Today I captured a Golden Age session for George & his beloved Tobie.
Born 17th February 1945 in the British sector of East Berlin, Jerzy Baczocha ( renamed George by his Australian teachers in later years) was born.
George is Polish but was born into very tough times where fleeing from war was the only life he knew.
George was an only child, his father was a soldier, who was captured in Dunkirk and kept as a prisoner of war for 3 years.
After the war their family had nothing. A change of clothes was all George recalls that he had. He doesn't even have a birth certificate, so is relying on the information that his Mother told officials at the time, as the only formal record of his birth date. The land they had owned in the Ukraine was claimed by the government without compensation.
The family was sent to a refuge holding camp near Naples for 6 months, while they awaited the documentation to be sent to either Canada, USA or Australia.
They spent two months travelling to Australia by boat, The USNS General w.c. Langfitt. George was roughly 6 years old. They were sent to a military camp in Bonegilla Victoria.
Georges father got a job in a Vineyard, & he attended Lyndoch primary school, & went to high school in Nuriootpa.
He left school at age 18 and started working for Phillips Electrical in sales & spare parts.
At age 20 he was conscripted; recruit training was at Puckapunyal and on completion was posted to B squadron, 2 Cavalry Regiment at Wacol an military camp south of Ipswich Qld.
He completed two years of national service & 6 years as a reserve in the Barossa Valley.
The army put George through university, & he completed a degree in Electronic engineering, & majored in communications.
He was married in the eighties, but with being away so much the relationship ended. He had one Son, who sadly passed away in recent times ages in his 50's.
George was sent overseas to report back on the Soviet Union, he reported on their energy infrastructure, where they sourced things such as a coal, communications.
In 1991 he was sitting at the Forum Hotel at the bank of the Danube river & saw a Yugoslavian gun boat on the river, which he noted as being an unusual sight as it was fully armed. The next day the war in Yugoslavia began.
George took on a job working for the ABC upon return to Australia, he was now based in Sydney & was in charge of ABC Technical Services.
George took on a job working for the ABC upon return to Australia, he was now based in Cammeray & was in charge of transmissions.
It was here he met his long time partner Eliza, They both shared a love of horses, & took lessons at the same riding school. George was in his fifties when he started riding. They still live in Cammeray, but come to the Central coast each weekend to visit Tobie, & Eliza's horse Claire at his agistment property, where he is very well cared for.
This leads us the the second part of our story, George & his beautiful Toby who is 35 years old!
"I joined the Light Horse Association and took part in their activities which include a ride from Trundle through to Bathurst for their ANZAC dawn service and parade. After looking around for a
suitable horse I came across an ex race horse eventer called Sir Willow. His owner at the time renamed him Tobie. As she was getting married she put Tobie up for sale.
I purchased Tobie in 1998 and within 2 days of receiving him we departed for Canberra to take part in the 100th Centenary of the Boar War.
Remarkably we were able to raise almost a complete regiment of horse; some 360 mounted troopers. Over five days we participated in a mounted skill at arms demonstrations at the Canberra
showgrounds followed by official government parades at the War Memorial and at Canberra Parliament House. A regiment of Horse in troop order riding down Northbourne avenue was one of
the most memorable experiences of my life.
The success of this event leads us to be included in the Reserve Forces day Parades and extra training from the NSW Mounted Police. Training was carried out at Malabar next to the rifle range.
Horses were then transported to the Randwick racecourse and we rode in formation along the bus lanes thought to the city centre to take part in the official parade through Sydney.
Tobie was also an eventer, much more capable then me. Over the years he help me become a competent horseman.
These days we normally go trail riding which he loves and often I let him decide where we go. He rarely is in a hurry to go home.
Some background on Tobie (Sir Willow); Born in Canada, 3rd September 1989. Mare Bay Willow (3rd
foal), Sire Bluebird (USA). Imported by Duffy Holdings SA.
