Willis, George Samuel by Central Coast Council

Gosford District Casualties of World War One Bragg,George Edmund Allen Willis, Samuel

Service Service Number Number 1494 5894 Killed in Action 19th May 1915 Killed in Action 3rd October 1918 Gallipoli Peninsula Joncourt, France

Gosford City Council gratefully acknowledges the voluntary efforts of Benalyn Campbell And Vivienne Tranter in compiling this resource

The information in this file has been extracted from official records held in the The Australian War Memorial and National Archives of Australia (ÂŠ Commonwealth of Australia [National Archives of Australia] 2013) Further information on this soldier may be found online at: Commonwealth War Graves The AIF project Content advisory: This file may potentially contain disturbing accounts of service-related injury and death, disease and family grief. Adult supervision is recommended for children using these resources. Individual files should be viewed within the context provided by wider research on service conditions in the 1 st AIF. This resource is presented by Gosford City Council for research purposes only. Please note that copyright for resources contained within remains with the original copyright owners.

NAME

Willis, George Samuel

SERVICE NO

5894

UNIT

18th Battalion

RANK

Private

AGE at Enlistment

35 yrs 6mths

PLACE OF BIRTH

Kogarah, NSW

ADDRESS

6 Mount St., Pyrmont, NSW

OCCUPATION

Railway Porter

DATE OF ENLISTMENT

9 May 1916

PLACE OF ENLISTMENT PREVIOUS SERVICE

2 yrs St. George Rifles (resigned, left district).

NEXT OF KIN

Brother;- Joseph Henry Willis, Wamberal,/Narara NSW Eldest Brother;- Thomas Willis, Lansdowne NSW Height-5’7¼”. Weight-9st. 10lbs. Chest-32-35”. Complexion-Fair. Eyes-Blue. Hair-Dark.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

RELIGION

C/E

EMBARKED

7 Oct 1916-Sydney per “Ceramic”

DISEMBARKED

21 Nov 1916-Plymouth

NOTES

AWOL-Hurdcott-7 -8 Jul 1917/ Crime-France-6 Jan 19185 Mar 1917-Trench Foot/ 15 Apr 1918-France-GSW L/Thigh-invalid to UK 3 Agu 1918-Scabies 3 Oct 1918-nr Joncourt-Hindenberg Line-(Beaurevoir Line)

WOUNDED/ILLNESS

DIED BURIED

MEDALS

750 yds E of Ranicourt (East of the Cross Road) Re-interred-Bullicourt Railway British Cemetery 6 ½miles N of St. Quentin. British War Medal-49839, Victory Medal-49386. Memorial Plaque & Scroll-354036.

DEPENDANTS PERSONAL EFFECTS

1 parcel cont;- 1 wallet, 1 testament, cards, negatives, photos, 1 YMCA wallet, letters/

WILL CORRESPONDENCE

Thomas Willis/ Joseph Henry Willis, Wamberal, NSW/Narara, NSW Sister;- Mrs J B Landeman c/- Ern Willis Narara/118 Hargrave St Paddington, NSW

NSW BDM Birth reg 1881-4740 Canterbury, parents Robert & Jemima Sc Ancestry.com Parents;- Robert Willis d 1911- Gosford & Jemima nee Bell d 1918 Gosford

Gosford Times 17th May 1917 Soldiers Letters. Private George Willis writes to his mother at Narara from “Somewhere-in-France,” dated March 14: I am still writing at every opportunity and hope you are getting some of the letters. I have only had two letters from Australia so far. Received a parcel from the Narara Red Cross containing socks, a cap, comforter and cigarettes, and Cousin Maggie sent me a parcel of mufflers, so I am not doing too bad. I have already had my baptism of fire and came through with nothing worse than a piece torn out of the back of my overcoat by a fragment of shell. The continual boom of guns gets on one’s nerves a bit, and if you happen to be alongside of a battery of heavy guns you think your head is gone. I hope you are keeping well and not worrying too much about me as I am enjoying the best of health. It iis still very cold over here, in fact I think it is all winter in this part of the world.

Sydney Morning Herald 26th October 1918 pg. 13 ROLL OF HONOUR WILLIS-Killed in action in France October 8, 1918. George S. Willis, dearly-loved brother of Mrs Huckstepp, Cmbridge St, Penshurst. Thy will be done.

Sydney Morning Herald 30th October 1918 pg. 10 ROLL OF HONOUR WILLIS-Killed in action in France, October 8, Private George S. Willis, of Narara, formerly employed Zig Zag railway deviation and latterly in Railway Goods Shed, Darling Harbour, aged 37 years.

Gosford Times 31st October 1918 ROLL OF HONOUR WILLIS-Killed in Action in France on October 3rd, Private George S. Willis, dearly loved youngest son of Mrs R. Willis, of Narara, aged 37 years.

Gosford Times 31st October 1918 KILLED IN ACTION PRIVATE GEORGE S. WILLIS. News has been received of the death in action of Private George S. Willis, of Narara. Deceased was born at Womora, Georges River, and came to the Gosford district with his parents in early childhoodHe grew to manhood at Narara, receiving his eduction at Narara Public School. Later on he found employment at Hurstville, Lithgow, and other places. For some years he worked on the railway deviation at the Zig Zag and at Glenbrook. Previous to enlisting he was in the employ of the railway Commissioners at the Darling Harbor goodshed. He was an enthusiastic amateur photographer, and had artistic tastes and studied for some with a business college with a view to entering some profession of an artistic nature. His war experiences were varied. He was in one of the battles at Bullecourt, and had his clothes torn by a piece of shrapnel but was otherwise unhurt. He was afterwards laid up for some time with trench feet. Then he suffered in a gas attack. In the big battle of last April he received a gunshot wound in the thigh and narrowly escaped falling into the hands of the Germans. He was then for some time in Bath Hospital, but made good recovery and returned to duty in August. On October 3rd he made the great sacrifice, ending what was in many respects an admirable and promising life. He was 37 years of age and unmarried. Much sympathy is felt for his aged mother, brothers and sisters, in the loss of a noble son and brother.

Gosford Times 2nd October 1919 ROLL OF HONOR WILLIS- A tribute to the memory of my dear brother, Private George S. Willis, of the 18th Battalion, who was killed near the village of Joncourt on October 3, 1918, during the storming of the Beaurevoir Line, the battle fought by the Australians in France. Inserted by T.W.

Abridged record/s courtesy of the National Archives of Australia (NAA) Series No: B2455 Item Barcode: 8846085