George SEAMAN
Per his military service record (regimental no. 4929), George Seaman was born at Bathurst, N.S.W.[1] He gave his age as 28 years and 8 months, his marital status as single, and his occupation as bootmaker. His description on his Certificate of Medical Examination was 5 feet 5 inches tall, weight 9 stone, with a fair complexion, blue eyes, and fair hair. His religious denomination was Church of England. He claimed to have He claimed that he had no previous military service. He stated that he had been rejected by the A.I.F. previously for being too short.
He was attested by Captain A. C. Eade at Bathurst on 28th October 1915. He joined the Coo-ees at Bathurst.[2] He did not complete his medical examination until 13th November 1915 at Liverpool.
After completing the Coo-ee March he went into Liverpool Camp as reinforcement for the 13th Battalion.
On 14th January 1916 Private Seaman was charged with being absent without leave from the Liverpool Camp for six days. He was fined 30 shillings.
On 7th February 1916 he was charged with being absent without leave from the Liverpool Camp for one day. He was fined 5 shillings.
On his embarkation roll Private Seaman’s address at time of enrolment was Brilliant Road, South Bathurst, N.S.W., and his next of kin is listed as his mother, Mrs. E. [Eliza] Ingram, at the same address.
On 8th March 1916 Private Seaman, along with many of the other Coo-ees, departed Sydney on the HMAT A15 Star of England, as15th reinforcements for the 13th Battalion. He arrived in Egypt on 11th April 1916.
On 19th April 1916 Private Seaman was transferred to the 45th Battalion in Egypt.
On 2nd June 1916 Private Seaman left Alexandria aboard the transport Kinfauns Castle bound for France. He arrived at Marseilles on 8th June 1916.
On 4th July 1916 the 45th Battalion was at Sailly-Sur-Lys preparing to move into the trenches for the first time, when Private Seaman was evacuated to the 12th Australian Field Ambulance suffering from Enteritis. On 7th July 1916 he was sent to the 4th Division Rest Station. He rejoined the 45th Battalion on 9th July 1916.
A month later, on 8th August 1916 the 45th Battalion was in the front line trenches between Pozieres and Martinpuich, France, when Private Seaman was evacuated with shell shock. On 10th August 1916 he was transferred from the 44th Casualty Clearing Station by ambulance train to the 14th Stationary Hospital at Boulogne, France.
The Bathurst Times reported that Private George Seaman ‘… took part in the battle of Pozieres and was buried by earth disturbed by a bomb … and he was taken to the casualty station and subsequently sent over the England …’[3]
On 12th September 1916 Private Seaman was placed aboard the Hospital Ship Newhaven for evacuation to England with debility after shell shock. He was admitted to the War Hospital at Reading, England, on the same day.
On 16th October 1916 Private Seaman was discharged from hospital and granted leave in London until 31st October 1916 to report to the No. 1 Command Depot at Perham Downs, England.
On 2nd November 1916 he marched into No. 1 Command Depot at Perham Downs, with classification B1A [fit for light duty].
On 23rd March 1917 Private Seaman was transferred to the 61st Battalion at Wareham, England.
On 23rd April 1917 Private Seaman was transferred to the No. 4 Command Depot at Wareham, England.
On 2nd May 1917 he was transferred to the No. 2 Command Depot at Weymouth, England.
Private Seaman departed England on 22nd July 1917 for return to Australia aboard the H.M.A.T. A71 Nestor with inguinal hernia.
He arrived in Australia on 25th September 1917. He was discharged medically unfit on 23rd October 1917.
[1] NAA: B2455, SEAMAN GEORGE
[2] ‘The Coo-ees’, The Bathurst Times, 10 October 1916, p. 4. Retrieved June 9, 2017, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article109934579
[3] ‘Soldiers return’, The Bathurst Times, 28 September 1917, p. 1. Retrieved June 9, 2017, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article111567652
1915 Coo-ee March 