George Thomas McQUAY

Regimental number12/2582
Date of birth25 August 1886
Place of birthAuckland
OccupationCarpenter
Addressc/o Nurse McQuay, Stratford
Marital statusSingle
Height5' 6.5"
Weight142 lbs
Next of kinMother, Mrs Emma McQuay, Stratford, Taranaki
Previous military serviceNil
Rank on embarkationPrivate
Enlistment statusVolunteer
Unit nameNew Zealand Expeditionary Force, 5th Reinforcements, Auckland Infantry Battalion
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Wellington on board HMNZT Maunganui on 13 June 1915
The 5th Reinforcements, Auckland Infantry Battalion, left New Zealand on board three ships, HMNZT 24 'Maunganui', HMNZT 25 'Tahiti', and HMNZT 26 'Aparima'. It is not possible from the Nominal Roll to determine on which ship an individual embarked.
Other details

War service: Egypt, Gallipoli, Western Front

Struck off strength as a deserter, 13 July 1916.

Found wandering in London but could not be identified; returned to Australia and committed to Callan Park Asylum, New South Wales. Finally identified by his mother as a New Zealand soldier.

War service: 12 year 280 days (of which 1 year 163 days was abroad)

Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
Miscellaneous detailsNominal Roll Vol. 1: Auckland Infantry Batln/Fifth
Date of death28 December 1951 Stratford
Age at death64
Place of burialKopuatama Soldiers' Cemetery
SourcesArchives New Zealand (Wellington), Agency AABK, Series 18805, File 10927130
Jen Hawksley, 'Long time coming home: The "Unknown Patient" of Callan Park', in Martin Crotty & Marina Larsson, Anzac Legacies: Australians and the Aftermath of War (Melbourne: Australian Scholarly Publishing, 2010)
https://onehundredstories.anu.edu.au/stories/thank-god-you-are-found