Finlay, George David
427 Private George David Finlay - 11th Battalion AIF
George David Finlay was born in Beverley, Western Australia, on the 22nd of December 1888 to David and Jane Finlay (née Back). They had emigrated to South Australia from Scotland in 1879. Their first two children died of measles during the voyage. Alice, Jessie and John were born in South Australia.
The Finlays then moved to Western Australia, and were living in a tent at Beverley, where David had found work as a carpenter and foreman helping to build a bridge there for the Perth to Albany railway. The Finlays then moved to “Woodbine” in Bay Road, North Fremantle.
Two more children were born in 1893 and 1894 but only survived a short time. The youngest son, Jim, was born in 1897.
The family attended Scots Church Fremantle, where, on occasion, George played the bagpipes.
The Scots Church was established in Fremantle in 1885 with services delivered by Reverend Robert Hamlin with his first service on 16 October 1887 in the Oddfellow's Hall and later in the supper room of the Fremantle Town Hall. Hanlin soon set about seeking donations, locally and in the eastern states, to build a permanent church in Fremantle. A loan of £1,000 was granted by the Colonial Committee in Scotland, and a local bank also advanced funds. Hanlin acquired the 1,210-square-metre (0.30-acre) South Terrace site (Fremantle Town Lot 1360) for £208 and in June 1889 for the Commissioners of the Presbyterian Church in Western Australia from the state government. The Fremantle City Council, approved plans for Scots Presbyterian Church at a special meeting in March 1890, and on 26 March 1890 the foundation stone was laid by John Forrest. The architect for the building was Talbot Hobbs, who would later command the 5th Australian Division during World War One.
After leaving school, George served a 5-year apprenticeship at the State Engineering works at Rocky Bay Iron in North Fremantle. He was described as a reserved young man, who didn’t often show his emotions. Then he worked as a blacksmith at the Midland Railway workshops. George also served for six years in the Citizens’ Forces F Company in Western Australian Infantry Regiment.
He enlisted at Helena Vale in the Australian Imperial Force at the age of 25 on the 8th of September 1914. George (pictured on left of photo) was assigned the rank of Private in the 11th Infantry Battalion D company and given service number 427.
George Finlay's physical attributes were described by the Medical Examiner as;
Height - 5 feet 6 and a quarter inches tall (168cm);
Weight - 8 stone 9 pounds (62 kilos);
Chest Measurement - 34-36 ½ inches (92.7 cm);
Complexion - Fair;
Eyes - Brown;
Hair - Reddish-brown.
George (Pictured on left with mate from the 10th Light Horse) was sent for training at Blackboy Hill Camp and was assigned to the 11th Battalion AIF. After a few months of training in WA with his new unit, they received their orders for departure. On the 31st October 1914 George and his Battalion travelled down to Fremantle Harbour and boarded the transport ship HMAT Ascanius. The ship then pulled out into Gage Roads where it anchored till the early hours of the 2nd November 1914 when it set sail. They met the rest of the convoy sailing from Albany and then headed for Egypt.
Upon arriving in Egypt the men began a rigorous training program while they also took the opportunity to explore their surroundings.
(Photo below of George and two mates in Egypt)
The 11th Battalion were then shipped to Lemnos Island in March 1915 in preparation for a landing on the Turkish coast.
At 4:30 on the morning of 25 April 1915, 'A' and 'C' Companies of the battalion landed at North Beach, north of Ari Burnu Knoll, a mile south of Fisherman's Hut, on the left flank of the first wave. The second half of the battalion landed further north of the first wave, directly under heavy machine-gun fire from Turks fully prepared and alerted by the first wave. Under heavy machine-gun and rifle fire, the battalion stormed the cliffs, driving the Turks back. However, the battalion became disorganised during the landing and mixed with other units. Over the next few days, the battalion dug in on the first and second ridges under heavy fire from the Turks. Casualties were heavy, but a defensive line was established.
During the landing at Gallipoli, George was wounded in the right wrist by shrapnel and admitted to hospital. On the 30th of April, he was transferred to the 1st Australian General Hospital in Heliopolis until the 9th of June, when he was transferred to the Convalescent hospital in Helouan. Two days later, he was discharged to duty. At some point during his service, he was appointed as a bugler.
In November, the battalion supported the 5th Light Horse around "Chatham Post" until it was withdrawn, with the 9th Battalion, from Anzac Cove.
On the 7th of December George was admitted to the Second field Ambulance on Lemnos, suffering from tonsillitis. He was transferred to the 18th Stationary Hospital, then the No 3 Australian General Hospital. Between the 8th and 20th of December, the troops were withdrawn from the Dardanelles. On the 8th of January 1916, George was transferred to the hospital ship Carisbrook Castle, having been diagnosed with diphtheria. His whole brigade was quarantined. George disembarked in Alexandria on the 11th and was admitted to the 19th General Hospital in Alexandria on the 12th. On the 18th of January, he was transferred to the Glymenopoulos Convalescent camp, then on the 3rd of February, he was discharged to duty.
On the 28th of February, he was admitted to the Number 2 Australian Stationary Hospital in Tel-el-Kebir, suffering from Influenza. On the 29th of February, he was admitted to the Second A5 hospital. On the 9th of March, he was transferred to base, then to the Number 3 Australian Imperial Hospital in Abasia, Egypt and on the 30th of March, he was transferred to the Number 1 Auxiliary Hospital in Heliopolis. During this time, he was experiencing many headaches, dizziness, things “swimming before his eyes”, palpitations, aches and pains. He was diagnosed with “cardiac dilatation and irritability”. A Medical Board concluded that his condition was caused by “active service conditions and a return to active duty too soon after convalescence from diphtheria” and recommended that he be returned to Australia. On the 11th of April, he left Suez on the H.S. “Runic” for return to Australia.
He arrived in Fremantle on the 7th of May and was admitted to the Number 8 Australian General Hospital, with an illness again described as “Cardiac Irritability and dilatation”. He had been experiencing pains in the cardiac region, palpitations, dyspnoea (difficult or laboured breathing) upon exertion and occasional headaches. He was told he had about three months to live. A Medical Board on the 10th of May recommended further treatment and re-boarding in 2 months.
On the 12th of July, he was finally examined by the Medical Board whose findings 6 days later were that he was to be discharged as Permanently Unfit for duty. He was discharged two months later, on the 20/9/1916.
He married Annie Gladys Ross in May 1918 at Wesley Church South Fremantle, and they had one daughter. Gladys Ross was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J Ross of 4 Inverlieth Street South Fremantle.
George drove a cab for a while, but this was not profitable, so in 1920, he obtained a job at Naval Base in charge of water pumping. When this facility was closed down, he returned to work at the Midland Railway workshops making buffers, but was laid off as the Depression hit. He and his wife bought a shop in the Richmond Theatre complex in East Fremantle and he was able to undertake some increasingly less strenuous work for a few years. There were several episodes of chest pains and shortness of breath and eventually, he stopped working in the 1930s. He suffered a couple of strokes and a minor heart attack. In 1963, George and Glad decided to sell their home in Melville and move to Albany to be closer to their daughter, who was now married with a daughter of her own. (pictured right George with his Granddaughter)
On the 4th of March 1964, following an ophthalmological appointment, he collapsed and died from a coronary occlusion. He is buried at Allambie Park Cemetery, Albany in the A Methodist section, grave 143. George David Finlay was also named on the Honour Board of the Scots Church in Fremantle.
Biography kindly written and submitted by Helen Harmer