MR TAYLOR I PRESUME?
George Frederick Taylor - 53rd Battalion

Born in Broken Hill in 1895, George Frederick Taylor enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in Liverpool on the 3 rd of February 1915 under the alias Arthur Mansfield. Currently finding employment as a machine driller there is no evidence as to why he enlisted under the assumed name.

After being made a Lance Corporal he embarked for the Middle East on the 12 th of May 1915 as part of the 17 th battalion, onboard the Transport ship Themistocles . After arriving in Alexandria he went to camp at Heliopolis before undertaking operations at Gallipoli in the defence of Quinn's Post, where he was wounded in action on the 4 th of December 1915 .

After returning to duty a few days later he returned to Egypt and went to camp at Tel-El-Kebir, where he was made a Sergeant before transferring to the 53rd infantry battalion and embarking with them for France on the 19 th of June. Once in France he was made Acting Company Sergeant Major before taking part in the allied attacks on Fromelles. During the attacks he was wounded with a gun shot to the shoulder and was evacuated to the UK on board the hospital ship Saint David .

After spending most of 1917 recuperating and as a part of the 14 th training battalion he returned to France in early 1918, rejoining the 53 rd and undertaking operations including those at Ancre and Villers-Bretonneaux before being wounded in action for a third time with shrapnel entering his left thigh in July 1918. Once again he was evacuated to England where upon he took the transport ship Ascanius back to Australia , being discharged in Melbourne in June 1919.

In October 1940, during the Second World War (by which time he had married and was living in Five Dock, Sydney) he enlisted in the Australian Military Forces and was sent to the Special Training School as a Lance Sergeant. Taylor then moved between infantry training battalions and depots before being discharged as medically unfit due to hyperpiesia in July 1944.

George Frederick Taylor passed away in 1953.

Research notes:

1) George's father's name was also George Frederick Taylor. His mother is not listed on his birth certificate.

2) George is still identified as Arthur Mansfield on the AWM Embarkation Roll.

3) George's father brought the matter to the attention of the army who proceeded to update records after he produced evidence proving his son's identity.

Photos:

1) Detail of George Frederick Taylor.

2) Group shot of men in camp in Australia, Taylor is front row on the right.