MACKAY, George Eric
| Service Number: | 192 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 12 May 1915, Melbourne |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 6th Field Ambulance |
| Born: | Bendigo, Victoria, Australia, 1897 |
| Home Town: | Bendigo, Greater Bendigo, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Gravel Hill School and St Andrews College, Bendigo and Scotch College, Melbourne and the University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Medical Student, later Medical Practitioner |
| Died: | Natural causes, St Bartholomews Hospital, London, Middlesex, England, 25 October 1923 |
| Cemetery: |
Bendigo Cemetery Quarry Hill, Victoria, Australia Mon F2, Grave 12729 |
| Memorials: | Bendigo Great War Roll of Honor |
World War 1 Service
| 12 May 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 192, 1st Australian General Hospital, Melbourne | |
|---|---|---|
| 18 May 1915: | Involvement Private, 192, 1st Australian General Hospital, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '23' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: RMS Mooltan embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
| 18 May 1915: | Embarked Private, 192, 1st Australian General Hospital, RMS Mooltan, Melbourne | |
| 14 Mar 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 6th Field Ambulance | |
| 9 Sep 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 192, 6th Field Ambulance, HS Kanowna, Southampton, as nursing staff, for return to Australia to complete medical course - arriving Melbourne 27 October 1916. | |
| 3 Nov 1916: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 192, 6th Field Ambulance |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Michael Silver
George Eric Mackay was a Bendigonian, being one of five children of George Mackay, editor of the Bendigo Advertiser and his wife Mary Henderson Nish. Born in 1897, Eric Mackay was educated at Gravel Hill School and St. Andrew's College, Bendigo, and later at Scotch College, Melbourne. He entered Ormond College at the University of Melbourne in 1914 and started his medical course, but enlisted early in 1915. He was with the A.I.F. in Egypt and France until September 1916 when he was returned to Australia to complete his degree. His brother, Major Murdoch Nish Mackay of the 22nd Battalion, A.I.F. was killed in action at Pozieres on 5 August 1916.
After completing his medical course in 1921 Dr Mackay was a resident at the Melbourne Hospital for twelve months.
Dr Mackay married Miss Grace Mary Waddell at the Hawthorn Presbyterian Church on 22 April 1922 prior to the couple proceeding to the United Kingdom a few weeks later.
An outstanding lawn tennis player, having captained the Melbourne University tennis team and represented Victoria, he won the Irish Tennis Championship and defeated several Davis Cup players in other major tournaments whilst in the United Kingdom.
Obtaining the primary Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons, Dr Mackay was doing a year's work at The Rotunda Hospital in Dublin, Ireland when his health broke down, and, after two months' illness, he died in London on 25 October, 1923. His remains were returned to Australia for burial in Bendigo in December 1923.
Reference: The Speculim - Page 48, Issue 114, June 1924.
https://digitised-collections.unimelb.edu.au/handle/11343/24200
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