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Andrew George - Information

Andrew George was born in Bringelly in 1892. The Georges eventually relocated to Stuart’s Brook in Scone, where Andrew worked as a cleaner. When he was 22, he decided to enlist in the AIF, signing up on the 22nd of April 1915 in Liverpool. He commenced his training, becoming a Private with the 17th Battalion. Andrew embarked Sydney upon the HMAT Themistocles on the 12th of May 1915.

He disembarked in Egypt, and shortly joined his brothers in arms at Gallipoli in mid August. Andrew endured the horrendous conditions on the Peninsula, while suffering with tonsillitis, reporting to hospital in October. Advancement at Gallipoli proved difficult, and when the Peninsula was hammered by a terrible blizzard, the campaign was called off. Andrew found himself back in Alexandria, Egypt in early January 1916. The following month, he was transferred to the Machine Gun Section. He was then transported to the French port of Marseilles in March. The machine gunners were vital to strategy on the Western Front, priceless in both offence and defence. On the 1st of December 1916, Andrew was promoted Temporary Corporal, and was appointed Corporal on the 5th of March 1917. At the time, the Germans were in the process of withdrawing to the Hindenburg Line, a new fortified trench structure. The Allies chased the Germans as they withdrew, running into their vanguard units. During these advances, Andrew was wounded in action on the 15th of April. A bullet had penetrated his right femur, damaging his leg quite badly. At the end of the month, he was evacuated from Boulonge to England, to the King George Hospital. The bullet had fractured the femur, and his leg was subsequently amputated from the thigh. After he recovered from the operation, he was admitted to the 2nd Auxiliary Hospital before enjoying some much needed convalescence later in the year. He was sent back to Australia on the 16th of March 1918. He returned home to his grateful family in Scone after he was discharged.