Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Georges Aime Cellier was born on the 12th of September 1873 in Saint Blaire canton of Neuchâtel, Switzerland. He was the son of August and Maria Cellier. On the 4th of January 1897 Georges travelled from Melbourne, England and came to Australia with the Orient Line which is a shipping company established in England. In Australia he has lived in Port Pirie for 9 months, Fowlers Bay for 10 months and then settled in Adelaide for 14 years before he went to war. In Adelaide, he married Ella Mary Cellier. Together they had six children, 3 girls and 3 boys, named Fredrick, Paul, Marguerite, Harold, Letitia and Jean. Together they all lived on Annesley Avenue in Beulah Park. Before going to war Georges worked as a contactor in Adelaide. (1)

He served two years in the British Navy from when he lived in Switzerland and trained at the Mitcham Army Camp, which is now known as Colonel Light Gardens. Having not been rejected before, Georges enlisted in the army on the 12th of January 1915, six months after World War 1 started, at the age of 40 years.  On the day of his enlistment he also saw an examining medical officer to see if he was fit to join. He described him as a dark complexion, brown eyed and black haired man with the height of 5 feet and 6 ¾ inches and weight of 150 lbs (68kg). After being examined, it was settled that he was fit to join the army and go to war. (1)

Georges embarked the HMAT A19 "Afric" (2) on the 26th of May 1915 which arrived in Marseille, France on the 20th of March 1916. He served in France with the Field Ambulance 7th Brigade, 2nd Division for one month. He was responsible to get all second line casualties out and to safety. He was trained to clear airways, staunch bleeding and even splint fractures so casualties could be evacuated to (4) the regimental aid post. (3) Some casualties would be hand carried involving 4-8 people to go out at once in case there was a long walking distance. Hand carts were used however if there was rough ground then stretchers were used to make it easier to transport a casualty. When there was a large amount of casualties all at once decisions were made to make it a priority to evacuate them first. (4) The rest of the time, Georges served with the Anzac Intelligence Police.

On the 9th on January 1918 Georges travelled from France to Weymouth, England in order to go back to Australia. He travelled on hired transport from the Balmoral Castle. He arrived in Australia on the 1st of February 1918. Georges received 3 medals for his service the Victory Medal, the Star Medal and the British War Medal. He died 17 years later on the 12th of August 1935 at the age of 66 from unknown causes. He is now buried in the AIF Cemetery, West Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia. (1)

Georges service reflected the Anzac spirit as he had the courage to enlist in something so dangerous and life risking. He had a lot of bravery leaving everything he knew behind in order to serve his country. The fact that he left his wife and six children really shook me because he could’ve never seen them again yet he still took that risk and willingly served. It wasn’t as if he was going into something he had no idea about because he had served two years before hand so he fully knew what he was getting into. Every day he went out and helped all of the wounded and help them get to safety doing this he would have saved lives. 

Bibliography

(1)   http://www.naa.gov.au/collection/search/

(2)   https://aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=49474

(3)   http://www.naa.gov.au/collection/explore/defence/abbreviations.aspx

(4)   https://rslvirtualwarmemorial.org.au/explore/units