Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

George Barr was a 6-foot tall 164-pound (74.4kg) male with a dark complexion, blue eyes, grey hair and tattooed forearms. He was described and was known to be of a ‘good character’, he identified as a Presbyterian. Barr was born in 1879 in the month of October in Portsmouth, England. He later moved to Australia and resided in Unley, South Australia. George Barr worked as a labourer and had no previous military experience prior to enlisting in the Army. His next of kin, his sister and only known relation is F.M Ritter who lived in Malvern, South Australia before moving to Melbourne, Australia. 

George Andrew Harley Barr enlisted for war on the 25th of November, 1914 in Oaklands, South Australia when he was 35 years of age. Just 68 days later, on the 2nd of February, 1915, he embarked on the His Majesty’s Australian Transport (HMAT) A46 Clan McGillivray, a 5,023-ton steamship from Melbourne, Victoria. He was immediately promoted from a Private to a Corporal and was assigned to the 10th Battalion as the 2nd Reinforcement. George Barr, granted the service number 1308, arrived in Alexandria, Egypt (at an unknown date). On the 2nd of March, 1915, on a Tuesday morning, his Battalion left Alexandria and headed for Lemnos, Greece. They arrived on Thursday, the 4th of March. They planned to leave for Dardanelles, Turkey on Friday, the 23rd of March, although this was never confirmed. Leading up to the end of July, George Barr and his Battalion travelled from Cairo, Egypt to Mena, Egypt via train at 5:30 pm. They arrived at Mena at 4:00 am and camped there. They left Mena by road and marched to Cairo, then to Alexandria. In Alexandria, they boarded the HMAT Ionia, an 8,265-ton passenger/cargo ship at 8:00 am and arrived at their destination (unknown) 8 days later.

On the 31st of July, 1915 at an unknown location, George Barr suffered severe bomb wounds caused by a nearby explosion. This resulted in injuries to his head and face, right shoulder and right arm. Simultaneously, he was shot at and suffered bullet wounds to his left leg and right shoulder. On August the 6th, George Barr was admitted onto the hospital ship in Alexandria, Egypt. Aboard the ship, his right arm was amputated as the majority of his forearm was blown off by the bomb explosion. His left eye was also severely injured. It was reported that approximately six inches of his right forearm remained and was in a sling to heal from the procedure. Following this, his left leg and right shoulder were slowly deteriorating, although, all open wounds were reported to be healing well and they did not require much dressing, however, at some point his left eye was removed. George Barr was on the hospital ship for one week where he then travelled to Cairo, Egypt where he embarked for discharge to Australia. This is because he was deemed permanently unfit for service due to his disability as the result of active service, as he was injured in action.

On the 3rd of September, 1915, George Barr embarked for discharge to Australia from Suez Canal, Egypt. Although the date of his arrival in Australia is unclear, he was aboard the HMAT A38 Ulysses and arrived in Melbourne. He travelled by his own discretion back to his principal residence, South Australia. He did not get married, nor did he have children. George Barr’s war pension increased twice on his arrival back in Australia. His original pension on the 29th of April, 1916 was £2.12.3 (2 pounds, 12 shilling, 3 pence) per fortnight (approx. $16.81, now worth $279.49 due to inflation), £55.12 per year ($100) to £3.8 (approx. $30.12, now worth $363.74 due to inflation), £98.8 per year ($179.23). The second time, his war pension was increased by £12.88 to a total of £68 per annum (approx. $123.35, now worth $538.81.20 due to inflation.). this suggests that Barr was unable to work due to his injuries. Just 13 years later, George Barr passed away. At the age of 49, on the 1st of May, 1925, George Barr was killed in a railway accident at Bowmans, South Australia on the way to Port Pirie from Adelaide. He was laid to rest at West Terrace Cemetery, South Australia. At some point he must have married as there is a memorium notice from his wife and two others from friends in the Adelaide Chronical Saturday 8th May 1926

George Barr was awarded three medals for his noble service and contribution to the British and Imperial Forces. He was awarded the 1914-1915 Star, bestowed for serving on the Western Front against the Central European Powers. On the 18th of May, 1923, he was cited the British War Medal for his service in the First World War. George Barr was also presented with the Victory Medal, the United Kingdom and British Empire First World War medal, awarded to those who served in the military. Although George Barr served for a relatively shorter time than his fellow soldiers (a total of approximately 6 months), he fiercely demonstrated what it meant to be an ANZAC. When George Barr was required to leave the battlefield due to severely compromising injuries, he showed ANZAC Spirit by persevering and not giving up. His injuries could have been fatal, but he was determined to live and survive his injuries and operations. He showed true ANZAC Spirit through this adversity as he was determined, persevering, brave, strong-willed, courageous and demonstrated sacrifice and heroism. George Barr led by example and was devoted to his country. The legacy of George Barr continues as history is dissected and his story unpacked.