Upon enlistment George gave his name as George Smith. His occupation and marital status upon enlistment were detailed as a labourer, who was single.
- Date of Birth – 10 December 1869 in Araluen.1NSW Birth Death and Marriages, https://familyhistory.bdm.nsw.gov.au/ Birth – 7428/1870 Parents William and Ellen, registered in Braidwood Accessed 12 July 2026.
- Parents – William Greenwood and Helen Ellen Summers.
- Enlisted – 3 July 1915, Liverpool, New South Wales. Unit embarked from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT A54 Runic on 9 August 19152University of NSW AIF project https://aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=279453 Accessed 12 July 2026
- Regimental Number– 2667 3National Archives of Australia.https://www.naa.gov.au/. NAA: B2455, Smith G, Item ID– 1776827, Accessed 12 June 2026 and Karen Nelson, Marching Home to Braidwood. Braidwood RSL. UPS, Ulladulla, NSW. 2016. p 149
- Aged at embarkation – George gave his age at embarkation as 42 years and 7 months, but was actually 45.4Australian War Memorial https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1633271 Accessed 12 July 2026
- Military service – 53rd Infantry Battalion, Rank – Private5Virtual War Memorial Australia, https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/104706 Accessed 12 July 2026
- Served at Gallipoli, Egypt, and the Western Front, George was awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, and the Victory Medal. 6Fromelles Association of Australia https://fromelles.info/soldiers/2667-private-george-greenwood-smith/ Accessed 12 July 2026
- Killed in action 19 July 1916 Fromelles, France, aged 46 years7Find a Grave.com. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/55965282/george-greenwood Accessed 12 July 2026. George Greenwood’s name is located at panel 157 in the Commemorative Area at the Australian War Memorial Campbell ACT
- Commemorated at the V.C. Corner, Australian Cemetery and Memorial at Fromelles, Lille, Nord Pas de Calais, France 8Commonwealth War graves.https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/721149/george-greenwood/ Accessed 12 July 2026
George Greenwood enlisted and served under the name of George Smith. The name may have been an effort to avoid scrutiny due to his age, as he was 45 at the time of enlistment, and well above the usual enlistment age. His next of kin upon enlistment was given as his sister Mrs Elizabeth Bruce. Elizabeth Ellen Greenwood (1865-1959) who married Charles Bruce in 1891.
George’s great grandfather James Greenwood (1778-1831) and Ann Gardner (1780-1850) married in 1801 in Newgate, England. They arrived in NSW on the ship Friends in 1811, as free settlers. James and Ann had three children; John (1805-1872), James (1807-1884) and William (1812-1867). William was a ‘Currency Lad’ having been born in Australia, whereas John and James, born in England, were ‘Sterling’ Lads. William spent many years in Araluen. He opened the second pub at Bells Creek in 1852, and in 1860-1864 he was the lessee of the public house located at Crown Flat, Araluen, called the Currency Lad.
George’s father William was the third son of John Greenwood (1805-1872) and Mary Ann Pickering (1818-1889). William (1838- 1891) married Helen Ellen Summers (1844-1923) in 1863 and they had eleven children. George was their fourth child and second son. William’s probate notice details he was a gold miner in Araluen in July 1891.9New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832-1900) Tuesday 28 July 1891 [Issue No.482] p 5873 PROBATE JURISDICTION.
After his enlistment in July 1915, George embarked from Sydney on 9 August 1915. After arrival in the Middle East, George was sent forward to Gallipoli, landing there in October 1915 during the final phase of that campaign. His brief service on the peninsula placed him among the last reinforcements to experience the conditions of the Dardanelles. Following the evacuation of Gallipoli in December 1915, George was returned to Egypt with the rest of the AIF.
On 8 July 1916, the 53rd Battalion began a 30-kilometre march northward toward Fleurbaix in northern France. The Battle of Fromelles took place in France between the Allied-occupied village of Fleurbaix and the German-occupied village of Fromelles, which formed part of the Somme front. A bombardment of German positions started at 11:00 am on 19 July 1916 before the infantry assault started at around 5:30 pm. While most surviving Allied troops had withdrawn by around 7:50 am on 20 July 1916, the Germans had captured the last troops by 9:20 am. Of more than 5,500 Australian casualties, almost 2,000 were killed in action or died from their wounds and over 400 were captured. It is believed to be the largest loss by a single division in 24 hours in all of World War I.10Department of Veterans’ Affairs. https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-missions/ww1/where-australians-served/western-front/battle-of-fromelles Accessed 13 July 2026 At 46 years old, George Greenwood is one of the oldest known Australians to die at Fromelles.
In July 1918 the Sydney Morning Herald11The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842-1954) Saturday 20 July 1918 p 11 Family Notices published ‘GREENWOOD. —In loving remembrance of Private George Greenwood (late of Araluen), who was killed in action in France, July 19, 1916. Loving remembrance will last forever. Inserted by his loving mother, Ellen Greenwood, and sister, Elizabeth Bruce.’