George Anthony Bertram was the son of George Fredrick and Johanna (Delaney) Bertram, born in India 12 December 1913, where his father was serving with the North Staffordshire Regiment. Both his father and mother were also born and married in India. The family, including his older sister Ellen Nora, immigrated to Australia.

In May 1942 he married Eileen May O’Brien. They had met in Kiama when he was the adjutant of the 34th Battalion of the Militia, of which the Kiama unit was a portion, and whose headquarters were at Hurstville, Sydney.

On his enlistment for WWII in 1940 at the age of 26, he gave his occupation as a Permanent Officer, with his mother as next of kin and was living at Willoughby, Sydney.  His record shows he was a Lieutenant in 1936.

George Bertram was a graduate of the Royal Military College and was assigned to the Australian Staff Corps in 1939. He was a captain in the Second Australian Infantry Battalion which sailed for the Middle East in 1940, and before he returned to Australia in 1942, he served as Brigade-Major with the divisional and corps staff.

In 1943 George was Mentioned in Dispatches for ‘gallant and distinguished services in the South West Pacific Area’.

He had been serving as a general staff officer in New Guinea (also known as Hollandia) and in March 1945 was on the way to his new post in the Advanced Land Headquarters in Cairns.

George was killed, along with 10 other military members including Major-General G.A. Vasey and Major-General R.M. Downs, when their R.A.A.F. aircraft crashed off Cairns.  All but four personnel were recovered and buried with full military honours.

On the 18 July 1945 Lieutenant-Colonel George  Anthony Bertram was awarded the O.B.E (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) for his distinguished service in New Guinea.