TRAVERS, George Maurice
| Service Numbers: | Commissioned Officer, Q63766 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 1 January 1916, Brisbane - 8th Reinforcements |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | Australian Army Ordnance Corps |
| Born: | Lovington Somerset, United Kingdom, 18 January 1881 |
| Home Town: | Brisbane, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Illness, New South Wales, New South Wales, Australia, 26 October 1946, aged 65 years |
| Cemetery: |
Tamworth General Cemetery, New South Wales C. of E. Plot. Sec. B. Row 22. Grave 3., Tamworth General Cemetery, Tamworth, New South Wales, Australia |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 1 Jan 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, Commissioned Officer, 52nd Infantry Battalion, Brisbane - 8th Reinforcements | |
|---|---|---|
| 23 Dec 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Lieutenant, Commissioned Officer, 52nd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '19' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Demosthenes embarkation_ship_number: A64 public_note: '' | |
| 30 Jul 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, Commissioned Officer, 52nd Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres | |
| 15 Oct 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, Commissioned Officer, 52nd Infantry Battalion, 2nd Passchendaele , Recommendation for Military Cross | |
| 25 Mar 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Lieutenant, Commissioned Officer, 49th Infantry Battalion, German Spring Offensive 1918 | |
| 28 Mar 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Lieutenant, Commissioned Officer, 49th Infantry Battalion, Dernancourt/Ancre, Recommended for and awarded Military Cross | |
| 5 Apr 1918: | Honoured Military Cross, Dernancourt/Ancre, For actions during the defence and counter-attack at Dernancourt | |
| 8 Aug 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Lieutenant, Commissioned Officer, "The Last Hundred Days" | |
| 13 Aug 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Lieutenant, Commissioned Officer, 49th Infantry Battalion, "The Last Hundred Days", Rejoined unit from hospital / UK Returned to Australia 1 November 1919 |
World War 2 Service
| 16 Dec 1940: | Involvement Private, Q63766, Australian Army Ordnance Corps (Northern Command), Homeland Defence - Militia and non deployed forces | |
|---|---|---|
| 16 Dec 1940: | Enlisted Private, Q63766, Army Training Units, Kelvin Grove Brisbane | |
| 16 Dec 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Lieutenant, Q63766 | |
| 27 Apr 1943: | Discharged Corporal, Q63766, Australian Army Ordnance Corps, Discharged Medically Unfit from 4th Central Ordnance Depot DIed 26 Oct 1946 |
Awarded the Military Cross
For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. Under very head shell and machine gun fire early in the day he controlled and directed the fire of his platoon with skill and ability, and when during the afternoon ground had been lost he augmented his force by details of other units and regained the original position.'
Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 185
Date: 27 November 1918
Submitted 5 February 2019 by Steve Larkins
Biography contributed by Steve Larkins
His date of birth is recorded per WW1 records as 18 January 1881 and in WW2 records as 18 January 1892.
Biography contributed by Geoffrey Gillon
His birth was registered as Maurice George Travers.
Births Mar 1881 TRAVERS Maurice George Shepton M. 5c 510
Shepton Mallet includes the parish of Lovington. Lovington is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated 3 miles south west of Castle Cary, between the River Brue and River Cary, in the South Somerset district.
His date of emigration to Australia is at this time unknown.
His wife’s name was Kitty. who claimed in correspondence after his death that he had served in the Boer War and with the South Africa Police (not yet substantiated)
In WWI he was enlsited initially as a Private on 1.1.1916, at which point it appears he was identified for officer training through which he progressed (still in Australia) to Corporal from 1.4.1916, then Sergeant from 8.4.
1916, finally being commissioned as a Second Lieutenant from 1.11.1916, whereupon he was assigned to the 8th Reinforcements, 52nd Battalion with whom he emabrked.
He rendered distingusihed service initially in the 52nd Battalion at the Second Battle of Passchendaele, for which he was recommended (but not awarded ) the Military Cross. Subsequently in the 49th Battalion, during the German Spring Offensvie of 1918, he was recommended and awarded the Military Cross for his actions during the defence and subsequent counter attack at Dernancourt in ferocious fighting (see the campiagn entry for this battle). Both the 52nd and 49th Battalions were in the 13th Brigade of the 4th Division., which just three weeks after Dernancourt, was part of the night counter-attack which re-captured the village of Villers Bretonneux and halted the German advance on Amiens 24/5 April.
George retuned home late in 1919.
In WWII, he was living in Gunnedah in northern New South Wales although he enlisted in Queensland. He eventualy held the rank of Acting Corporal, in an Ordnance Depot but his health began to fail him and he was discharged in 1943 medically unfit. Service Number Q63766,
He died aged 66 in 1946
He was accepted, after research, for commemoration as war dead on 27/09/2011.
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