| Occupation before Enlistment |
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| Next of Kin |
| Mr M.E. Asher (father), Mt Eden, Auckland, New Zealand |
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| Enlistment Address |
| 95A Grafton Road, Auckland, New Zealand |
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| Body on Embarkation |
| Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force (2NZEF) |
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| Cemetery Name |
| Cassino War Cemetery, Italy |
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| Memorial Name |
- Auckland War Memorial Museum, World War 2 Hall of Memories
- Auckland Grammar School War Memorial, New Zealand
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| Biographical Notes |
- George Asher was the son of Ernest Kemp Asher and Maisie B. Asher, of Auckland; husband of Dorothy Agnes Asher, of Auckland.
- Next of Kin differs, Mrs. D.A. Asher, 174 Khyber Pass Rd, Auckland (wife)
- George Asher was killed in the attack on Monte Cassino in February 1944. On the night of 17/18 February the 28 Battalion was ready for the attack on the railway station. After a short prayer service conducted by Lieutenant Takurua of Ruatoki they made their way to the line, through heavy fields sown with mines. Mortar and heavy machine guns from the lower slopes of Cassino and the town began to exact a heavy toll on A and B Companies. Asher was one of the many casualties that day. Efforts were made to protect the positions of the Battalion from observation by the Germans using a smoke screen. A convoy of trucks drove to Naples 110 km away to bring the shells which were fired by 4 Field Artillery Regiment to create the smoke screen. The toll was 128 killed, wounded or captured.
- The graphic account of the finding of George Asher's body is contained in The Story of the Maori Battalion by Wira Gardiner. Several weeks after the battle a reconnaissance party undertook a search of the area. The party was made up of Peta Awatere, Martin McCrae, Wi Huata and Norman Perry. They identified Asher 'by his distinctive swished-back hair. He had lost both legs in an explosion and had attempted to apply a tourniquet with a bit of wire tied around the top of one of his legs.' (p. 154)
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| Description of Image |
- Portrait from Weekly News; 5 April 1944
- Auckland Grammar School War Memorial, WW2, Panel names Adams, D.A. - Carr, W.L. (digital photo John Halpin, 2011)
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| Sources Used |
- Commonwealth War Graves Commission. URL: http://www.cwgc.org
- Auckland Museum. Roll of Honour, Auckland Province, 1939 - 1945. Auckland War Memorial Museum Library. MS 93/139.
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