George Cartwright, (9 December 1894 – 2 February 1978) was a British-born Australian recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

forces. He was one of 64 Australians to receive the award for their actions during the First World War, performing the deeds that led to his award in September 1918 during the

Battle of Mont Saint-Quentin The Battle of Mont Saint-Quentin was a battle on the Western Front during World War I. As part of the Allied Hundred Days Offensive on the Western Front in the late summer of 1918, the Australian Corps crossed the Somme River on the night of ...

while serving with Australian Imperial Force on the Western Front. After the war, Cartwright returned to Australia and worked as a mechanic. He continued to serve in the military part-time, returning to full-time service during the Second World War, undertaking a training role in Australia. He was demobilised in 1946, and returned to civilian life. He died at the age of 83.

Early life

Cartwright was born in

South Kensington South Kensington is a district at the West End of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with the advent of the ra ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, on 9 December 1894 to William Edward Cartwright, a coach trimmer, and his wife Elizabeth (née Stracey). He attended the local school, before emigrating to Australia in 1912 at the age of eighteen without his family. Settling in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Cartwright gained employment at a sheep station in the Elsmore district as a labourer.

First World War

On 9 December 1915—his 21st birthday—Cartwright enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force for service during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Allotted to the newly raised 33rd Battalion—an infantry battalion raised in New South Wales—as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

, he embarked aboard HMAT ''Marathon'' at

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

on 4 May 1916. Disembarking at Devonport,

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, two months later, the members of the 33rd Battalion spent the following four months training at Larkhill Camp on

Salisbury Plain Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies within the county of Wiltshire, but st ...

. After the 3rd Division, to which the 33rd Battalion was assigned, deployed to the Western Front in November 1916, Cartwright served with them through the Battle of Messines where he was wounded in June 1917. Later, in April 1918, he was wounded again when the 33rd Battalion's position was attacked with gas while holding a position around

Villers-Bretonneux Villers-Bretonneux () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Villers-Bretonneux is situated some 19 km due east of Amiens, on the D1029 road and the A29 motorway. Villers-Bretonneux borde ...

. He was briefly hospitalised but returned to duty in June. In August, the Allies launched the

Hundred Days Offensive The Hundred Days Offensive (8 August to 11 November 1918) was a series of massive Allied offensives that ended the First World War. Beginning with the Battle of Amiens (8–12 August) on the Western Front, the Allies pushed the Imperial Germa ...

around

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...

, which resulted in a series of advances as the Allies sought to break through the

Hindenburg Line The Hindenburg Line (, Siegfried Position) was a German Defense line, defensive position built during the winter of 1916–1917 on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in France during the First World War. The line ran from Arras to ...

. On 31 August 1918, at Road Wood, south-west of

Bouchavesnes Bouchavesnes-Bergen (; ) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography The commune is situated on the junction of the D149 and the N17 roads, some northwest of Saint-Quentin. Population Foch Monument ...

, near Peronne,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, when two companies became held up by machine gun fire, Cartwright attacked the gun alone under intense fire. He shot three of the crew, and, having bombed the post, captured the gun and nine enemy soldiers. For his actions he was recommended for the Victoria Cross. On 30 September 1918 he was wounded and evacuated to England. Cartwright was conferred with his VC by King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

, and at the end of the war Cartwright was repatriated to Australia, arriving in March 1919 and as the AIF was demobilised, he was discharged on 16 May 1919. For his war service he received the following medals: the Victoria Cross, the

British War Medal The British War Medal is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom which was awarded to officers and men and women of British and Imperial forces for service in the First World War. Two versions of the medal were produced. About 6.5 million were st ...

and the Victory Medal.

Inter-war years and Second World War

During the inter-war years, Cartwright moved to Sydney, where he found work as a motor mechanic. He married Elsie Broker at St Stephen's Anglican Church, at

Chatswood, New South Wales Chatswood is a suburb in the Lower North Shore (Sydney), Lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, 10 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district. It is the administrative centre of the Local gove ...

, on 25 June 1921. They later had two children, but the marriage ended in divorce. He remained in the military, serving part-time in the

Militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

, posted to the 4th/3rd Battalion, eventually being commissioned as an

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

on 25 February 1932. Following the outbreak of the Second World War, Cartwright was mobilised for war service on 5 March 1940, serving in a training role in Australia. He was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in 1942, and served throughout the war. In addition to the decorations he received for his previous service, Cartwright also later received the

Efficiency Decoration The Efficiency Decoration, post-nominal letters TD for recipients serving in the Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial Army of the United Kingdom or ED for those serving in the British Colonial Auxiliary Forces, Auxiliary Military Forces, ...

and the

War Medal 1939–1945 The War Medal 1939–1945 is a campaign medal which was instituted by the United Kingdom on 16 August 1945, for award to citizens of the British Commonwealth who had served full-time in the Armed Forces or the Merchant Navy for at least 28 days ...

Later life

After the war, Cartwright was demobilised in May 1946. He later worked as an assistant-cashier and in 1948 remarried, exchanging nuptials with Evelyn Mary Short on 4 September 1948 in the Congregational Church, at Pitt Street in Sydney. During his later life, he attended several functions held in London for Victoria Cross and George Cross recipients. He died at the age of 84 on 2 February 1978, at

Gordon, New South Wales Gordon is a suburb on the Upper North Shore (Sydney), Upper North Shore of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia north-west of the Sydney Central Business District and is the administrative centre for the Local government in Austral ...

; his wife and one of his children survived him. He was cremated and his Victoria Cross and other decorations were later donated by his widow to the

Imperial War Museum The Imperial War Museum (IWM), currently branded "Imperial War Museums", is a British national museum. It is headquartered in London, with five branches in England. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, it was intended to record the civ ...

in London, where they are currently held. Cartwright is commemorated in the New South Wales Garden of Remembrance, at Rookwood, and also at the Kurrajong Memorial in

Inverell, New South Wales Inverell is a large town in northern New South Wales, Australia, situated on the Macintyre River, close to the Queensland border. It is also the centre of Inverell Shire. Inverell is located on the Gwydir Highway on the western slopes of the ...

, which was unveiled in 2005 in honour of the 114 men from the town who enlisted in January 1916.

References

Bibliography