| Regimental number | 1957 |
| Place of birth | Talbot, Victoria |
| School | Caralulup State School, Victoria |
| Religion | Presbyterian |
| Occupation | Labourer |
| Address | Talbot, Victoria |
| Marital status | Single |
| Age at embarkation | 24 |
| Height | 5' 6.5" |
| Weight | 143 lbs |
| Next of kin | Father, William Wouda, Talbot, Victoria |
| Previous military service | Served for 2 years in the 9th Light Horse Regiment, Citizen Military Forces. |
| Enlistment date | |
| Place of enlistment | Bendigo, Victoria |
| Rank on enlistment | Private |
| Unit name | 38th Battalion, 2nd Reinforcement |
| AWM Embarkation Roll number | 23/55/2 |
| Embarkation details | Unit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board RMS Orontes on |
| Rank from Nominal Roll | Private |
| Unit from Nominal Roll | 38th Battalion |
| Fate | Killed in Action |
| Age at death from cemetery records | 25 |
| Place of burial | Bedford House Cemetery (Enclosure 6, Plot IV, Row B, Grave No 19), Zillebeke, Belgium |
| Panel number, Roll of Honour, Australian War Memorial | 130 |
| Miscellaneous information from cemetery records | Commemorated on Caralulup State School Roll of Honor ('In Honor of the Pupils of the Caralulpup State School who served the Empire in the Great War'), Victoria. Parents: William and Jane WOUDA |
| Other details |
War service: Western Front Embarked Melbourne, 16 August 1916; disembarked Plymouth, England, 2 October 1916. Transferred to 8th Training Bn, 14 October 1916. Proceeded overseas to France, 22 November 1916 Killed in action, 7-9 June 1917. 10.10.19.'Note, Red Cross File No 3000907J: 'No trace Germany. Cert. by Capt. Mills.' Statement, 5972 Sergeant R.B. BRANCH, C Company, 38th Bn, 23 November 1917: 'He was killed on the morning of the 7.6.17 at 5 o'clock by a machine gun. Three or more bullets penetrating his body from under right arm. The unfortunate event happened in the advance of Messines the last time I saw his body it was lying where shot. 100 yards right of Bethlehem Farm.' Second statement, 2598 Pte S.G. MARTIN, C Company, 38th Bn (patient, 3rd Australian Auxiliary Hospital, Dartford, England), 26 November 1917: 'I saw him killed at Messines. He was shot through the head and killed instantly ... We held the ground, but I not know place of burial ... He was sure to have been buried at place of casualty.' Medals: British War Medal, Victory Medal Mother originally submitted an inscription for his headstone: 'Foremost was he in thickest fight/For King and Country he laid down his life. Dearly loved a sadly missed.' On being informed that the maximum length was 60 letters, including spaces, she advised Defence, 28 March 1922, to delete all but the final sentence. His grave could not be located, and he was originally listed on Panel 25 on the Menin Gate Memorial. However, in 1939, as a result of exhumation work around Zonnebeke, the Imperial War Graves Commission located his grave, and his remains were reinterred in Bedford House Cemetery, and his identity disc was returned to his mother, with the note: 'This memento, though now greatly impaired through long exposure will doubtless be valued on account of its former intimate association with your son ...' |
| Sources | NAA: B2455, WOUDA George
Red Cross File No 3000907J |
Postal Address:
Po Box 7916
Canberra BC 2610, Australia
Street Address:
Northcott Drive,
Campbell, ACT 2600
