John George Lazonby (1879-1941)
Born in Stockton-On-Tees served with 5th Field Butchery, Australian Supply Column on the Western Front
The Lazonby family from Stockton-On-Tees arrived together in Australia on 31 October 1907, to start a new life “down under”. Eight years later, the second child, John George Lazonby returned to England as a soldier in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF).
John, or George as he appears to have been known, was born in Stockton in 1879 where his father, Edward, was a joiner. The family was large, with ten children in total, with an age range of 20 years between the oldest and youngest.
By the time the decision was taken to emigrate, the family had moved down to Aston in Birmingham and George was married to Clara Adelaide (maiden name unknown), with a young son, George Edward.
They all arrived together in Sydney on board the “Suffolk” out of Liverpool, on 31 October 1907. George and Clara settled in the Petersham suburb of Sydney.
On 12 December 1915, George enlisted as a Private in the AIF at Liverpool, New South Wales (NSW). George had served an apprenticeship as a butcher in Birmingham before emigration, and so it made sense to assign him to the Fifth Field Butchery of the Australian Supply Column. He embarked from Sydney on the “Wiltshire” on 28 March 1916, bound for Suez where the 5th Field Butchery was formed, before it proceeded to France.
On 23 September 1916, the Field Butchers were set up in Rouen in Northern France, and from there, daily pack trains were dispatched to the fighting men at the Front. (Each Field Butchery could supply enough meat for a whole Division).
George was promoted to the rank of lance corporal on 5 January 1917, and to corporal a month later, on 2 February. From July 1917 onwards, George began to suffer with a string of minor illnesses (tonsillitis, scabies, laryngitis), none serious of themselves but just indicative of a body worn down by a life on active service.
In September 1918, George developed the painful condition of Lycosis, a deep inflammation of the hair follicles, particularly on the chin, caused primarily by a staphylococcal infection. His doctors noted that the condition had affected his larynx, causing hoarseness of speech, as well as a painful rash on his chin, aggravated by military service.
By the time George had recovered, the war was over and he was able to leave England for Australia on 21 December 1918.
By 1921, either Clara had died or the couple had separated. Whatever had happened, George was free to marry a divorcee called Pauline Mamelin (nee Schuller) on 12 November in Leichhardt, Sydney. They lived in the Sydney suburb of Haberfield where George worked as a butcher for the next 20 years.
George died in Liverpool, New South Wales, on 23 June 1941; Pauline survived until 1983.
Civil Parish: Stockton on Tees
Birth date: 1879
Death date: 23-Jun-1941
Armed force/civilian: Army
Residence: 18 Durham Street, Stockton-on-Tees (ecclesiastical parish of St Pauls 1881 census)
21 Durham Street, Stockton-On-Tees (1891 census)
187 Ashted Row, Aston, Birmingham (ecclesiastical parish of St James 1901 census)
62 Margaret Street, Petersham, Sydney, NSW, Australia (1915 attestation papers)
82 Booth Street, Lilyfied, Sydney, NSW (1919 correspondence)
33 Northcote Street, Haberfield, Sydney (1930-37 electoral rolls)
Employment: Butcher (served 5 years’ apprenticeship with J Myers in Birmingham)
Family: Parents: Edward Ainsley Lazonby (1855-1927), Ada Rose Lazonby (nee Durham (1857-1927 from Stokesley, Yorks)
Siblings: Margaret E Lazonby 1878-1958), Edith Lazonby (1881-1946), Albert Ernest Lazonby (1882-1915), Robert Henry Lazonby (1884-1941), Edward Alfred Lazonby (1885-1915), Thomas William Lazonby (1887-1974), Peter Lazonby (1889-1968), Percy Lazonby (1893-1956), Violet Orient Lazonby (1898-1967)
Wives: Clara Adelaide Lazonby (b 1881), Pauline Mamelin Lazonby (nee Schuller 1891-1983)
Son: George Edward (b 1902)
Military service:
5218
Private
5th Field Butchery, AIF
Enlisted 12-Dec-1915in Liverpool, NSW
Promoted Lance Corporal 05-Jan-1917
Corporal 04-Feb-1917
Discharged 07-Apr-1919
Medal(s): British War Medal
Victory Medal
Gender: Male
Contributed by Kelloe Visitor, Trimdon Station