OGILVIE, George Silvester (1898-1935)
OGILVIE, George Silvester (1898-1935)
George Silvester Ogilvy was born on 4 May 1898, the son of James Fordyce Ogilvie and Lilian Mary nee Silvester.
He was a day student at Geelong College, enrolling on 10 February 1913 with an entry address of Flaxbourne, Moriac, Victoria. He left in October 1914. The enrolment record in listing his previous school had a comment: 'From SSs but many interrruptions.'
After leaving College he was employed as a Commonwealth Bank Clerk. He served in the 29th Light Horse (Militia) before enlisting (No 16193) during World War I in the AIF on 2 November 1917. He embarked for France on HMAT A54 Runic on 22 March 1918 with the 4th Australian Motor Transport Company.
The Geelong Advertiser of 10 August 1918 reported him having a narrow escape, when his ship was torpedoed:
'I was sleeping up near the funnel, and about 2.30 in the morning I woke up on hearing a dull explosion, followed by three double blasts of our escort’s siren. About fifteen minutes afterwards the _ blew one blast and our ship blew two. Something made me get up, and just as I did I saw the _ almost on top of us, so I threw myself flat down on the deck just in time, as there was a great bump that heeled us right over, just as I got down flat. Of course the alarm went, and we all went to our respective boats and rafts, but after a time they dismissed us to go back to rest, as the bump the _ gave us was above the waterline. It appears that a U-boat torpedoed the M _ (that was the noise that woke me up), and then submerged and came up between the _ and us. The _ saw the submarine, and tried to ram it, but the submarine was too quick, and got away, and before the _ could swing round to her original course she bumped us. I can tell you it was a close call to a cold bath, but thank goodness it was not far from Beachy Head. Two of the six destroyers that were escorting us chased the U-boat, and we heard that they got it in the end. About 10 o’clock that morning we saw Folkestone, and a little later the historic chalk cliffs of Dover. I went along to the Records Office just now to see if Waddy had arrived in England yet, but found he hadn’t. Just as I was coming out of the door a chap tapped me on the shoulder, and asked me if I was from Geelong. He turned out to be young Grant, from East Geelong, and remembered me well. I remember his face: he used to work down at Dennys. We had a great chat about things, and I am to see him again on Sunday. He has been to France, and has a staff job here in the Records Office. On my way back to this ward I met two chaps I knew in Broadmeadows when I was in the 10th of 57th. One of them is Doctor McPhee’s¹ brother², and used to go to the College, and just as I left them Lieutenant Kelly came over and spoke to me. He was my OC in Broadmeadows that time I got ptomaine poisoning.'
Private Ogilvie transferred to 10th Reinforcement Group, 57 Battalion, but was wounded in France, and evacuated to England on HMAT A69 Warilda, a hospital ship of 7784 tons built in 1912, ‘with accommodation of three classes of passengers on a most lavish scale’ by the Adelaide Steamship Company Ltd. She was built for the East-West Australian coastal trade, however in 1915 she became a troopship and in 1916 a hospital ship for the Admiralty and was used on the Southampton - Le Havre route. On 3 August 1918, while on a voyage from Havre she was torpedoed by the enemy submarine, UC49, whilst returning from France with 700 wounded. She sank within two hours, of 801 on board, 123 lives lost. No less than 70,000 troops had been carried by the Warilda, Captain Sim being awarded an OBE for his services, ‘the dastardly act on the part of the enemy cannot be forgotten’. Private Ogilvie returned to Australia, embarking on 23 June 1919 on HMT Orita.
He died on the 6 September 1935 aged 37 and was buried in Geelong Eastern Cemetery.
¹Major Robert George McPhee, Australian Army Medical Corps, embarked on 2nd May 1916, served with 10th Field Ambulance, then 3rd Div. Engineers HQ, Mentioned in Despatches on 7th April 1918.
²Private Stanley Charles McPhee, 3741, 57 Battalion, later killed at Harbonnieres on 8 August 1918, Der Scwhartze Tag, as it came to be known by the Germans. He is buried at Heath Cemetery, Harbonnieres - Grave II.E.17.
George Silvester Ogilvy was born on 4 May 1898, the son of James Fordyce Ogilvie and Lilian Mary nee Silvester.
He was a day student at Geelong College, enrolling on 10 February 1913 with an entry address of Flaxbourne, Moriac, Victoria. He left in October 1914. The enrolment record in listing his previous school had a comment: 'From SSs but many interrruptions.'
After leaving College he was employed as a Commonwealth Bank Clerk. He served in the 29th Light Horse (Militia) before enlisting (No 16193) during World War I in the AIF on 2 November 1917. He embarked for France on HMAT A54 Runic on 22 March 1918 with the 4th Australian Motor Transport Company.
The Geelong Advertiser of 10 August 1918 reported him having a narrow escape, when his ship was torpedoed:
'I was sleeping up near the funnel, and about 2.30 in the morning I woke up on hearing a dull explosion, followed by three double blasts of our escort’s siren. About fifteen minutes afterwards the _ blew one blast and our ship blew two. Something made me get up, and just as I did I saw the _ almost on top of us, so I threw myself flat down on the deck just in time, as there was a great bump that heeled us right over, just as I got down flat. Of course the alarm went, and we all went to our respective boats and rafts, but after a time they dismissed us to go back to rest, as the bump the _ gave us was above the waterline. It appears that a U-boat torpedoed the M _ (that was the noise that woke me up), and then submerged and came up between the _ and us. The _ saw the submarine, and tried to ram it, but the submarine was too quick, and got away, and before the _ could swing round to her original course she bumped us. I can tell you it was a close call to a cold bath, but thank goodness it was not far from Beachy Head. Two of the six destroyers that were escorting us chased the U-boat, and we heard that they got it in the end. About 10 o’clock that morning we saw Folkestone, and a little later the historic chalk cliffs of Dover. I went along to the Records Office just now to see if Waddy had arrived in England yet, but found he hadn’t. Just as I was coming out of the door a chap tapped me on the shoulder, and asked me if I was from Geelong. He turned out to be young Grant, from East Geelong, and remembered me well. I remember his face: he used to work down at Dennys. We had a great chat about things, and I am to see him again on Sunday. He has been to France, and has a staff job here in the Records Office. On my way back to this ward I met two chaps I knew in Broadmeadows when I was in the 10th of 57th. One of them is Doctor McPhee’s¹ brother², and used to go to the College, and just as I left them Lieutenant Kelly came over and spoke to me. He was my OC in Broadmeadows that time I got ptomaine poisoning.'
Private Ogilvie transferred to 10th Reinforcement Group, 57 Battalion, but was wounded in France, and evacuated to England on HMAT A69 Warilda, a hospital ship of 7784 tons built in 1912, ‘with accommodation of three classes of passengers on a most lavish scale’ by the Adelaide Steamship Company Ltd. She was built for the East-West Australian coastal trade, however in 1915 she became a troopship and in 1916 a hospital ship for the Admiralty and was used on the Southampton - Le Havre route. On 3 August 1918, while on a voyage from Havre she was torpedoed by the enemy submarine, UC49, whilst returning from France with 700 wounded. She sank within two hours, of 801 on board, 123 lives lost. No less than 70,000 troops had been carried by the Warilda, Captain Sim being awarded an OBE for his services, ‘the dastardly act on the part of the enemy cannot be forgotten’. Private Ogilvie returned to Australia, embarking on 23 June 1919 on HMT Orita.
He died on the 6 September 1935 aged 37 and was buried in Geelong Eastern Cemetery.
¹Major Robert George McPhee, Australian Army Medical Corps, embarked on 2nd May 1916, served with 10th Field Ambulance, then 3rd Div. Engineers HQ, Mentioned in Despatches on 7th April 1918.
²Private Stanley Charles McPhee, 3741, 57 Battalion, later killed at Harbonnieres on 8 August 1918, Der Scwhartze Tag, as it came to be known by the Germans. He is buried at Heath Cemetery, Harbonnieres - Grave II.E.17.
Source
Based on an edited extract from Geelong Collegians at the Great War compiled by James Affleck. p 278-79 (citing Pegasus; National Archives).