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DEY, George Roy McGregor
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(2nd Lieut) George Roy McGregor DEY
Second Leiut George Roy McGregor DEY was born at Winnininnie Station, Yunta, South Australia. He was educated at Largs Bay School, and St. Peter's College, Adelaide, and was a Bank's Clerk prior to enlistment on 15th June 1915. His unit 10th Battalion, 15th Reinforcement embarked from Adelaide, South Australia, on board RMS Mongolia on 9 March 1916 He was Killed in Action 23 August 1916 age 25.
George Dey spent six weeks in Egypt and then went to France. He was engaged in the Battle of Pozieres and in the attack on Mouquet Farm in August. During the latter battle, although Lieutenant Dey had not been well, and was advised by the medical officer not to go out, he insisted on taking his place and went over the top with his men, falling riddled by bullets a few yards from the trenches. His body was never recovered, and it is believed that he had been placed in a shell hole and treated by the AMC but while there was struck by a bomb and killed.
| Date of birth | 1/8/1891 |
| Place of birth | Yunta, South Australia |
| School | St Peter's College, Adelaide, South Australia |
| Religion | Church of England |
| Occupation | Bank clerk |
| Address | Goodwood Road, Clarence Park, South Australia |
| Marital status | Single |
| Age at embarkation | 25 |
| Height | 5' 11.5" |
| Weight | 145 lbs |
| Next of kin | Mr A McGregor Dey, Goodwood Road, Clarence Park, South Australia |
| Previous military service | Nil |
| Enlistment date | 6/30/1915 |
| Rank on enlistment | 2nd Lieutenant |
| Unit name | 10th Battalion, 15th Reinforcement |
| AWM Embarkation Roll number | 23/27/4 |
| Embarkation details | Unit embarked from Adelaide, South Australia, on board RMS Mongolia on 9 March 1916 |
| Rank from Nominal Roll | 2nd Lieutenant |
| Unit from Nominal Roll | 10th Battalion |
| Fate | Killed in Action 23 August 1916 |
| Age at death from cemetery records | 25 |
| Place of burial | No known grave |
| Commemoration details | Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, FranceVillers-Bretonneux is a village about 15 km east of Amiens. The Memorial stands on the high ground ('Hill 104') behind the Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery, Fouilloy, which is about 2 km north of Villers-Bretonneux on the east side of the road to Fouilloy. The Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux is approached through the Military Cemetery, at the end of which is an open grass lawn which leads into a three-sided court. The two pavilions on the left and right are linked by the north and south walls to the back (east) wall, from which rises the focal point of the Memorial, a 105 foot tall tower, of fine ashlar. A staircase leads to an observation platform, 64 feet above the ground, from which further staircases lead to an observation room. This room contains a circular stone tablet with bronze pointers indicating the Somme villages whose names have become synonymous with battles of the Great War; other battle fields in France and Belgium in which Australians fought; and far beyond, Gallipoli and Canberra. On the three walls, which are faced with Portland stone, are the names of 10,885 Australians who were killed in France and who have no known grave. The 'blocking course' above them bears the names of the Australian Battle Honours. After the war an appeal in Australia raised £22,700, of which £12,500 came from Victorian school children, with the request that the majority of the funds be used to build a new school in Villers-Bretonneux. The boys' school opened in May 1927, and contains an inscription stating that the school was the gift of Victorian schoolchildren, twelve hundred of whose fathers are buried in the Villers-Bretonneux cemetery, with the names of many more recorded on the Memorial. Villers-Bretonneux is now twinned with Robinvale, Victoria, which has in its main square a memorial to the links between the two towns. |
| Panel number, Roll of Honour, Australian War Memorial |
58 |
| Miscellaneous information from cemetery records |
Commemorated in St George the Martyr's Anglican Church, Goodwood, Adelaide, South Australia. Inscription reads: 'To the Glory of God. In Honour of Our Lady, Blessed Michael the Archangel, Blessed George the Martyr & of all the Blessed Saints. To the dear Memory of all those who went forth from this Altar, where they offered the Holy Sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Christ, to give their lives in the Great War. This Screen is Blessed on Anzac Day 25 April 1922 being the Feast of Saint Mark the Evangelist.' Parents: Alexander McGregor and Hannah Elizabeth DEY, High Street, Burnside, South Australia |
| Other details | War service: Egypt, Western Front Embarked Alexandria to join the British Expeditionary Force, 20 May 1916; disembarked Marseilles, France, 26 May 1916. Taken on strength, 10th Bn, in the field, 24 July 1916. Reported wounded and missing, 23 August 1916. Court of Enquiry, 19 June 1917, declared fate as 'Killed in action, 23 August 1916'. Note on Red Cross File No 0920101D: 'No trace Germany. Cert. by Capt. Mills. 10.10.19.' Statement, 771 Lance Corporal P. STRANEY, B Company, 10th Bn (patient, 1st Birmingham Hospital, England), 31 December 1916: 'Informant states that on 23rd August at Mouquet Farm, Lieut Dat [sic] was killed by a shell. His body was left on No Man's Land.' Second statement, 3700 Pte R. BROWNETT, B Company, 10th Bn, 27 October 1916: 'He was wounded at Pozieres on August 21st. He was found in a wounded condition by Pte. G.W. Alcorn, S/B. B. Coy. and left for safety in a shell hole. Cpl. Tinderman, VI pl. B. Coy. stayed with him in the shell hole. The Germans started bombing the hole. Tinderman got out. The Germans threw several bombs in as he left. He believes Mr. Day [sic] was bombed and killed. He said Mr Day's wounds were so bad when he left, that he could not have lived.' Third statement, 4587 Pte F. TESTER, 10th Bn (patient, 2nd London General Hospital, Chelsea, England), 26 December 1916: 'On the 19th Aug. in evening time we were badly shelled. we were hopping over to a partly dug new trench at a farm which sounded like Barrackas. Lieut. Day [sic] rose up out of the trench and said "Come on lads, I think we are right!" [W]ith that he fell killed instantly by a sniper. I myself saw him lying dead. He was a simply splendid lad, I'd go anywhere with him, all the boys just worshipped him.' Medals: British War Medal, Victory Medal |
Lieutenant George Roy McGregor Dey, 10th Battalion KIA 23 August 1916
The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of Lieutenant George Roy McGregor Dey, 10 Battalion, First World War
Speech text
Lieutenant George Roy McGregor Dey, 10th Battalion KIA 23 August 1916
Story delivered 28 December 2013
Today we remember and pay tribute to Lieutenant George Roy McGregor Day.
Roy Dey was educated and raised in Adelaide. He worked for the Bank of New South Wales first in Adelaide and then in Kapunda, from where he enlisted in June 1915. Dey entered the 10th Battalion, but instead of joining the battalion as they embarked for Gallipoli he remained behind for some time at Mitcham camp studying for the qualification for a commission - which he obtained in October 1915 - and acting as an instructor in musketry.
In March 1916 he left Australia with the 15th reinforcements to the 10th Battalion. Before he went his wide circle of friends attended a party at his parents' house to say farewell, with flowers in the battalion colours, musical items, and games.
Roy Dey was bound for France and the Western Front. His first major action with the battalion was the battle for the French village of Pozières. This operation was part of the Battle of the Somme and was conducted under some of the heaviest shell-fire seen on the Western Front.
When the 10th Battalion was relieved following the successful capture of the village, Dey was somehow left in the field for four hours after the rest of his battalion. When he was finally relieved and came out of the trenches he discovered that he had been registered as missing. Letters to his family reassured them that all was well.
A month after the first successful attack on Pozières, the 10th Battalion was ordered to attack Mouquet Farm to the north. Once more Roy Dey was reported missing when the battalion came out of the line. This time he was never found.
Exactly what happened to Lieutenant Dey was never firmly established beyond the fact that he was killed in action. The most likely scenario was that he was shot by either a German sniper or a machine-gun shortly after leaving the jumping-off trench to attack the German trenches. Reports were made that Dey had been given medical assistance while lying in a shell hole, but that a bombing attack by a German patrol forced the man giving assistance out of the hole, leaving the probably already fatally wounded Dey behind. He was never seen again. Roy Dey was 25 years old, and has no known grave.
His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, along with around 60,000 others from the First World War, and his photograph is displayed today beside the Pool of Reflection.
This is but one of the many stories of courage and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Lieutenant George Roy McGregor Dey, and all of those Australians who have given their lives in service of our nation.ID number PAFU2013/177.01
Title The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of Lieutenant George Roy McGregor Dey, 10 Battalion, First World War
Collection Film
Object type Last Post film
Maker Australian War Memorial
Place made Australia: Australian Capital Territory, Canberra, Campbell
Date made 28 December 2013
Physical description 16:9
Video Download video
Note Open
Copying provision Copy provided for personal non-commercial useDescription
The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial each day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour. At each ceremony the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by Craig Berelle, the story for this day was on Lieutenant George Roy McGregor Dey, 10 Battalion, First World War.
