Service Number: 359
Unit: 2nd Battalion, C Company
Enlisted: 24/8/14
Embarked: 18/10/14
Date of Death: 25/4/15
Location of Death: Baby 700
His Story
George William White was born in Coburg, Victoria, in 1892, the son of Granville and Emily White. In 1901, the White family moved to Ryde when George’s father became the manager of the Meadowbank Manufacturing Works. Granville White had been instrumental in developing the tramway rolling stock division, one that brought many jobs to the Ryde district.
George grew up in Ryde, attending Ryde Public School and later Fort Street School. A bright and capable young man, he became a survey draftsman, but when war broke out, he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on the 18 August 1914, aged 22.
He joined the 2nd Battalion, C Company, which was part of the 1st Brigade of the Australian Imperial Force. After a brief training period in Egypt, George embarked for Gallipoli with his unit.
The 2nd Battalion was scheduled to land at Anzac Cove on 25 April 1915 as part of the third wave of the assault. The landing began in the early morning, but due to difficult conditions and heavy Turkish resistance, the subsequent waves were delayed and landed throughout the morning under increasingly intense fire.
By around 7:00 a.m., George and the rest of C Company were approaching the shore. The battalion’s unit diary records:
“The fire of the enemy was terrific, bullets and shrapnel fell like hail, and men were falling in all directions.”
(2nd Battalion Unit Diary, Page 3)
Despite the chaos, the men pushed up the steep slopes toward Plugge’s Plateau.
Fighting was fierce and chaotic. George, like many in the third wave, encountered difficult terrain, erratic commands, and enemy fire from entrenched positions above. The unit diary further states:
“The companies landed in disorder, and it was some time before they could be collected and reorganised. Casualties were heavy.”
(2nd Battalion Unit Diary, Page 3)
George William White was killed in action that day, likely during the push inland from the beachhead as the 2nd Battalion attempted to secure a foothold on the rugged ridges. His body was never recovered, and he is commemorated on the Lone Pine Memorial to the missing.
His family received the news with intense grief. George’s sacrifice is remembered not only as part of Australia’s national story, but also in the personal loss felt amongst the Ryde community; a reminder of the young lives, full of promise, cut short on foreign shores.