George Bickley was born in Coleraine Victoria and was working as a farm labourer in Longwarry district when he enlisted in July 1915.
After three months training, he embarked by ship from Melbourne and travelled to England to join the 58th. Battalion.
George Bickley fought with the Battalion for 14 months and then, on October 14th. 1917, he was killed in action at Ypres in Belgium.
Of the 120 names on the Longwarry Cenotaph nearly 1 in every 4 did not return home.
It must have been tragic to receive the telegram with the news that their son, husband or brother was killed in action and had been buried in a War cemetery in France or Belgium, especially with the knowledge that they would probably never be able to visit his grave to mourn.
Perhaps even more tragic was to receive the telegram of his death but adding that his place of burial was unknown.
This was the case for the family of George Bickley.
As soon as practical after a battle the Australian Red Cross would interview those who had witnessed a death to try and document the circumstances and to identified where he might be buried.
Below is a transcript of one witness report from Sgt. A.J. Tieman:

58th. Battn. Bickley
A.I.F. G. 2571
“Died 14.10.17.”
Bickley was in XIII Pltn. and was killed outright, being hit in the head by a shell at Little Wood Ypres. He was right alongside me. We buried him where he fell next morning and erected a cross which was blown down by a shell shortly after wards. I can’t say if it was re-erected. I helped to bury him, one of those who helped bury him was H. W. Frisk since killed.
Informant – Sgt. A.J. Tieman
58th. Battn, D. Coy. XIV
We can not find any record of George’s remains being found, so presumably he still lies beneath the ground of a farm in Belgium or perhaps his remains were found but were unable to be identified.
Private Bickley’s sacrifice is remembered with a plaque on The Menim Gate Memorial at Ypres, along with 6,197 of his Australian mates, whose resting places were also unknown.

The inscription on Menim Gate probably says it all:
IN MAIOREM DEI GLORIAM (For The Glory Of God)
HERE ARE RECORDED NAMES OF OFFICERS AND MEN WHO FELL IN YPRES SALIENT BUT TO WHOM THE FORTUNE OF WAR DENIED THE KNOWN AND HONOURED BURIAL GIVEN TO THEIR COMRADES IN DEATH.