Peach, George
1983 Private George Harold Peach - 28th Battalion AIF
George Harold Peach was born in Melbourne Victoria in 1893 to George and Alice Peach. He was one of ten siblings and shortly after his birth the family moved to Western Australia and took up residence in North Fremantle.
George was educated at North Fremantle Primary school and was also a good sportsman. In 1912 he played for the North Fremantle team that won the Western Australian Amateur football league premiership.
George had also spent a few years' service with the 11th Infantry Regiment of the Citizens Military Forces.
Prior to the Great War he was working as a labourer and living in Victoria Avenue North Fremantle.
On the 21st June 1915 George enlisted into the AIF. He was accepted as fit for service with the medical examiner recording his physical attributes as;
Height - 5 feet 11 inches tall;
Weight - 156 lbs;
Chest Measurement - 36-38 inches;
Complexion - Dark;
Eyes - Blue;
Hair - Black;
Distinctive Marks - Tattoo of a ship on his left arm and true love on his right.
After his successful enlistment George was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was assigned to the 3rd Reinforcements to the 28th Battalion.
He trained with them in WA for the next few months while they waited for their embarkation orders to arrive. These finally came through and on the 2nd September 1915 they boarded the HMAT Anchises in Fremantle Harbour and set sail for Egypt. The journey took just over three weeks and they had arrived by the end of September. George and his group were then disembarked but they did not have long in Egypt as they were soon put aboard a troopship at Alexandria and sent to the Dardanelles. On October 12th 1915 he was taken on strength of the 28th Battalion at Anzac Cove. The Gallipoli campaign was then winding down and George survived the last few months unscathed and withdrew with the 28th Battalion in December 1915.
After they left Gallipoli the 28th Battalion had a short time at Lemnos Island but were then returned to Egypt on the 10th January 1916. They remained here for the next three months, either training or holding sectors of the Suez Canal defence line.
George had got into trouble on the 30th January 1916 when he went absent without leave for three days. As a result he was given 96 hours of detention as a punishment.
On the 16th March 1916 the 28th Battalion arrived at Alexandria Harbour and boarded a troopship to France, arriving at Marseilles on the 21st March 1916. After being disembarked the men were sent to the north of France where they arrived at Armentieres.
Shortly after arriving George was absent from a parade and was found drunk. As a punishment he was given 72 hours of Field Punishment No.2.
The 28th Battalion spent the next few months in this sector while they gained experience on the Western Front.
On June 3rd 1916 George was slightly wounded by shrapnel. He was treated at the 6th Field Ambulance and then sent on to a casualty clearing station. However he was back with the 28th Battalion three days later.
On the 9th July 1916 George was sent to hospital ill with bronchitis though he returned to his unit on the 13th July 1916. The 28th Battalion, as part of the 2nd Australian Division now moved down to the Somme battlefield.
On the 29th July 1916 the 28th Battalion took part in and advance against German positions at Pozieres. The 28th Battalion ran into heavy machine gun fire and thick barbed wire on the German positions and casualties were very heavy. George was wounded while he was advancing, being hit by bullets through the arm and thigh.
Stretcher bearers took him to the 2nd Field Ambulance where he was initially treated and from there he was taken to the 4th Casualty Clearing Station. From there he was sent on an ambulance train for Etaples where he was put on a hospital ship for England.
George was then admitted to the 3rd Northern General Hospital. He remained there till the 22nd September 1916. Having somewhat recovered from his wounds, George was now sent to No.1 Command Depot Camp at Perham Downs. On the 13th October 1916 he was then sent to No.3 Command Depot Camp at Bovington.
On the 22nd November 1916 George was then sent to No.4 Command Depot Camp at Wareham. He remained there for the next few months.
On the 19th January 1917 George absented himself from camp, only returning on the 11th February 1917. He was given 21 days detention and had to forfeit 46 days pay.
On the 14th March 1917 George was transferred to No.3 Command Depot Camp at Hurdcott.
On the 3rd April 1917 George was transferred to the 70th Battalion of the newly forming 6th Division. He would train with this group in England for the next few months but due to lack of reinforcements coming from Australia the 6th Division was disbanded.
George then returned to the 28th Battalion, being taken on strength on the 24th October 1917. The 28th Battalion were then on the Passchendaele front in Belgium.
A month later on the 28th November 1917 George was taken to the 7th Field Ambulance. Initially he was diagnosed with PUO or Pyrexia of Unknown Origin but it seemed serious so he was then sent on to the 2nd Australian Casualty Clearing Station. On the 7th December 1917 he was then admitted to the 59th General Hospital at Boulogne.
He was now officially diagnosed with influenza and on the 17th December was recovered enough to be sent to No.1 Convalescent Camp where he would receive further treatment and rest. George remained here until the 22nd February 1918. He was then transferred to a rest camp where he remained for a few more weeks.
On the 30th April 1918 George rejoined the 28th Battalion. The Battalion were then in the Morlancourt area just north of the Somme river.
On the 19th June 1918 George had another bout of influenza. While recovering from this at the 14th General Hospital it was also found that George had a sprained back. On the 7th July 1918 he was sent back to England and was admitted to the Central Military Hospital at Eastbourne. On the 24th July he was transferred to the 3rd Australian Auxiliary Hospital at Dartford.
George's health had improved and on the 5th August he was transferred to No.4 Command Depot Camp at Hurdcott. However his fitness was not yet at a level that was ready for him to return to his unit and so he remained at this camp till the 7th October 1918.
After a few more weeks at the Overseas Training Brigade Camp, George returned to France on the 30th October 1918. George rejoined the 28th Battalion on the 3rd November 1918. Eight days later the Armistice was signed.
With the war now over, the Australians were sent to areas of France and Belgium that had been under German occupation. The 28th Battalion were stationed near Charleroi in Belgium.
However George did not remain there long as on the 24th January 1919 he returned to England and went into camp. He then awaited to be assigned a berth on a troopship home. He had to wait several weeks but during this time was also given leave.
On the 7th April 1919 George boarded the troopship Montes, disembarking in Fremantle on the 15th May 1919.
George was discharged from the AIF on the 26th September 1919.
In 1920 in North Fremantle George married Leah Ruth Burns. A daughter Betty was born in 1921 and was followed by a son called Albert in 1923, Mavis in 1925 and Robert in 1931. The family were initially living at 2 Hevron Street North Fremantle.
George had been working as a storeman in Fremantle and by the 1930's the family were living at 8 Grey Street South Fremantle. By the 1960's George and Leah were living at 250 Carrington Street Hilton.
George died on the 1st February 1966 aged 72. He was buried in Fremantle Cemetery plot Anglican MON A3 0690.