George Cheadle

Submitted by wollongongcityl... on Wed, 20/08/2014 - 11:33

First Name:

George

Last Name:

Cheadle

Alternate Spelling:

George Wilson

Date of Birth:

Friday, July 2, 1897

Mother's Name:

Elizabeth Wilson Cheadle

Father's Name:

Sydney John Cheadle

Date Enlisted:

Saturday, May 8, 1915

Rank at Enlistment:

Private

Unit:

3rd Battalion

Company:

C Company

Service:

Infantry

Awards:

British War Medal

Victory Medal

Date of Death:

Thursday, August 22, 1918

Place of Death:

Harbonnieres, France

Cause of Death:

Killed in action

Details:

George Cheadle was born on 2 July 1897 to Joseph and Elizabeth Wilson. Joseph Wilson died on 30 September 1905. In 1908 Elizabeth Wilson married Sydney Cheadle and Elizabeth's children took his name.

Prior to the war, he was a member of the cadets and was an apprentice carpenter to Mr Lett of Austinmer. He enlisted on 8 May 1915 at the age of 18 and joined the 3rd Battalion.

South Coast Times George returned home for a few days in July 1915, recuperating from an attack of pleurisy and pneumonia. He was at a camp in Liverpool when attacked with the illness and was conveyed to hospital at Victoria Barracks. The illness delayed his departure for the front as his company left the week before.

Extracts from his diary, available at Wollongong City Library, delve into his time during training and at the front. It also contains a poem he wrote following the battalions' stay in South Africa.

According to the National Australian Archives, he was gassed and suffered poisoning in August 1916.

George was killed in action on 22 August 1918 and is buried at the Heath Cemetery, Harbonnieres France.

George's service is commemorated on the Austinmer War Memorial.

Sources:

Geroge Cheadle, Copy of diary, 1916-1918, Wollongong City Library, Local Studies MMS, ###

NAA: B2455 CHEADLE G

‘Austinmer’, South Coast Times, 23 July 1915, p.17.