BENTLEY, George Valentine

George Bentley was 49 when he enlisted in 1915, having been born in England on 14 February, 1866. He was not to be returned to the retired list ontil 1926. What made him so valuable was that he was already a seasoned soldier, having served for twelve years in the Dragoon Guards, including three years with the South African Field Force in the Boer War. While in civilian life, he was a commissionaire and previously a farmer, but he had been a Sergeant Major in the Guards and his experience must have been of great value to the Australian army authorities trying to turn untried men into disciplined troops. In the course of this second military career, this time in the Australian Service Corps, George Bentley was moved often, presumably because he was a good organiser of men and had leadership qualities.

He was a married man, but no wife or children appear to have lived with him and he gave as his next of kin a Miss Clark, of 15 Belgrave Terrace, Grimsley, Lincolnshire. As a commissionaire at 'Hardwick' in Jolimont, however, he may have lived in. There was certainly an Ada Bentley, with two children, living in nearby Wellington Parade, who may have been his wife and children and on his elstment form, he identified himself as married..

He was immediately made 2nd Lieutenant on enlisting and barely nine months later was promoted to Lieutenant. At first, he was allocated to the 21st Australian Sservice Corps, attached to the 3rd Division. He left Australia with other members of the corps on 21 November, 1915, on board HMAT 'Ceramic' A40, disembarking at Alexandria. Here he was taken on strength with the 5th Division. From Alexandria, they moved on to France, disembarking at Marseilles on 30 March, 1916. In June, George Bentley was promoted to Lieutenant and seems to have been involved with organising the unloading of supplies at Calais. On 2 August, 1916, he was detached for temporary duty as Officer in Command with the 5th Division, presumably with the Supply Train, not rejoining his unit until four months later. In early 1917, he was given leave for nearly a month in England, leaving France on 4 February and returning on 3 March. Again, he was stationed in Calais as A.D. Supplies, but was then ordered back to England and duty at the Base Supply Depot. 

On 20 October, 1917, he left England and rejoined his own unit in France, arriving on 27 October, 1917. He worked at Calais until July, 1918, when he was again detached and sent to Beaurainville for duty there, returning to Calais in October.  In December, 1918, he was with the Australia Depot Unit of Supply, first at Calais, then Vendroux, and then given temporary command of the 20th Supply Depot at Etaples on 10 January, 1919. In all, it sounds as though he was recognised as a useful man and a good officer, to be called on wherever there was a need.

He came back to Calais in March, 1919, to the 5th Australian Deport Unit of Supply, but then was transferred to England on 20 May, where he reproted to Headquarters and then moved on to Sutton Verey.  He stayed there until July, but was then sent back to France, this time with the AIF Graves Registration Detachment, based at Boulogne. Something went wrong here: within a week, he was discharged and told to report to Headquarters in London having been severely reprimanded by Brigadier General Wilberforce for disobeying an order.

He was placed in London with the War Records Section  on 12 September, 1919, but was immediately granted a month's  leave with full pay, which he spent on a farm owned by Frank Stokes of Tansor Lodge, Peterborough, hwo wrote him a reference: 'Lieut, Bentley has carried out his part of the tract, and has been really helpful to me. I am quite sorry that this brings his term with me to a close.'

George Bentley's war service ended on 4 March, 1920, and he returned to Australia. He was not, however, placed on the retired list until 14 February, 1926, suggesting that he remained in the Army until his sixtieth birthday.