Virtual
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Australia

Arrived in Australia aged 18 years and served in the Boer War with the 2nd Contingent

Next of kin was his sister Frances J Ward  of Hatch End, Middlesex, England

Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal

The summary below was completed by Cathy Sedgwick – Facebook “WW1 Australian War Graves in England/UK/Scotland/Ireland 

Died on this date – 27th December…… George Arthur Ward was born at Lucknow, India in 1864.

His mother, Elizabeth (Bessie) Ward, died on 3rd January, 1866 in India.

According to information provided by his sister for the Roll of Honour – George Arthur Ward attended Alderham (?) Grammar School & also attended St. John’s College, Luton, Bedfordshire.

His father, Colonel John Ward, died in 1897 at Watford, Hertfordshire, England.

From information provided by his sister for the Roll of Honour – George Arthur Ward came to Australia when he was between 18 & 19 years of age.

George Arthur Ward stated he was a 44 year old, single, Farmer when he enlisted in Brisbane, Queensland on 14th December, 1914 with the Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F.).

On 24th May, 1915 Driver George Arthur Ward, Service number 6568, embarked from Brisbane, Queensland on HMAT Ascanius (A 11) with the 7th Infantry Brigade Train, Army Service Corps, 17th Company.

He embarked on “Themistocles” for Overseas on 15th November, 1915.

Driver George Arthur Ward was transferred from 17th A.S.C. & was taken on strength of 56th Battalion at Tel-el-Kebir from 15th March, 1916.

On 1st June, 1916 Driver Ward reported sick at Ferry Post & rejoined his Battalion on 2nd June, 1916.
He reverted to rank of Private from 4th June, 1916.

Private Ward embarked from Alexandria on H.T. Georgian on 18th June, 1916 to join B.E.F. (British Expeditionary Force). He disembarked at Marseilles, France on 27th June, 1916.

On 29th June, 1916 he was admitted to No. 2 Australian General Hospital at Mousot (?) with “Ulcer Leg”. He was transferred to England on Hospital Ship Maheno on 9th August, 1916 with Nephritis.

He was admitted to Beaufort War Hospital at Fishponds, Bristol, England on 10th August, 1916. Private Ward was transferred to 1st Auxiliary Hospital, Harefield, on 14th October, 1916 with Nephritis.
A Medical Report was completed on Private George Arthur Ward on 16th October, 1916 while at Harefield Park. His disability was listed as Nephritis which had originated on 28th June, 1916 at Marseilles. He was also listed as “very deaf & aged 46.” The Officer in charge of the case recommended that Private Ward be discharged as permanently unfit. The Medical Board agreed on 17th October, 1916 that Private George Arthur Ward was permanently unfit for both General & Home Service.

Private Ward was transferred from 1st Auxiliary Hospital at Harefield to No. 2 Command Depot at Weymouth, Dorset, England on 19th October, 1916.
He reported sick to Sidney Hall Military Hospital on 26th December, 1916. The Officer Commanding, No. 2 Command Depot sent a Telegram to Administrative Headquarters, A.I.F. on 26th December, 1916 “…to report 6568 Driver G. A. Ward 56th Battalion lying seriously ill at Sidney Hall Military Hospital Weymouth.

Please advise next of kin Francis J. Ward c/o Mrs Levricks (?), Hatched, Middlesex.”

Private George Arthur Ward died at 1.50 am on 27th December, 1916 at Sidney Hall Military Hospital, Weymouth, Dorset, England from Bronchitis & Cardiac failure.

He was buried in Melcombe Regis Cemetery, Weymouth, Dorset, England where 82 other WW1 Australian War Graves are located. Private Ward has a private headstone, however his death is still acknowledged by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

(The above is a summary of my research. The full research can be found by following the link below)
https://ww1austburialsuk.weebly.com/t-w.html

 
#6568  WARD George Albert (Abel) 7th Brigade Train Army Service Corps / 56th Battalion
 
George Ward was born in the Northern Indian City of Lucknow in 1867. George’s father, Colonel John Ward was a British Officer serving in the garrison at Lucknow. When young George’s mother, Bessie, died, the family returned to England where George received a Grammar School education and then was employed as a tutor at St. John’s College in Bedfordshire.
 
Around the age of 18, George emigrated to Australia. He does not appear in Queensland immigration records so it more than likely that he landed first in Sydney. In the late 1890s, George was working as a stockman in Queensland. He was sworn in as a mounted constable in the Queensland Police Force on 15thJanuary 1897 and then proceeded to take up a posting at Texas on the Qld / NSW border. George enlisted in the 2nd Queensland Mounted Contingent for the South African War (Boer War), having secured an undertaking that his position would be kept open until he returned. The 2nd contingent  sailed to South Africa in January 1900. George’s file from that period shows his age as 33 years. At Bloemfontein, the capital city of the Orange Free State, George contracted enteric fever (typhoid) and he was invalided back to Australia where he resumed his duties with the police force at Texas.
 
By the time that George enlisted in the AIF at Brisbane on 15th December 1914, he was farming at Wooroolin where he had been in residence long enough to have joined the town band in which he played the euphonium. He stated his middle name as Albert, but other records have his middle name as Abel or Able. George said he was 44 years old (the upper limit for enlistments in the AIF was 45) but he was probably closer to 50. He named his sister, Frances Ward, of Middlesex as his next of kin.
 
George was taken on by the Infantry Brigade Supply Train as a driver of general service wagons and embarked in Brisbane on the “Ascanius” on 24th May 1915. Upon arrival in the staging camps in Egypt, it was soon apparent that the kind of work that the supply train was created for could not be performed at Gallipoli, due to the rugged terrain and absence of any roads. George and his compatriots remained in camp on the Suez Canal at Tel el Kabir and the Ferry Post.
 
The evacuation of the Gallipoli campaign in December 1915 brought to an end the need for the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. The AIF, which by that stage consisted of two divisions was doubled in size and as part of the reorganisation, George was transferred to the 56th Infantry Battalion, part of the 14thbrigade of the 5th Division AIF, on 15th March 1916.
 
On 18th June 1916, the 56th Battalion boarded a transport at Alexandria for the crossing of the Mediterranean to Marseilles. Upon arrival in France, George reported to a hospital at Havre with an ulcer on his leg. One month later, and still in hospital he was also diagnosed with nephritis; a general term for a range of kidney complaints. George was transferred by hospital ship to the Beaufort War Hospital in Bristol for treatment.
 
Over the next few weeks, George was moved to the 1st Australian General Hospital at Harefield and then back to Beaufort. On 17th November, George’s case was considered by a medical board which concluded that he was unfit for military service and should be returned to Australia. While waiting for an allocation on a hospital ship returning to Australia, George took a turn for the worse. On 26th December 1916, George was admitted to the Sidney Hall Hospital in Weymouth and died the following day. The cause of death was recorded as bronchitis and cardiac failure.
 
George was buried in the Melcombe Regis Cemetery with a clergyman in attendance. His sister, Frances, eventually received a parcel of her brother’s personal effects; wallet, letters, postcards, photos, a pair od spectacles in a case and two medal ribbons, one of which was probably the Queens’s medal for the South African War. Frances was also probably responsible for the headstone on George’s grave.