GREEN, George
| Service Number: | Q124770 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 6 February 1942 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 1 Garrison Battalion (QLD) |
| Born: | Belfast, Ireland , 17 September 1884 |
| Home Town: | Toowoomba, Toowoomba, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Retired |
| Died: | Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, 4 July 1958, aged 73 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Drayton and Toowoomba Cemetery, Queensland Plot: Sect. CE 5A Row 5 Plot 5 |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 6 Feb 1942: | Involvement Private, Q124770 | |
|---|---|---|
| 6 Feb 1942: | Enlisted | |
| 6 Feb 1942: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, Q124770, 1 Garrison Battalion (QLD) | |
| 11 Apr 1942: | Discharged | |
| 11 Apr 1942: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, Q124770, 1 Garrison Battalion (QLD) |
Lowered His Age to Enlist
PTE GEORGE (GEO) GREEN
George was an Irishman who came out from Belfast to Australia in 1900 at the age of 20 and began working in the Darling Downs area of Queensland.
He met Charlotte Farquharson, who was about 10 years his senior. Due to circumstances totally within their control, they were married at short notice and then had to quickly move to Mount Morgan in Central Qld to give birth to their first child (Charles Green- my great grandfather) in 1905.
After returning to the Darling Downs a year later, George and Charlotte settled in the Bell district and eventually took on their own farm and had another son (Maxwell) and a daughter or two.
After raising their kids and seeing their grand kids grow, George and Charlotte eventually sold their farm and retired to West St in Toowoomba.
After the bombing of Pearl Harbour, when the Japanese began their push through the South-West Pacific in 1941, it was believed that Australia was under threat. George decided that he needed to do his bit at home and enlisted in the Army at Toowoomba where he was approved for service by a Medical Officer on 16 December 1941, before officially enlisting on 6 February 1942. To do this George had to lie about his age, stating that he was only 52 (he was actually about 61). Upon enlistment he was assigned to the 1st Garrison Battalion and was marched in on 14 February 1942 at Mt Gravatt.
The 1st Garrison Battalion was part of the Australian 'Army Reserve' within the CMF Militia structure for Homeland Defence with the role of manning fixed defences and vulnerable points. The personnel were Class B men, aged between 48 and 55.
Somehow it was discovered that George was in fact a good deal older than he said, and so on Sunday 12 April 1942 he was discharged from the Australian Army, with his records stating" Having reached the age of retirement."
Submitted 8 December 2022 by Ron Green