240306 Pte. George Edward Richings Australian Imperial Force 8th Battalion from:Waverley St., Richmond, Victoria, Australia George Richings was my grandfather, and my mother was the sixth of his seven children. He worked as a winchman labourer when he enlisted on 11 October 1916 at Melbourne, when he was 42 years of age.
On 19th of February 1917 he embarked on HMAT Ballarat. The troopship was torpedoed by a German submarine as it entered the English Channel but all 1725 souls on board were rescued. The ship sank off The Lizard at the southern tip of Cornwall.
By 16th of September 1917 George was a patient at the Fargo Military Hospital, suffering from lumbago, and was discarged to the 2nd Trig Depot at Weymouth ten days later. On 8th of November 1917 he was returned to Australia on HMAT A68 for discharge, due to suffering from chronic rheumatism, and on 5th of February 1918 he received his discharge certificate from the Australian Imperial Force.
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