District loses link to past

GEORGE Ingram had grown up in Seville and enlisted to serve in the First World War in 1914.
He saw service in New Guinea then France, where he was awarded the Military Medal.
In one of the last AIF battles of the war, in a town called Montbrehain, George Ingram won the Victoria Cross – the highest award for valour in the Commonwealth and last awarded to an Australian in the Great War.
His return to a hero’s welcome at Seville was mixed with sadness as he had lost both his brothers in the war.
In 1935 he became one of the first permanent guards at the Melbourne Shrine and saw service again in World War II.
In 1951 he met and married Myrtle Cornell, who was 25 years younger than him, and they lived at Hastings.
They had a son, Alex, and in 1956 the three of them travelled to London for the ceremonies celebrating the centenary of the Victoria Cross.
George and Myrtle were regular visitors to Seville up until George’s death in 1961.
In the 1990s Myrtle and Alex were often guests of honour at special local functions.
In 1996 they unveiled Seville’s WWII honour board and were present when Sir John Gorton unveiled the Shire of Lillydale WWII honour board.
In 2001 they unveiled two commemorative plaques at the Seville Primary School that detailed George’s life and how he won the Victoria Cross.
That same year they also lent a large collection of memorabilia for a special exhibition on George’s life at the Museum of Lillydale.
Myrtle Ingram, who was 90 years old, was buried with her husband George at the Frankston cemetery.