George Henry Aspinall
From Our Contribution
 Courtesy Pam Leunig | |
| Personal Information | |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | Apr 1888 |
| Place of Birth | Prestwich, Lancashire, England |
| Death | 31 Oct 1924 |
| Place of Death | Cottesloe, Western Australia |
| Age at Enlistment | 28 years, 1 month |
| Description |
5' 7¾" (1.72m) tall ; 120 lbs 54.431 kg ; fresh complexion ; blue eyes ; brown hair |
| Occupation | Orchard hand |
| Religion | Church of England |
| Address | Armadale, Western Australia |
| Next of Kin | Father , Mr Samuel Aspinal (in UK) |
| Military Information | |
| Reg Number | 6719 |
| Date of Enlistment | 11 Jun 1916 |
| Rank | Private |
| Unit/Formation | 16th Battalion, 2nd Reinforcement, transferred to 32nd Battalion on 28 Mar 1917 / 8th Brigade, 5th Division |
| Date of Embarkation | 9 Nov 1916 ‒ 10 Jan 1917 |
| Ship Embarked On | HMAT A8 Argyllshire Fremantle to Devonport |
| Date of Return | 10 Sep 1917 ‒ 28 Nov 1917 |
| Ship Returned On | HMAT A38 Ulysses |
| Fate | Returned to Australia for Home Service (Epilepsy) |
| Monument |
Armadale War Memorial (Armadale panel) Armadale Congregational Church Honour Board Armadale and Districts Roll of Honour |
| Medals |
British War Medal Victory Medal |
Pre War
On 2 Apr 1911 was still living in Lancashire, England.
The 1916 Australian Federal Electoral Roll listed him as a farm assistant living in Armadale.
War Service
While initially part of the 23rd reinforcement draft for the 16th Battalion, George was transferred to the 22nd draft on 4 Sep 1916. He was one of 13 men from reinforcement drafts on board the Argyllshire who had links to the Armadale-Kelmscott district. The others being: Arthur Thomas Orton MM (12th Battalion); Robert Prior Bailey, and Isaac Robert Powell (16th Battalion); William Wilfred Gerald Liddington (28th Battalion); William Bingham, Robert Frank Bickford, Robert Hastings Joyce, Beverley Loxton Bennett and Norman Leslie Skewes (44th Battalion); Albert Nock (48th Battalion); Hubert Maitland Armstrong MM and Charles Leonard Lockhart (51st Battalion).
On arrival in England he was allocated to the 4th Training Battalion at Rollestone before proceeding overseas to France aboard the SS Invicta from Folkestone on 28 Feb 1917. On 28 Mar 1917 he was transferred to the 32nd Battalion and joined them in the support trenches where they were busy with road maintenance. Admitted to 8th Field Ambulance, 1 June 1917 (epileptic seizures), and transferred in turn to 3rd Australian Casualty Clearing Station, then onto Ambulance Train No 31 (6 June 1917) and admitted the same day to 6th General Hospital, Rouen.
On 9 Jun 1917 he was transferred to England aboard HMAT A69 Warilda then acting as a hospital ship, and on arrival he was admitted to the Reading War Hospital on 10 June 1917 with epilepsy. Transferred to 1st Australian Auxiliary Hospital, Harefield, on 25 June 1917, he was discharged to No 2 Command Depot, Weymouth on 4 July 1917.
A Medical Board, in Weymouth on 17 July 1917, found him permanently unfit for General Service and temporarily unfit for Home Service. George commenced his return to Australia on board HMAT A38 Ulysses on 10 September 1917 (debility); where he was discharged by the 5th Military District on 28 Nov 1917.
Post War
By December 1921 he was in the 24th Australian Auxiliary Hospital known locally as the Stromness Mental Hospital in Cottesloe and unable to improve enough to receive his medals. His medals were given to the Master of Lunacy who was handing his estate for passing them on to his father in the UK.
FUNERAL NOTICES. ASPINALL.
The Friends of the late Mr. George Henry Aspinall, returned soldier, formerly of the 16th Battalion, A.I.F. and late of Armadale, are respectfully invited to follow his remains to the place of interment, the Church of England Cemetery, Karrakatta.[1]Advertisment from solicitors winding up George's estate.[2][3]
Death was in the Stromness Home for the Insane in Cottesloe, a hostel established initially for WW1 returnees with shell shock. No record of marriage or children in Australian records, although Ancestry.com lists a wife Lillian Victoria Kelvy (15 Apr 1891 to 29 May 1923). [Given known facts, this is unlikely.]
References
- ↑ "Family Notices". The West Australian. XL, (7,001). Western Australia. 3 November 1924. p. 1. Retrieved 16 May 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
- ↑ "Advertising". The West Australian. XL, (7,035). Western Australia. 12 December 1924. p. 2. Retrieved 16 May 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
- ↑ "Advertising". The West Australian. XL, (7,041). Western Australia. 19 December 1924. p. 1. Retrieved 16 May 2017 – via National Library of Australia.