16th June 1891 - 4th/5th August 1916 (age 25)
Private 1013
25th Bn. Australian Infantry
A forlorn and broken gravestone in St. Oswald's churchyard provides the
confirmation that George Watson was killed in France on 4th August 1916.
Sadly, the cross is no longer intact, but it is still possible to read
the words:
In Loving Memory of Robert Watson of Sowerby
Who died June 23rd 1913 aged 53 years
Also Elizabeth wife of the above
Who died April 11th 1919 aged 60 years
Also George son of the above
Killed in France August 4th 1916 aged 25 years
The Watson family gravestone at Sowerby
George's actual grave can be found in France on the Somme battlefield
at Serre Road Cemetery No. 2 in plot V.E.34 and this headstone shows him
to have died on August 5th 1916 while serving with the Australian Infantry.
His remains had been moved there after the war from his original grave
in a field just north of Pozieres near the German 3rd line, which the
Australians had attacked in early August 1916. It had been a tough battle
with severe casualties. Many soldiers were buried by their comrades close
to where they fell, and after the war it was necessary to clear the fields
and to concentrate the remains into a number of military cemeteries such
as the one at Serre Road.
Robert and Elizabeth Watson were blessed with six children, and in 1911
they were living at Fir Cottage, Front Street, Sowerby where Robert was
shown as a farmer and his son George was working at home. Later, George
appears to have emigrated to Australia where he was living when he enlisted
into the Australian Imperial Force at Brisbane on 5th January 1915 giving
his occupation as Station Hand. He was 5 feet 7.5 inches tall, weighing
138lbs with dark complexion, brown eyes and brown hair when he joined
"D" Company of the 25th Battalion. Towards the end of June and after training,
he embarked on the troopship "Aeneas" bound for Egypt and eventually he
arrived at Gallipoli in September 1915.
The troopship "Aeneas" on which George Watson travelled to Egypt
The Gallipoli campaign was an attempt to ease the pressure on Russia who
was fighting on two fronts against the Germans and Austrians. Turkey had
joined the war on the side of the Germans. It was hoped that an attack
by the Allies on the Turkish Peninsula could open the way to Constantinople
and through to the Russians. The initial landings by Commonwealth troops
including New Zealanders and Australians in April 1915 had faced tough
resistance from the Turkish soldiers defending strong fortifications and
they had not achieved the objective. The doomed campaign continued through
the hot summer months as the Allies struggled to maintain a grip on the
ground above the landing beaches. George Watson was thrown into this battle
in September and was lucky not to have become one of the 28,000 Australian
casualties. Eventually, a well planned withdrawal was completed on 20th
December. George travelled via Mudros on the Greek island of Lemnos, and
disembarked from the troopship "Honorata" in Alexandria on 9th January
1916. Two months later, the battalion transferred to France, disembarking
at Marseilles on 19th March 1916. George was granted eight days leave
to England on 24th June returning to France on 1st July. Probably his
widowed mother had not seen him since he emigrated a few years earlier.
This was her last opportunity to see him before he was reported "missing"
on 5th August, a statement which was changed to "killed in action" at
a court of enquiry in 1917. His effects were returned to Mrs Watson at
Fir Cottage, Front Street, Sowerby and included the following items: Prayer
book, photo, note book, razor, guide book, letter, wallet.
Mrs Watson passed away in April 1919, and so was spared the added distress
of the letter which was sent to George's next of kin in 1928 advising
that his body had been exhumed from one of the scattered graves at Pozieres
and re-interred at Serre Road.
The information on this page was compiled by Steve Billings.
Information about George Watson on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website
Information about George Watson on the War Graves Photographic Project website