George Mortlock
Stephen LearmonthGeorge was born on the 14th of January 1882 at Cooma in New South Wales. He was one of thirteen children born to John Thomas and Mary Ann (née Pegram) of Cooma. In 1910 George married Sarah Jane Pegram at St Paul’s Church of England in Cooma. They would have three children Ellen, Melva and Henry, although Melva passed away before reaching her first birthday. At some stage George and Sarah took their family and lived in the Bethanga area where George gained employment as a labourer.
George enlisted on the 10th of April 1917 at Wangaratta in Victoria. Between the 9th of May and 28th of May he was a Private in the Recruits Battalion at Broadmeadows Camp, just outside of Melbourne. On the 28th of May he was transferred to the Engineer reinforcements at Seymour and changed rank from a Private to a Sapper.
On the 11th of July he was admitted to the Queen’s Memorial Infectious Diseases Hospital at Fairfield, a suburb of Melbourne. Three days later he passed away, the diagnosis being meningitis. A note written by Colonel Hawker of the 3rd Military District stated that the cause of death was 1) cerebro-spinal fever and 2) lobar pneumonia.
George was buried at Bethanga cemetery. He is also remembered on the Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, and the Towong Shire Boer War and WW1 Memorial in the Memorial Hall in Tallangatta. For his service, his wife, Sarah, was sent a memorial plaque and scroll.