10179 Lieutenant Georges Mohammed Aouach,1er Régiment de Marche de Tirailleurs.
Born at Médéa, Algeria on 28 July 1869, Georges (aka ‘Momo’) had seen previous (late 19th century) service in North Africa with the Régiment de Marche du 2e Tirailleurs. A territorial reservist at the outbreak of war, he voluntarily enlisted into the 6e Régiment de Marche de Tirailleurs in late 1914/early 1915 before seeing active service with the 1er Régiment from April 1915. Momo saw action during the Second Battle of Ypres, Verdun, the Somme and the Champagne , by which time he had been promoted to Lieutenant. He was killed in action at Montchenot near Reims on 18 June 1918 and buried locally. In 1923 his body was moved to the Nécropole Nationale at Sillery (grave number 4990) where he lies to this day – erroneously commemorated by a Christian cross.
Lt Aouach is the subject of a recent (2007) novel by Bruno Baverel entitled “Lieutenant Indigene”.
Research by: David O'Mara, Croonaert Research Services.
