George was born in 1894 in Talbot, Victoria, Australia, the sixth of 8 children born to Edward and Phoebe Fenwick (nee Hopper). Before joining up he was working as a bricklayer.
He joined the Australian Infantry on 18 August 1914, aged 20 years old. His Attestation Papers tell us he was 5ft 8 and a quarter inches tall and weighed 9st 6lbs. He had brown hair and grey eyes and was of a fair complexion.
George embarked for Military service from Melbourne on 19 October 1914 on board the HMAT Benalla (Lyle Hopper was also on board).
19 October 1914: Men of the 2nd Australian Infantry Brigade walking down the Port Melbourne pier to embark on HMAT Benalla (A24) (right), and HMAT Hororata (A20) (left), for service overseas. Australian War Memorial ID number C02793 retrieved from http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C02793/
He was promoted to Lance Corporal on 26 February 1916. Five months and two days later he was killed in action in France (“In The Field”).
The Service Records also reveal that after his death the personal effects returned to his parents consisted of 2 scarves, a writing pad and an English/Italian dictionary.
