George Frederick Braund (13 July 1866 – 4 May 1915) was an Australian soldier and politician.

Life

Braund was born in

Bideford Bideford ( ) is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, south-west England. It is the main town of the Torridge local government district. Toponymy In ancient records Bideford is recorded as ''Bedeford'', ''By ...

, Devon, England and was educated at Bideford Grammar School and migrated with his family to

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, when he was 15. In 1889 his family moved to

Armidale Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 24,504 as of June 2018. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands region. I ...

. In 1893, Braund was commissioned second lieutenant in the Armidale company, 4th Australian Infantry Regiment and promoted to captain in 1899, major in 1912 and lieutenant-colonel in 1914. He was a magistrate and for many years was president of the Armidale Chamber of Commerce. Braund was elected as a member of the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

in 1913, representing

for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

War service

With the outbreak of the

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and the creation of the Australian Imperial Force, Braund was appointed to raise and train the 2nd Infantry Battalion and he became its commander in August 1914. He was the first member of an Australian parliament to enlist in the war. On 25 April 1915, the first day of the

landing at Anzac Cove The landing at Anzac Cove on Sunday, 25 April 1915, also known as the landing at Gaba Tepe and, to the Turks, as the Arıburnu Battle, was part of the amphibious invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula by the forces of the British Empire, whi ...

, he landed with his troops and under sustained fire took and held a vital but isolated position. After midnight on 4 May, while returning to brigade headquarters, he took a short cut through scrub and apparently failed to hear a challenge from a sentry, who then shot him dead. He was one of only two serving Australian members of parliament to die in the Great War. Braund was survived by a wife, two sons and a daughter.

Honours

He was posthumously mentioned in dispatches. On 30 November 1915 in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly the Speaker unveiled a commemorative tablet in honour of Braund and Sergeant Edward Larkin, the Member for Willoughby who also fell at Gallipoli. The plaque reads:

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Braund, George Frederick 1866 births 1915 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Australian colonels British emigrants to Australia Australian military personnel killed in World War I