MULHOLLAND, George
(Service number 3/1623)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 20/06/1889 | Place of Birth | Queenstown |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 11 October 1915 | Age | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Midhusrt | ||
| Occupation | Railway employee | ||
| Previous Military Experience | Queenstown Volunteers (12 months) - before leaving district | ||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | W. Mulholland (father), Henry Street, Queenstown | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 11th Reinforcements, New Zealand Medical Corps, New Zealand General Hospital | ||
| Date | 1 April 1916 | ||
| Transport | HMNZT 49 Tahiti | ||
| Embarked From | Wellington, New Zealand | Destination | Suez, Egypt |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | |||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | Egyptian Expeditionary Force, 1916; Western European, 1916-1918 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | British War Medal; Victory Medal | ||
Award Circumstances and Date
No information
Prisoner of War Information
| Date of Capture | |
|---|---|
| Where Captured and by Whom | |
| Actions Prior to Capture | |
| PoW Serial Number | |
| PoW Camps | |
| Days Interned | |
| Liberation Date |
Death
| Date | 24 April 1966 | Age | 96 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Timaru Public Hospital | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Timaru Cemetery | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
George, born in Queenstown, was the son of William Mulholland, a gold miner, and Mary Jane (nee Prior).
George enlisted for service in Ocotber 1915, joining the New Zealand Medical Corps. He shipped out of New Zealand in April 1916 on the HMNZT Tahiti for Suez, where he arrived in early May. At the end of the month he emarked for the Western Front from Alexandria, where he ultimately joined the NZ Field Ambulance NZFA) in France on 12 June. At the very start of August the NZFA was detached to join the NZ Rifle Brigade that was about to join the offensive at the Somme. On 19 August George was brifly admitte to No.50 Casualty Clearing Station (CCS) for less than a day, before returnign to his unit.
On 20 August 1917 George was detached to England on leave. The next day, while still in France on his way to England, George's wrist was injured. He reported that a passing train blew back a car door onto his wrist. As there was no military authority on the train he was taking, he only reported it on arrival in London. He was admitted to No.2 General Hospita; at Walton-on-Thames. Six days later he was transferred to the NZ Convalescent Hospital at Hornchurch. He was finally discharged for a period of leave on 12 October, before rejoining the NZFA in the fireld on 27 October 1917.
George's next recorded period of leave was from 24 September to 13 October 1918, his last before the war ended Isoon after). He embarked on 1 April 1919 for his return to New Zealand on the Paparoa, disembarking on the 24 May 1919 at Wellington.George was discharged in June 1919 - no longer fit for service. A medical Board, held just before his discharge, reveals that George suffered eczema from hands to wrist that had become infected, accounting for his time being hospitalised. It found that the pre-existing issue had been aggrivated by active service.
Soon after returning from the war George married Alice Maude Bryant in 1919 at Ashburton, when he was aged 30.
Funeral director's records, recieved by online SCRoll submission, note George's occupation (Engine driver), date and place of death, plus hi usual address - 54 Preston Street. It also listed his mother and father's name, his father's occupation, George's place of birth, and his marriage details. He left behind his wife, who died in 1978, and three sons, aged 45, 33, and 31.
Sources
SCRoll web submission by T Brosnahan, 27 May 2022; Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [30 May 2022]; Military Personnel file, Archives New Zealand R21378394 [30 May 2022]; Timaru Distrcit Council Cemetery records at https://www.timaru.govt.nz/services/community-and-culture/cemeteries/cemetery-search [30 May 2022]; BDM Historical Records at https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/ [30 May 2022]
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Researched and Written by
Tony Rippin, South Canterbury Museum
Currently Assigned to
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Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.
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