Walter George Woolford
Born 3 Nov 1888 - Died 6 Jan 1919
- Service number
- WWI 40468 AWMM
- Also known as
- George Woolford AWMM
- Armed force / branch
- Army AWMM
- Last rank
- WW1 Private AWMM Canterbury Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion, 13th (North Canterbury and Westland) Company AWMM
- War
- World War I, 1914-1918 AWMM
Images
Documents
About birth
- Birth
- 3 Nov 1888 AWMM
Auckland, New Zealand AWMM - Date of birth
- —
- Place of birth
- —
- Birth notes
- —
- Address before enlistment
- —
- Post war occupation
- —
- Next of kin
- Mrs Amy Elizabeth Woolford (mother), 6 Rocklands Avenue, Mount Eden, Auckland, New Zealand AWMM
- Relationship status
- Pre 26 Apr 1917 AWMM Single AWMM
Wars and conflicts
- War
- World War I, 1914-1918 AWMM
- Campaign
- 1914-1919 AWMM Western Front AWMM
- Armed force / branch
- Army AWMM
- Service number
- WWI 40468 AWMM
- Military service
- No. 1 Garrison Artillery Volunteers for 4.5 years AWMM
- Field Artillery for 6 months AWMM
- Promotions/ Postings/ Transfers
- —
Military decorations
- Medals and Awards
- —
Training and Enlistment
- Military training
- Basic Training, Trentham AWMM
- Battalion/Sling, England, 28 July - 11 November 1917 AWMM
- Qualified 1st Class Signaller, 28 October 1917 AWMM
- Branch Trade Proficiency
- —
- Enlistment
- WW1 04 Oct 1916 AWMM Watchmaker/Civilian AWMM
- Age on enlistment
- —
- Occupation before enlistment
- —
Embarkations
- Embarkation details
- WW1 26 Apr 1917-28 Jul 1917 AWMM
HMNZT 82 AWMM Vessel was Pakeha AWMM Private AWMM 24th Reinforcements (Second Draft) Specialist Company, Signal Section AWMM New Zealand Expeditionary Force AWMM
Prisoner of war
- Capture details
- —
- Days interned
- —
- Liberation date
- —
- POW liberation details
- —
- Liberation Repatriation
- —
- POW serial number
- —
Medical history
- Medical notes
- Classification, Unknown Period AWMM
Fit AWMM - Hospital Diseases , Wounds, WWI AWMM
Wounded in action 27 August 1918 AWMM - Hospital Diseases , Wounds, WWI AWMM
Sent to 1 NZ General Hospital, Brockenhurst AWMM - Hospital Diseases , Wounds, WWI AWMM
Discharged from 1 New Zealand General Hospital, Brockenhurst, to NZ Convalescent Camp at Hornchurch. Reported back when feeling ill on leave. AWMM - Hospital Diseases , Wounds, WWI AWMM
Transferred to 2 NZ General Hospital, Walton-on-Thames AWMM - Died of Disease, Cause of Death AWMM
Pernicious anaemia and cardiac failure AWMM
- Classification, Unknown Period AWMM
Last known rank
- Last rank
- WW1 Private AWMM
Canterbury Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion, 13th (North Canterbury and Westland) Company AWMM - Last rank
- —
Biographical information
- George Woolford was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Woolford, of Auckland.
George served in the same company as his younger brother Jim (Frederick James Woolford 42841). In a letter dated 14 September 1918, he described to his family in New Zealand the details of Jim's death. On the morning of 25 August, the New Zealanders began shelling the enemy positions at Bapaume, France prior to sending in the infantry. George was in a position to observe Jim in front of him as they began advancing under cover of a heavy mist. However, George believed they advanced too quickly and came under their own artillery barrage. He watched as a shell burst and Jim fell dead. Another friendly shell landed nearby, killing five members of a Lewis machine-gun team. George plucked up his courage and went on to single-handedly capture a German machine-gun post.
Although George survived the attack on Bapaume, he was later wounded and sent to hospital in England. He recovered from his wounds but then succumbed to disease, contracted pernicious anaemia and died in 1919.
Next of Kin: Mr W. C. Woolford, Rocklands Ave, Mt Eden (Roll of Honour, Auckland Province 1914-1918 (Volume 2)) AWMM - George had blue eyes and black hair. He was one of six. George was wounded in the attack at Bapaume and later died of illness aged 31.Public - Neve - Other relative - 6 March 2024 - Military personnel file, Family papers, My Poppa
- George Woolford was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Woolford, of Auckland.
About death
- Death
- 6 Jan 1919 AWMM
Age 31 AWMM - Date of death
- —
- Age at death
- —
- Place of death
- —
- Cause of death
- Died of Disease AWMM
- Death notes
- —
- Cemetery
- Brookwood Military Cemetery, Woking, Surrey, England AWMM II. G. 6. AWMM
- Cemetery name
- —
- Grave reference
- —
- Obituary
- —
- Memorial name
- —
- Memorial reference
- —
Memorial
- Memorial name
- Auckland War Memorial Museum, World War 1 Hall of Memories AWMM
Related objects
Sources
- External links
- Military personnel file
https://collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search/#/entity/aims-archive/R22022243
Further Reference - No 1 New Zealand General Hospital, Brockenhurst
http://southernlife.org.uk/nzindex.htm
Further Reference - A Street Near You record
https://astreetnearyou.org/person/399737/-
Further Reference - Commonwealth War Graves Commission Casualty record
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/399737
Further Reference
- Military personnel file
- References
- New Zealand Army Expeditionary Force. (1918). Nominal Rolls of New Zealand Expeditionary Force Volume III. Wellington, N.Z.: Govt. Printer.
60: 13 - Brookwood Military Cemetery, Woking, Surrey, England
Cemetery register no. 182707 - Beattie, P.J. & Pomeroy, M. (2013-2020). Onward : portraits of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (vols 1-5). Auckland, New Zealand: Fair Dinkum Publications
Vol. 3: Includes portrait - Information kindly provided by family
- Roll of Honour, Auckland Province (digital copy), 1914 - 1919. Auckland War Memorial Museum Library. MS-2016-2.
- Ferguson, David (1921). The history of the Canterbury Regiment, N.Z.E.F. 1914-1919. Whitcombe and Tombs Ltd: Auckland, N.Z.
- HMNZT 82 - The Pakeha (Mark III) : being the journal of the Left Wing of the 24th New Zealand Reinforcements. Burge, W.R. (William Ralph), editor. -- At sea : Officers and men, 24th Reinforcements : 1917
- New Zealand Army Expeditionary Force. (1918). Nominal Rolls of New Zealand Expeditionary Force Volume III. Wellington, N.Z.: Govt. Printer.
The development of the Online Cenotaph is an ongoing process; updates, new images and records are added weekly. In some cases, records have yet to be confirmed by Museum staff, and there could be mistakes or omissions in the information provided.
Online Cenotaph Data by Auckland War Memorial Museum is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.