MCDONALD, William John
| Service Numbers: | 352, 640 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 18 August 1914, South Melbourne, Victoria |
| Last Rank: | Second Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 2nd Tunnelling Company (inc. 5th Tunnelling Company) |
| Born: | Inverness, Scotland, June 1877 |
| Home Town: | Richmond (V), Yarra, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Pastry cook |
| Died: | Tuberculosis, Melbourne, Victoria, 1921 |
| Cemetery: |
Box Hill General Cemetery, Victoria |
| Memorials: |
Boer War Service
| 1 Jan 1900: | Involvement Unspecified British Units |
|---|
World War 1 Service
| 18 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 352, South Melbourne, Victoria | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Oct 1914: | Involvement AIF WW1, Driver, 352, 1st Divisional Train, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '21' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Benalla embarkation_ship_number: A24 public_note: '' | |
| 19 Oct 1914: | Embarked AIF WW1, Driver, 352, 1st Divisional Train, HMAT Benalla, Melbourne | |
| 8 Oct 1915: | Discharged AIF WW1, Driver, 352, 1st Divisional Train, M/U | |
| 15 Oct 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 640, Melbourne, Victoria | |
| 20 Feb 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Second Corporal, 640, Mining Corps, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '6' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Ulysses embarkation_ship_number: A38 public_note: '' | |
| 20 Feb 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Second Corporal, 640, Mining Corps, HMAT Ulysses, Sydney | |
| 13 Nov 1916: | Wounded AIF WW1, Second Corporal, 640, Tunnelling Companies, 'The Winter Offensive' - Flers/Gueudecourt winter of 1916/17, Shell wound (face) | |
| 8 Feb 1918: | Honoured Military Medal | |
| 13 Jul 1918: | Discharged AIF WW1, Second Corporal, 640, 2nd Tunnelling Company (inc. 5th Tunnelling Company) |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by John Edwards
"War medal finds way home (from The West Australian 31 Mar 2018 - Kent Acott)
Trooper William McDonald was an extraordinary soldier who spent much of his adult life on battlefields around the world. His service in the Boer War in South Africa and World War I earned him a clutch of medals, including one for bravery. But over time since his death in 1921, the medals went missing. Searches by his family proved fruitless and replicas were bought and worn in several Anzac Day parades. But in a remarkable twist of fate, one of the Boer War medals — missing for more than 100 years — found its way to RSLWA chief executive John McCourt. This month it was reunited with Tpr McDonald’s family in Melbourne.
“I am still in shock,” great-granddaughter Erin Ritter said. “I tear up just thinking how remarkable it is that it has returned to the family after so long. And in such good condition. The family is very grateful. It is back where it should be.”
William John McDonald was born in Scotland in 1877. He was still a teenager when he joined British forces at war with the Boers. He was a member of Edward Brabant’s Light Horse regiment that became known as Brabant’s Horse. The unit boasted several Australians. Tpr McDonald fought in South Africa for at least 10 years. For his service, he earned the Queen’s South Africa Medal (Q.S.A) and the British South African Company Medal 1890-1897. After the war, Tpr McDonald found himself in Melbourne. He married and had eight children. But on the outbreak of World War I, he enlisted with the Australian Imperial Force in August 1914. The following year, he was assigned to one of the tunnelling units of the newly formed Australian Mining Corps. It was during this service that he was awarded the Military Medal for bravery in the field. Tpr McDonald returned to Australia in 1918 having been gassed and was discharged. He died in 1921, aged 43, of tuberculosis and is buried in Melbourne’s Box Hill Cemetery.
Some members of his family suspected the medals were buried with him, so they were stunned when Mr McCourt contacted them earlier this year. Mr McCourt said he had no idea the medal was so valuable until, one day, he made a closer inspection.
“About 14 years ago I was handed a range of war memorabilia from the mother of a friend of mine in Darwin whose father had served at Gallipoli,” he said.
“I put the memorabilia in a box together with my own father’s World War II medals and keepsakes and had not reopened the small box till a short time ago this year.
“When I delved back into the box, I came up with a distinctive medal that was part of the handful of things I was originally given in Darwin.
“Among the collection was a medal that looked like a genuine original Boer War decoration with three clasps — Cape Colony, Orange Free State and Transvaal.
“Inscribed along the rim of the medal was ‘Trooper W. McDonald’.”
After a few days of searching, Mr McCourt found more information about Tpr McDonald — including that his name appears on a Boulder war memorial — and was able to track down Ms Ritter in Melbourne. Ms Ritter said the Darwin woman was the daughter of a Melbourne man who was a neighbour of Tpr McDonald. Somehow, the medal came into his possession." - SOURCE (www.pressreader.com)
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