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George Alexander McInnes
| Name on Board | GA McInnes |
| Name on Service Records |
George Alexander McInnes |
| Enlistment Age | 19 |
| Occupation | Labourer, Locomotive Branch, Newport Railway Workshops |
| Place of Birth | Newport, Vic |
| Next of Kin | Angus and Hannah McInnes |
| Address | 69 Oakbank St, Newport, Vic |
| Marital Status | S |
| Enlistment Date | 31/05/1915 |
| Service No. | 2657 |
| Enlistment Place | Melbourne, Vic |
| Embarkation Place | Melbourne |
| Embarkation Date | 26/08/1915 |
| Embarkation Ship | HMAT Anchises A68 |
| Unit on Embarkation | 6th Australian Infantry Battalion |
| Date of Death | 15/12/1915 |
| Unit on Death | 6th Australian Infantry Battalion |
| Rank on Death | Private |
| Cause of Death | Illness (Enteric Fever) |
| Place of Wounding/ Death |
15th General Hospital, Alexandria |
| Cemetery or Memorial | Chatby Military and War Memorial Cemetery, Alexandria, Egypt |
Additional Information
After leaving the North Williamstown School, George joined his father, Angus, working at the Newport Railway Workshops. He enlisted in 6th Battalion in May 1915 and embarked for Egypt and Gallipoli on the HMAT Anchises on 26 August 1915.
A letter from one of his mates told Angus and Hannah McInnes that after landing at Gallipoli, they went into the firing line on 2nd December 1915. They were there for 7 days when George fell ill. He was admitted for medical care on ‘Anzac’ on 9 December, transferred to the 15th General Hospital, Alexandria on 13 December and died on 15 December, 1915. He was 19 years old. He died of Enteric Fever otherwise known as Typhoid.
Sickness and disease was one of the greatest problems on Gallipoli. Neither the officers nor the men properly understood the need for sanitation. The heat, unburied bodies and poor sanitation led to a plague of flies which led to the outbreak of diseases; dysentery, diarrhoea and enteric fever. Except for May and August during the Gallipoli campaign, the proportion of men evacuated with illness exceeded those evacuated because of wounds. George McInnes landed prepared and ready to fight only to be cut down by illness.
George’s mate described him as a ‘very cool chap’ who was not easily fazed by the shells landing close by him and noted that he ‘is very much missed by his pals of the firing line’.
He was also very much missed by his family. His father kept him close to his heart by wearing his medals and his sister, Kitty, kept a photo of him, in uniform, prominently displayed above the sideboard until the day she died.
His name appears on the North Williamstown Presbyterian Church (now St Stephens).
Additional References
Williamstown Chronicle: Saturday 25 March 1916, p3
Photos courtesy Mairi Neil
Mairi Neil - personal interview and: We will remember them… and celebrate their life and our links to the past!
Gallipoli and the Anzacs
Additional Documents and Photographs
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