George Hamilton Lamb (1 January 1900 – 7 December 1943) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the states and territories of Australia, state lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the state upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament H ...

from 1935 until his death in 1943, representing the electorate of Lowan for the Country Party.

Early life and teaching career

George Hamilton Lamb and his twin sister Florence were born in

Epsom Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain ...

, a suburb of

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is an Australian city in north-central Victoria. The city is located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2022, Bendigo has a popula ...

, to William Edward Lamb (an auctioneer and schoolteacher) and his wife, Sarah Victoria Lamb (née Irwin), also a teacher. Lamb was educated at Stawell High School, and then graduated in arts and law from the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

in 1921. In 1923, he became the headmaster of the Preparatory

Geelong Grammar School Geelong Grammar School is a private Anglican co-educational boarding and day school. The school's main campus is located in Corio on the northern outskirts of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, overlooking Corio Bay and Limeburners Bay. Establ ...

where he stayed until 1927. He lectured in English at the

Gordon Institute of Technology The Gordon Institute of TAFE is the Technical and Further Education institute predominantly servicing the wider Geelong area. The Gordon opened in 1887 and celebrated 130 years of providing education in 2017. The Gordon provides education ...

from 1927 to 1931, and was then principal of Kyneton College from 1931 to 1933.Lamb, (George) Hamilton
''Re-Member'', Parliament of Victoria.

Political career

Lamb was elected to the

at the 1935 Victorian state election, representing the electorate of Lowan for the Country Party. In 1940, Lamb was one of four Country backbenchers who opposed their leader,

Premier of Victoria The premier of Victoria is the head of government of the state of Victoria in Australia. The premier leads the Cabinet of Victoria and selects its ministers. The premier is appointed by the governor of Victoria, must be a member of the Vic ...

Albert Dunstan Sir Albert Arthur Dunstan, KCMG (26 July 1882 – 14 April 1950) was an Australian politician who served as the 33rd premier of Victoria from 1935 to 1943 and from 1943 to 1945 and as the third deputy premier of Victoria for five days in ...

, in what was known as the Hocking dispute. Albert Hocking was a businessman and orchardist who was a powerful political organiser in the Country Party of Victoria. In 1935, Dunstan appointed Hocking as a commissioner of the

State Savings Bank of Victoria The State Bank of Victoria was an Australian bank that existed from 1842 until 1990 when it was taken over by the Commonwealth Bank. It was owned by the State of Victoria. History A government-controlled savings bank had been founded on 1 Janua ...

. In 1939, Hocking opposed the pre-selection of Dunstan's son, Arthur, leading to a bitter dispute between the two. Dunstan then used a questionable legal pretext to introduce legislation to force Hocking from his position in the State Bank.Costar, B. J.
'Hocking, Albert Edward (1885–1969)'
Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, accessed 28 April 2012. Lamb called Dunstan's action "a gross betrayal and political perfidy".

Military service

On 19 June 1940, during World War II, Lamb enlisted in the

Second Australian Imperial Force The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initial strength of one ...

, and was posted to the 2/2nd Pioneer Battalion. The battalion sailed for the Middle East in April 1941, where they engaged the forces of

Vichy France Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the Battle of France, ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. In early 1942, Lamb's battalion and several other units were returning to Australia on board the SS ''Orcades'', but once the ship landed at Batavia, they were ordered to defend

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

against Japanese forces which had begun to move through the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

. The Japanese landed on Java on 28 February, and were engaged at Leuwiliang by a combined American–British–Australian formation called "Black Force". On 8 March, the Dutch surrendered, and Black Force was ordered to surrender the next day.2/2nd Pioneer Battalion Webpage
2/2 Pioneer Battalion Association. Lamb, Tony
From Wimmera to War
Australasian Study of Parliaments Group in Victoria, 11 November 2009. Lamb was captured as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

and was sent to work on the

Burma Railway The Burma Railway, also known as the Siam–Burma Railway, Thai–Burma Railway and similar names, or as the Death Railway, is a railway between Ban Pong, Thailand, and Thanbyuzayat, Burma (now called Myanmar). It was built from 1940 to 1943 ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. Lamb was still listed as missing in action at time of the Victorian state election on 12 June 1943, however he was re-elected unopposed to the seat of Lowan.Hammy LAMB
''Fifty Australians'', Australian War Memorial. On 14 September, Lamb's twin sister received a letter from him stating that he was in "excellent health" and was being treated well by the Japanese. On 7 December 1943, Lamb died at the Japanese work camp 131 Kilo in Thailand, suffering from malaria, dysentery and malnutrition. Official notification of his death was not received in Australia until nearly nine months later on 1 September 1944. Lamb is buried at the

Thanbyuzayat Thanbyuzayat (; , "Reid, Robert and Grosberg, Michael (2005) ''Myanmar (Burma)'' (9th edition) Lonely Planet Publications, Footscray, Victoria, Australiapage 159 ) is a town in the Mon State of south-eastern Myanmar. It is the administrative cente ...

War Cemetery in Burma (Myanmar).LAMB, GEORGE HAMILTON
Commonwealth War Graves Commission. A memorial hall in Horsham was named the Hamilton Lamb Memorial Hall in his honour. Confirmation of Lamb's death triggered a by-election in the seat of Lowan, with the writ issued on 28 September 1944, and polling on 4 November.

Wilfred Mibus Johan Wilfred John "Mick" Mibus, known as Wilfred Mibus or Mick Mibus (14 September 1900 – 18 April 1964) was an Australian politician. He was a Country Party representative of the electoral district of Lowan (called Borung from 1945 to 195 ...

retained the seat for the Country Party.

Personal life and family

Lamb married Marie Christine Schultz on 16 April 1929. They had two sons, Winston and

Tony Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony the Tiger, cartoon mascot for Frosted Flakes cereal * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * ...

, and a daughter, Ainslie. Marie Lamb died in a private hospital in Melbourne after a long illness on 20 February 1941, aged 38. Lamb was serving in the AIF at the time of his wife's death, but was still stationed in Australia. His son,

Tony Lamb Antony Hamilton Lamb (born 7 March 1939) is a former Australian politician. He served in the House of Representatives from 1972 to 1975 and from 1984 to 1990, representing the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He was a pharmacist prior to entering ...

, would also go into politics, representing the federal seats of La Trobe (1972–1975) and Streeton (1984–1990) for the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lamb, Hamilton 1900 births 1943 deaths Australian schoolteachers Australian Army officers Australian prisoners of war Military personnel from Victoria (state) Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria Melbourne Law School alumni World War II prisoners of war held by Japan Australian military personnel killed in World War II Australian twins Burma Railway prisoners Australian Army personnel of World War II Missing in action of World War II