Deary, George William

3071 Private George William Deary - 12th Battalion AIF

George William Deary was born in Footscray Victoria in 1893 to George and Margaret Deary. After his birth the family moved to Western Australia and took up residence in Fremantle. Another son called Leslie was born in Fremantle in 1900. George was educated in Fremantle and after leaving school found work locally.

At this time the family were living at 93 Glyde Street East Fremantle.

With the outbreak of the Great War, George tried to enlist but was knocked back due to his eyesight. But he wasn't put off and tried again on the 5th July 1915. This time he was accepted as fit for service with the medical examiner recording George's physical attributes as;

Height - 5 feet 8 & 1/4 inches tall;

Weight - 148lbs;

Chest Measurement - 35-37 inches;

Complexion - Fair;

Eyes - Blue;

Hair - Fair.

After his successful enlistment George was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was assigned to the infantry training depot. In the depot he would be taken through the basics of infantry work. He was only there for a week when he was transferred into the 10th Reinforcements to the 12th Battalion AIF.

George trained with this group in WA for several weeks while they waited for their embarkation orders to arrive. These finally came through and on the 13th October 1915 George and his group boarded the transport ship HMAT Themistocles in Fremantle Harbour and set sail for Egypt.

After arriving in Egypt, George and his group would have been expecting to be sent on to Gallipoli, however the decision had been made to evacuate the battlefield so George and other reinforcements were retained in Egypt.

George officially rejoined the 12th Battalion on the 7th January 1916. He then trained with them in Egypt for the next three months. He got into trouble for being absent from one parade for which he was fined one day's pay but it appeared George was fitting in well.

On the 29th March 1916 the 12th Battalion boarded a transport ship in Alexandria bound for France, reaching Marseilles on the 5th April 1916. After they were disembarked the 12th Battalion boarded trains which took them north to the region of Armentieres. It was here that the 12th Battalion would have their first taste of trench life on the Western Front.

The 12th Battalion spent April to June in the Armentieres sector and were then sent south to the Somme battlefield where they would take part in offensive that was taking place there. On July 23rd 1916 the 12th Battalion took part in the capture of Pozieres village. George survived this action unscathed but a few weeks later he got into trouble for going Absent without leave and for also committing an offense against a local inhabitant (not expanded on in the records) and was subsequently sentenced to six months of hard labour, however George still went into the next action with the Battalion when the 12th were again in action, this time at Mouquet Farm. On the 19th August 1916 George was hit by shrapnel in the hand. He was evacuated to the 26th General Hospital at Etaples where his wound was assessed and operated on.

He was released from hospital on the 15th September 1916 and was sent to the 1st Australian Division Base Depot. He would remain at the Base Depot till December 1916 when he was admitted sick to the 51st General Hospital with venereal disease. He spent the next 73 days in hospital recovering, only rejoining the 12th Battalion on the 6th March 1917.

George got into trouble again on the 27th March 1917 when he was absent from a picquet and was given 120 hours of Field Punishment No.2 as a result.

Meanwhile the 12th Battalion was still in action an George was wounded in the chest at Boursies on the 6th April 1917. Fortunately the wound wasn't too severe and after a few weeks of hospital in Rouen. George rejoined the 12th Battalion on the 13th May 1917 after they had just come out of the line at Bullecourt.

The 12th Battalion were now given a three month break out of the line. On the 28th July 1917 George was given a period of leave and it appears he may have enjoyed himself too much as after reporting back to his unit he was again hospitalised with venereal disease. This kept him away from his unit for several weeks, only returning to the 12th battalion on the 12th October 1917.

The 12th Battalion had been involved in the Third Battle of Ypres and while George missed the battalion's main action at Menin Road, he would be haleping hold the front line near Celtic Wood through October and November 1917. 

On the 22nd November 1917, George again went absent without leave and was given 96 hours of Field Punishment No.2 as a result and was also fined 6 days pay.

From December to March 1918 the 12th Battalion helped hold the line in Belgium between Ypres and Messines. George remained with the Battalion through this period. It appears that someone at the 12th Battalion HQ realised that George had never served the punishment from the 1916 offense when he as given 6 months of gaol and hard labour. However considering that George had been wounded twice in action since that time, it was decided not to enforce the punishment.

The 12th Battalion as part of the 1st Australian Division was heavily in action from April to July 1918 in the north of France around Merris, Meteren, Strazeele and Hazebrouck. George remained out of trouble until the 27th May 1918 when he absented himself from Guard duty. As a result he was given four days of field punishment No.2 and fined five days pay.

George again went absent without leave on the 26th May 1918, only returning to his unit on the 3rd June 1918. He was in trouble and a Court Martial was held in which he was found guilty. George offered no reason other than he was drunk. He was given 42 days of Field Punishment No.2

In August 1918 the 12th Battalion returned to the Somme to take part in the Amiens offensive. On the 8th August 1918, the Australian, British and Canadian forces advanced against the Germans from the Villers-Bretonneux front. While not involved on the opening day of the offensive, the 12th Battalion came into action on the 9th August 1918 and were in continual action until the 18th September 1918.

This was the last 12th Battalion action of the war and George was wounded for the third time in the war when he was hit in the hand by a German bullet. He was evacuated to hospital in Rouen and after having his wound treated was then transferred to England. He was admitted to a Military Hospital in Birmingham and then the 2nd Southern General Hospital.

On the 9th November 1918 George was sent to the overseas training brigade at Hurdcott and was assigned to wait for a troopship back home. On the 25th January 1919 George boarded the transport ship HMAT Ceramic and set sail home for WA, reaching Fremantle on the 3rd March 1919.

After being disembarked George went to No.8 Australian General Hospital in South Terrace Fremantle. He was then discharged from the AIF on the 8th May 1919.

In 1919 George Deary married Myrtle Williams in East Fremantle and they were living at 93 Glyde Street.

Tragedy happened in 1922 when George and his younger brother Leslie took a dinghy out into the Swan River near Fremantle at midnight on a Saturday night. The boat capsized and while George reached the shore Leslie was not seen alive again. His body was soon recovered and was buried in Fremantle Cemetery.