squadrons occupied two low hills 200 yards apart and went into position after nightfall in unfamiliar country. Shortly after midnight on 1 December, in intense darkness, the Turks rushed one of the 8th's positions. The men managed to hold them off briefly before withdrawing to the second hill held by the regiment. As the two squadrons waited in the darkness for the next assault the regiment sent an urgent message for reinforcements and sent up flares to call in British artillery support. After another silence about 500 Turks rushed up the hill at the Regiment's position. The light horsemen held their fire until the last minute and then counter attacked with rifle and machine gun fire and grenades. The Turks continued their assault but the Australians were reinforced by a small number of British troops and were able to hold their position until dawn, when the remaining Turks, of what turned out to be one of their elite German-trained battalions, surrendered.
Seven men from 8LHR, including Captain Fay, were killed in the action. Their bodies were buried in a mass grave north of El Burj, and reinterred in individual graves in the Ramleh War Cemetery after the war." - SOURCE (www.awm.gov.au)
Too Dearly Loved To Ever Be Forgotten
Click images to start slideshow.