Sgt
George Calder

Informatie over geboorte

Geboortejaar:
1893
Geboorteplaats:
Gladstone, Victoria, Australië

Algemene Informatie

Beroep:
Mijnwerker

Informatie legerdienst

Land:
Australië
Strijdmacht:
Australian Imperial Force
Rang:
Sergeant
Service nummer:
1868
Dienstneming datum:
24/07/1916
Dienstneming plaats:
Blackboy Hill, Western Australia, Australië
Eenheden:
 —  Australian Infantry, 51st Bn.  (Laatst gekende eenheid)

Informatie over overlijden

Datum van overlijden:
30/09/1917
Plaats van overlijden:
Westhoek, Zonnebeke, België
Doodsoorzaak:
Killed in action (K.I.A.)
Leeftijd:
24

Begraafplaats

Onderscheidingen en medailles 2

British War Medal
Medaille
Victory Medal
Medaille

Points of interest 3

#1 Geboorteplaats
#2 Dienstneming plaats
#3 Plaats van overlijden (bij benadering)

Mijn verhaal

Sergeant George Calder served in the Australian Infantry 51st Battalion, part of the 13th Australian Brigade, of the 4th Australian Division.

The 51st Battalion participated on the 26th of September 1917 in the Battle of Polygon Wood, part of the Third Battle of Ypres. It occupied the Brickyard at the Southwestern outskirts of Zonnebeke. The Battalion was relieved on the night of the 27th by the Australian Infantry 46th Battalion, and moved back to Westhoek Ridge.

The 51st Battalion remained at Westhoek Ridge until 07.00 p.m. on September 1917 when it was relieved by the Australian Infantry 47th Battalion. During the march back, a shell exploded amongst “C” Company and killed Sergeant George Calder and Private George Storey and wounded two other men.

His remains were buried in a small cemetery in the hamlet of Westhoek. He was exhumed in 2006 and reburied at Buttes New British Cemetery , Polygon Wood in 2007. 2,108 men are buried or commemorated in this cemetery. Plot 1, row E has 5 recent graves. Three of those are the remains of George Storey, John Hunter and George Calder. Together with their two fellow Australians, they were found in 2006 during earth works under a road in the nearby hamlet of Westhoek. Their bodies were covered with a ground sheet containing rubber, which made sure they were so well-preserved. During the war, some 30 dead were put together in a small cemetery close to the place the 5 were found. When the exhumation companies cleared the site after the war, most bodies were buried as ‘unidentified’ because their personal belongings had already been sent back to Australia and the crosses that once marked their graves were more than probably destroyed by subsequent fighting. The 5 Australians’ bodies were probably missed at the time, because the road through Westhoek had already been resurfaced. DNA was taken and in the end 3 bodies were identified thanks to intensive searching by the Australian authorities and the help of the Australian media.

Bestanden 1

Bronnen 4

51st Australian Infantry Battalion, (Australian War Memorial, Campbell (AWM), AWM4 23/68/19).
https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1338583
Gebruikte bronnen
Browning N., For King and Cobbers, (Bassendean, Advance Press, 2007), pg. 168-169.
Gebruikte bronnen
Derycke K. en Ingelbrecht L., Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917 visitor guide, (Gent, Openbaar Kunstbezit Vlaanderen, 2015), pg. 88.
Gebruikte bronnen
First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920, (National Archives of Australia, Canberra (NAA), B2455, CALDER G).
https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/SearchScreens/NameSearch.aspx.
Gebruikte bronnen

Meer informatie 4