The AIF Project

George Albert MUNDY

Regimental number2245
Place of birthSydney, New South Wales
SchoolBourke Street Superior Public School, New South Wales
ReligionChurch of England
OccupationIronworker
Address27 Stanley Street, Leichhardt, New South Wales
Marital statusSingle
Age at embarkation20
Height5' 6"
Weight134 lbs
Next of kinFather, Amor Samuel Mundy, 27 Stanley Street, Leichhardt, New South Wales
Previous military serviceServed in the Compulsory Training Scheme and Citizen Military Forces.
Enlistment date26 May 1915
Place of enlistmentLiverpool, New South Wales
Rank on enlistmentPrivate
Unit name3rd Battalion, 6th Reinforcement
AWM Embarkation Roll number23/20/2
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT A63 Karoola on 16 June 1915
Rank from Nominal RollPrivate
Unit from Nominal Roll3rd Battalion
Other details from Roll of Honour CircularBomber to D Company, 3rd Bn; was in Lone Pine Battle, August 1915; took part in evacuation. He was wounded while assisting in the removal of a pile of bombs in no man's land which was exploded by an enemy shell on the night of August 18th 1916. He received 37 wounds from which he died on the 19th while on his way to the hospital. (details from father)
FateDied of wounds 19 August 1916
Place of death or woundingPozieres, Somme Sector, France
Age at death21.4
Age at death from cemetery records21
Place of burialBecourt Military Cemetery (Plot I, Row P, Grave No. 3), Becordel-Becourt, France
Panel number, Roll of Honour,
  Australian War Memorial
37
Miscellaneous information from
  cemetery records
Parents: Amor Samuel and Ellen Florence MUNDY, 27 Stanley Street, Leichhardt, New South Wales. Native of Sydney
Family/military connectionsBrother: 5156 Pte Amor William MUNDY, 1st Bn, killed in action, 22-25 July 1916.
Other details

War service: Egypt, Gallipoli, Western Front

Taken on strength, 3rd Bn, Gallipoli, 4 August 1915.

Admitted to 3rd Field Ambulance, 7 August 1915 (lacerated fingers, right hand); discharged to duty, 9 August 1915.

Disembarked Alexandria, 29 December 1915 (general Gallipoli evacuation).

Letter, Tel el Kebir, to friend, Ned ORR, 20 January 1916: 'Received your letters of the 13th Oct & 26th Nov 6th Dec & all per one mail as all our mail operations were suspended for some time on account of our shifting as you see by the above address that we are back in Egypt again. You will have heard ere now about the evacuation of Turkey by the Allied Forces which were there. I can tell you it was an eye opener & well worth seeing[;] you cannot imagine how such a big army of men could be withdrawn from right under the enemy's nose (as the trenches were in some cases only a few yards distance from each other) without them knowing till long after they were well on there [sic] way to Lemnos where they took them to first. But, of course, if you had seen the way trench warfare is carried out you would know, as you might never see one of the enemy for a month or more, & all you can do is pot at their loopholes & throw bombs at each others [sic] trenches, the rest is done by Artillery, & our own sideas well, except of course when an advance is being made. Well they split us into parts "A' "B" "C". "A" party left one night, everything, of course, being doneby dark, "B" & "C" parties the next night within a few hours of each other. We all had our feet padded, were not allowed to smoke or talk, & had to have our packs only half full as we would be travelling light. We had to hold on to each others [sic] entrenching tool handles as we went down the hill to the boats so as to keep in touch with each other, & the way everybody did their part & realized the seriousness of the move was a credit to the army but best of all was the part the Navy played in embarking us on Trawlers - each one filled so that there was not room for another man - & transferring us to steamers which were waiting for us, was absolutely marvellous.

'There was an enormous amount of stores of every kind & bombs etc. destroyed, & dumped, besides a few guns which were weren't worth shifting, being too old, & were blown up by us so Jacky Turk would find nothing much of any use when he did come over. But, what hurt us was to see the trenches we had to leave after having put so much of the very hardest work into the making of them, & the worst of all the graveyards containing the sinister remains and sole memories of the mates & brothers etc, many of them, & to think of them having fought so well, & died, all in vain.

'Well Ned it is all for the best at this stage but what a series of blunders for a foremost nation to make, the whole movements in Gallipoli were from start to finish. At any rate the Turks got a bit of ahiding from us even after we had left. We had tunnels under their trenches in parts, & enough explosives was put into them to nearly split the peninsula in two which was done when all were safely off upon which they charged what had been our lines, & the Navy opened fire on them, in one part absolutely annihilating them, as they never reached our trenches.

'One thing that was amusing, & sounds incredible, was the setting of some rifles to go off at certain times after we were off, by having a tin tied to the trigger[,] another with water dripping into this one, so that when a nine pound pressure of water accumulated in the tin on the trigger it went off, thus making them think we were there sniping at them.

'Another thing which aided the success of the movement considerably was this. A couple of weeks before the evacuation they ordered that no firing was to be done by anyone, Artillery included, for a couple of days, & to keep out of sight of Aeroplanes etc, so that it would appear we had left. The Turks sent a man over here & there to find out what was doing, knowing of course that he would be taken captive if we were still there, so you see how this would help final operations.

'I don't think there is much more of any importance to tell you except that we had a week or so of snow over there, which formed a pretty sight, but also a week of extreme discomforture as it was premature & we were unprepared for it. We were also struck [by] very unusual weather in Egypt for a fort night [sic] or more, it rained pretty heavy at intervals, & also very cold winds. We were camped on an old battlefied as you can see by the name, & this battle was, I believe, the only time in history that the "British Square" was broken, which was done by the Dervishes.

'Well Ned it is seldom I get a chance to write at such length but I made the best of the opportunity because I am having it posted in Cairo, as these "Active Service" envelopes are obsolete & all letters are censored & we are not allowed to mention the evacuation, the place where we are, or the date.'

Found guilty, Tel el Kebir, 22 January 1916, of breaking camp and remaining absent from Tattoo, 9 January, to 1300, 16 January 1916: awarded 14 days' Field Punishment No 2, and forfeited 8 days' pay.

Found guilty, 12 February 1916, of (1) being absent without leave from 2145, 8 February, to 2145, 10 February 1916; (2) being absent from parade, 0830, 10 February 1916: awarded 5 days' Field Punishment No 2, and forfeited 3 days' pay.

Admitted to 2nd Australian Stationary Hospital (Isolation), 14 February 1916 (meningitis); rejoined unit, 12 March 1916.

Embarked Alexandria to join the British Expeditionary Force, 22 March 1916; disembarked Marseilles, France, 28 March 1916.

Wounded in action, 18 August 1916 (shrapnel wound, head, abdomen, left hand); admitted to 1st Australian Field Ambulance.

Died of wounds, 19 August 1916.

Letter, 11247 Driver Harry Albert CURTIS, Australian Army Service Corps: 'As LIEUT. CLARKE told me, George was a bomber in D Company, and he was on duty in the front line of trenches on the night of August 18th. The officer had noticed a pile of bombs in front of the trench (No Man's Land), and decided that they ought to be removed because if something hit them, there would be a very big explosion and a great waste of bombs. He called on four bomb throwers at 2 a.m. on the 19th, when all was dark, and they all went over the parapet, and were putting the bombs into sandbags when suddenly a shell from the Germans struck the pile of bombs and the explosion was terrible. Two men were blown to pieces, and George had thirty seven wounds. The officer was badly cut on the forehead (he showed me the scar) and the sergeant succeeded in getting George on a stretcher. As they were taking him to the advanced dressing station George was quite conscious and said good-bye to all his mates. On reaching the dressing station he was still sane, although bleeding from from all his wounds. His nose was blocked up with thick blood, and he said to the chaplain who was on duty there, "Please clear my nose, as I can't breathe properly." All his wounds were dressed, and he was being taken to a motor ambulance for removal to the field hospital when he died on the way there. The officer further stated that if George had lived he would have been decorated, as it was a very dangerous job, one worthy of gaining the Military Medal.'

Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
SourcesNAA: B2455, MUNDY George Albert
Leichhardt 'Advertiser', 15 December 1916.

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