Monkhouse, George
5156 Sapper George Monkhouse MM - 3rd Division Signal Company
George Monkhouse was born in Port Adelaide South Australia to Sarah & Major Monkhouse on the 5th February 1896. He was one of six siblings with Myrtle 1894, Clarrie 1898, Alferd 1904, Doris 1907 and Jack 1909.
The family moved to Western Australia while Clarrie was still young and took up residence at 45 Canning Road East Fremantle, where his mother ran a music studio and in 1917 the family moved to 172 Ellen Street Fremantle (Now 67 Ellen Street).
Clarrie was educated locally at Fremantle Boys School and after leaving school took up work as an apprentice electrical engineer with Bateman Anderson in Fremantle. During this time he also served in the 86A Cadets of the Citizens Military Forces.
After his time in the cadets was over, George continued with his service in the 35th Company Engineers of the Citizens Military Forces.
On the 19th January 1916 George enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force and was found to be fit for enlistment. The medical examiner recorded his physical attributes as;
Height - 5 feet 7 inches;
Weight - 136lbs;
Chest Measurement - 32-35 inches;
Complexion - Dark;
Eyes - Brown;
Hair - Black.
Upon his successful enlistment, George was sent to the 16th Reinforcements of the 11th Battalion AIF who were training at Bunbury Camp He was with this group in WA for several weeks and on the 30th March 1916 they entrained for Fremantle Harbour where they boarded the transport ship HMAT Shropshire.
The ship then set sail for Egypt where it reached Suez on the 24th April 1916. The men were disembarked and sent into the reinforcement camp. The 11th battalion had already departed Egypt for France but George was kept in Egypt for a month and with other reinforcements left Alexandria Egypt on the 29th May 1916. After arriving at Marseilles on the 3rd June 1916, George was disembarked and entrained north for Etaples where he was sent to the 1st Australian Division Base Depot.
He remained here for the next few weeks and then joined the 11th battalion on the 1st July 1916.
In July 1916 the 11th Battalion moved to the Somme region where the British and French had begun an offensive on July 1st 1916. The 11th Battalion was involved in the capture of Pozieres Village on July 23rd 1916 and subsequent operations against Mouquet Farm in August 1916. George came through this time unscathed.
The 11th battalion then moved to Ypres in Belgium for around six weeks. During this time George fell ill and was sent to hospital with trench fever and influenza. He was away from his unit for a month, returning to the 11th Battalion on the 21st October 1916.
The 11th battalion were now back on the Somme battlefield and were in the line near Flers. It was a cold and muddy battlefield and on the 9th November 1916 George was evacuated, suffering badly from influenza. After initial treatment at the 2nd Australian Field Ambulance he was sent to the 36th Casualty Clearing Station. He spent two days there and was then put on an ambulance train to the French village of Etretat where he was admitted to the 1st General Hospital.
George was in hospital there for three weeks and was then sent to England for further treatment. Upon arrival in England he was sent to the 2nd Southern General Hospital in Birmingham. His condition was still severe and George would remain in hospital here till the 7th March 1917.
George was then transferred to the 3rd Australian Auxiliary Hospital at Dartford. He spent two weeks there and was then transferred to No.2 Command Depot Camp at Weymouth. George's fitness level had been downgraded and he would spend further time in England before he rejoined the 11th Battalion.
However before he was sent back to France, in April 1917, George was transferred to a new unit being formed in France, the 70th battalion of the 6th Division AIF. George would train with this unit in England at Wareham Camp for the next few months. This training included George being trained as a Signaller.
Due to a lack of reinforcements, the 6th Division was disbanded in September 1917 and the men returned to their previous units. George had now qualified as a First Class Signaller. Instead of rejoining the 11th Battalion in France, George was put on Signal work at the 3rd Training Battalion at Durrington. On the 14th October 1917 he was then transferred to do Signal work at the 8th Training Battalion at Sutton Veny.
George was there for two months and was then sent to the Signal Section of the Engineers Training Depot at Clifton. On the 20th December 1917 Georeg returned to France and was taken on strength of the 3rd Australian Division Signal Section.
From January to March 1918 the Australian Divisions were operating in Belgium but due to the German Spring Offensive on March 21st 1918 which broke through the British line further south, the Australian Divisions were sent to the Somme to help stop this German advance.
The 3rd Australian Division would be sent to the region around the Somme River, initially around Corbie and Sailly-le-Sec. During this time George witnessed the shooting down of the Red Baron, Manfred Von Richthofen and was the first soldier on the scene after the plane crashed. George later wrote in the Daily News newspaper about this event in 1928.
In June 1918 George was evacuated ill with influenza, being sent to the 3rd Australian General Hospital at Abbeville. He was away from his unit for two months, only rejoining them on the 26th August 1918. George then resumed work with the 3rd Division Signal Company and continued to send signals for them through to October 1918.
On the 23rd October he was given a two week furlough to England and returned to his unit on the 9th November 1918. Two days later the Armistice was declared.
George remained with his unit and in December 1918 was detached for duty at the Locomotive Workshops. He remained working there till the 9th February 1919 when he was returned to the 3rd Division Signals Company. He was only back a week when he fell ill and was evacuated to the 3rd Australian General Hospital at Abbeville.
On the 28th February 1919 George was evacuated to England where upon arrival he was sent to Bethnall Green Military Hospital. After a few weeks he was transferred to the 3rd Australian Auxiliary Hospital.
On recovery George was granted a period of leave on the 24th March 1919 till the 8th June 1919. He had requested a period of non-military employment as a Motor Mechanic. This request was granted and George went to a firm in Brixton London. On request from George, this was extended for another month till July 1919.
George reported back to AIF HQ on the 24th July 1919 and was then posted to No.2 Group Camp at Sutton Veny. He would now wait here to be assigned a berth on a troopship home. On the 3rd September 1919 George boarded the transport ship Barambah and set sail for home, reaching Fremantle on the 17th October 1919.
George was discharged from the AIF on the 10th December 1919.
On return from the war George moved to Petra Street East Fremantle before moving to Tamar Street in Palmyra.
In 1922 George Monkhouse married Monica Maher in Perth and a son Ronald was born in Fremantle in 1923.
George was working as an electrician and in the early 1930's left Tamar Street and took up residence in West Perth. He would reside in the Perth region for the next twenty years.