238272 S/Sgt. George Lewis Basinger British Army Royal Army Ordance Corps from:Tottenham, Middlesex Staff Sergeant (Armourer) George Basinger was a member of the (Royal) Ordnance Corps attached to the 10th Battalion, Duke of Wellington's (West Riding) Regiment.
He saw action on the Western Front at the Somme, Arras, Cambrai and Lys. In 1917 the Battalion was rapidly move to northern Italy to repel the Austrian army and he saw action at the Battle of the River Piave and Treviso.
During the Italian campaign he captured an Austrian officer's walking stick as a memento. He was also greatly moved by the miserable sight of the poor young wretches, some of whom were barely children, who had suffered terrible injuries fighting with the Austrian army.
In 1919 the Battalion was in Rome, Italy, awaiting demobilisation and return to England. When the Prince of Wales visited the Battalion in Rome they arranged a concert for him during which Staff Sergeant (Armourer) Basinger, who was a good baritone, gave a performance.
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