George Dyer (SN 1811) born in Ballarat, was a married 37 year old labourer when he enlisted in Ballarat on March 6th 1916. With the 39th Infantry Battalion, he embarked from Melbourne aboard the Orontes on August 16th and sailed to England. After a short period of training, he moved to France in November. In July 1917 he suffered multiple shrapnel wounds and was evacuated to hospital in England. It wasn’t until September 1918 that he returned to France, now attached to the 3rd Machine Gun Battalion, but just two weeks later he was gassed and suffered a gunshot wound to his hand. He was again hospitalised in England where it was found that the gas poisoning was affecting his breathing and neurasthenia was diagnosed. He was returned to Australia aboard the Somali, disembarked at Melbourne on February 8th 1919 and was discharged medically unfit on March 22nd. He died in January 1923, his death attributed to gas poisoning.

Lucas’s Staffs Appreciation of Brave Men, the original Avenue register, records his name as George Dwyer.