Birth

Enlistment Information

Military Service

Embarkation Information

Military Awards

Death

Biographical Notes

George was born at Hindon, Otago, on 26 October 1891, the second son of George & Bridget Lovell. He received his education at Sutton, George Street Dunedin and Otago Boys High School, where he was a member of the school cadets.

At the outbreak of war, George was working as a clerk, for Guiness & Le Cren of Waimate, and enlisted on 13 August 1914. He was described as being single, aged 22, 5 foot 4 inches tall, weighing 126 lbs, chest 33 inches, of fair complexion, grey eyes, lt brown hair, having good teeth and of the Roman Catholic faith. He gave his father, Mr George Lovell, of 23 Normanby Street, Musselburgh, Dunedin, as his next of kin. Joining the 2nd Company, Canterbury Infantry Battalion, he left for Suez, Egypt, on 16 October 1914 from Lyttelton, aboard either the SS Tahiti or Athenic.

At Alexandra on 15 May 1915, he was transferred to NZ Base Records and, on 9 April 1916, sent to France with the NZ Records Section. He was transferred again on 15 May 1917 to NZ Section GHQ (General headquarters), 3rd Echelon, where he was awarded on 30 June 1917 with a Meritorious Service Certificate by the General Officer Commanding, General Sir Douglas Haig. This was upgraded in the New Years Honours of 1 January 1918, to a Meritorious Service Medal for valuable service in the field. On 18 November 1918, again by General Sir Douglas Haig, he was specially mentioned in despatches to London. On 15 December 1918, George was promoted to Second Lieutenant and seconded to the New Zealand Expeditionary Force Records Office. In the meantime, between military duties, George found time to court and wed on 16 April 1918, Miss Marthe Elise Leontine Have (a spinster), in the Town Hall, Rouen. The ceremony was performed by the Mayor, T Basili. His next of kin was then noted as Mrs M.E. Lovell, 5 Oxford Terrace, Hyde Park. London. George took his discharge in London on 11 September 1919. As well as his Meritorious Service Medal and Mention in Despatches, George was awarded the 1914-1915 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal.

George appears, with his wife, on the 1919 Electoral Roll as a clerk of Waimate. The couple went on to have twqo children: Marcel G L Lovell, born on 1 January 1919 in London, and Ronald H W Lovell, born in Brentford, England. In August 1922, he, his wife, and child, from Waimate, appear on the shipping list of the SS Ruapehu, bound for London. In July 1923, he is down on his army personal file as living at 1 Rua Traversiere, Le Perreux, Seine, France and he appears again with his wife in the 1936 English Electoral Roll at 14 West Hatch Manor, Hillington, Uxbridge. In 1937 the family moved to Jersey for George to 'recuperate from a serious illness'. George had been working in England for an accounting firm, but he made a home on the island, joining the Jersey General Investment Trust as an accountant. He served the company through the occupation of the island in World War Two, and afterward, in 1946, became a director, working as the investment manager until retiring in 1967. He was also a keen and able golfer.

Following his death in 1975 he was described as "one of the most likeable of men ... of the highest integrity, of a quiet diposition and a true friend". He was buried at Montrose, St Brelade, Jersey.

Sources

Auckland Museum Cenotaph database (June 2015); ancentry.com.au; Archives NZ (Personnel File); NZSG Index V5; Papers Past; SCROll web submission by T Lovell, 4 January 2020

External Links

• Military personnel file
• Other military personnel file

Related Documents

• George Lovell - death notice (Courtesy of T Lovell) (pdf, 8.1 MB updated 08-Jan-2020)

Researched and Written by

Ted Hansen (SC branch NZSG)

Currently Assigned to

Not assigned.