George CARTWRIGHT VC, ED

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CARTWRIGHT, George

Service Numbers:	726, N60360
Enlisted:	16 December 1915, Sydney
Last Rank:	Private
Last Unit:	33rd Infantry Battalion
Born:	South Kensington, London, England, 9 December 1894
Home Town:	Elsmore, Inverell, New South Wales
Schooling:	England, United Kingdom
Occupation:	Farm Labourer
Died:	Natural Causes, Gordon, New South Wales, Australia, 2 February 1978, aged 83 years
Cemetery:	Newcastle Memorial Park, Beresfield, New South Wales E G W 15/1/D/18
Memorials:	Canberra John Hamilton VC Pictorial Honour Roll, Elsmore and District Roll of Honor, Granville Private George Cartwright VC Memorial Garden, Inverell & District Memorial Olympic Pool WW1 Honour Roll, Keith Payne VC Memorial Park, New South Wales Garden of Remembrance (Rookwood Necropolis), North Bondi War Memorial, Winchelsea WWI Memorial

World War 1 Service

16 Dec 1915:	Enlisted AIF WW1, Sydney
4 May 1916:	Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 726, 33rd Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '17' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Marathon embarkation_ship_number: A74 public_note: ''
4 May 1916:	Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 726, 33rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Marathon, Sydney
7 Jun 1917:	Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 726, 33rd Infantry Battalion, Battle of Messines
31 Jul 1917:	Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 726, 33rd Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres
3 Apr 1918:	Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 726, 33rd Infantry Battalion, Villers-Bretonneux
8 Aug 1918:	Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 726, 33rd Infantry Battalion, "The Last Hundred Days"
30 Aug 1918:	Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 726, 33rd Infantry Battalion, Mont St Quentin / Peronne
16 May 1919:	Discharged AIF WW1

World War 2 Service

5 Mar 1940:	Enlisted N60360

Help us honour George Cartwright's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.

Biography contributed by Robert Kearney

Cartwright, George (1894–1978)

by Anthony Staunton

George Cartwright, soldier, was born on 9 December 1894 at South Kensington, London, son of William Edward Cartwright, coach trimmer, and his wife Elizabeth, née Stracey. Migrating alone to Australia in 1912, George took a job as a labourer on a sheep station in the Elsmore district, near Inverell, New South Wales. On 16 December 1915 he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force and became an original member of the 33rd Battalion, formed in February 1916 as part of the new 3rd Division. In May he embarked for England where the division trained before moving to France in November. Cartwright was wounded in action on 9 June 1917 at Messines, Belgium, but remained on duty. He was one of 271 officers and soldiers from the battalion who were victims of the Germans' concentrated gas-attack at Villers-Bretonneux, France, on 17 April 1918. After being hospitalized, he rejoined his unit in June.

On 31 August 1918 the Australian Corps assaulted the enemy's formidable position at Mont St Quentin, overlooking Péronne. The 33rd Battalion attacked south-west of Bouchavesnes at 5.40 a.m. Lacking adequate artillery support at the outset, the leading troops were stopped by machine-gun fire from a post at the corner of Road Wood. Without hesitation, Private Cartwright stood up and walked towards the gun, firing his rifle from the shoulder: he shot the gunner and two who tried to replace him. Cartwright then threw a bomb at the post and, covered by the explosion, rushed forward, capturing the gun and nine German soldiers. Cheering loudly, the Australians renewed their advance. Cartwright was awarded the Victoria Cross. On 30 September, during the attack on the Hindenburg line, he was wounded in the head and left arm, and evacuated to England. Having received his V.C. from King George V, he returned to Australia and was discharged from the A.I.F. on 16 May 1919.

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