Georgette Gebert
Contay, 1916. Private Harold Gebert chanced upon Georgette Bassery amidst the chaos of the Somme. Their nuptials were among many ‘Franco-Australian Alliances’ of the First World War
Though the couple were born on opposite sides of the globe, the couple came from remarkably similar backgrounds. Georgette was born to a grocer in Montmirail in Marne in 1895. At a young age, Georgette went to live with her paternal grandmother, Olympe Bassery, in the small village of Contay on the Somme.
Harold was born to a farming family in Wilmington in South Australia in 1894. He had worked as an engine cleaner before enlisting with the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in August 1915.
In 1916, Harold was stationed along the Somme with the 10th Australian Infantry Battalion, where he first encountered Georgette. How the couple met is unknown, though some other Franco-Australian couples met while the soldiers were billeted with local families.
The couple were married by Roman Catholic rites at the Church of Notre Dame de France in London in August 1917. They were among a number of Franco-Australian couples who made the pragmatic decision to be married in London as it was easier for them to marry under British matrimonial law then the French Civil Code.
Shortly after the marriage, Harold obtained a medical discharge in London as his flat feet had been made worse by drills and marches in France. In 1918, Harold arranged passage for Georgette and himself to Adelaide aboard the H.T. Osterley which brought hundreds of war brides to Australia across multiple voyages.
Arriving in Solomontown, the couple were given a hearty welcome by the community. The local press reported that the Marseillaise was sung in Georgette’s honour and a local girl whose father had died in France presented the young war bride with a tricolour bouquet decorated with the Australian, British, and French flags. As in the case of many other French brides - Georgette’s arrival was imagined as providing a diplomatic link between Australia and France.
Despite the affable welcome, the couple soon found themselves in economic difficulties, as they both struggled to find employment. Harold had also signed away his rights to repatriation on obtaining discharge abroad, meaning he was unable to obtain a refund for the cost of his passage home. Fortunately, the regulations still made some provision for Georgette’s passage as the wife of an Australian soldier who had been discharged abroad.
A sympathetic local businessman offered to guarantee the couple some money whilst they got back on their feet but soon came chasing for Harold’s war gratuity. Sadly, their predicament was far from unique amongst the many Australian soldiers who returned home with a war bride.
Even with these challenges, the couple went on to have a long-lasting marriage and welcomed a son, Barrington Gebert, who was born in Adelaide in 1939. Georgette died in 1970, and Harold died in 1975. They are buried side by side in Port Pirie Cemetery.
Photo: Courtesy of Eve Deeble