ALLAN, James William
| Service Number: | 10577 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 24 July 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | 3rd Division Signals |
| Born: | Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, 1896 |
| Home Town: | Ballarat, Central Highlands, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Journalist |
| Died: | Stroke, Adelaide, South Australia, 8 July 1968 |
| Cemetery: |
Centennial Park Cemetery, South Australia Derrick Gardens |
| Tree Plaque: |
Ballarat Avenue of Honour
|
| Memorials: | Ballarat Avenue of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 24 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, 10577 | |
|---|---|---|
| 25 Nov 1917: | Involvement Sergeant, 10577, 3rd Divisional Signal Company, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '6' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Ascanius embarkation_ship_number: A11 public_note: '' | |
| 25 Nov 1917: | Embarked Sergeant, 10577, 3rd Divisional Signal Company, HMAT Ascanius, Melbourne | |
| 1 Mar 1918: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 3rd Division Signals |
Help from Keith Murdoch
On the frontline in France, Wally met Keith Murdoch who, on learning Wally was a Journalist, handed Wally his card and invited him to contact him post War.
On his return to Ballarat after the War, Wally ran his Metropolitan Press Agency making regular contributions of western Victorian news to Keith Murdoch's Melbourne news outlets.
Wally later became the Editor of the Ballarat Courier.
On his retirement, Wally and his wife Doris (nee Besemeres) lived in Maryborough, Queensland. For a period, Wally came out of retirement to be the Editor of the Maryborough and Nambour newspapers.
Submitted 6 May 2022 by Ken Crompton
Digger Yarns (And Some Others) to Laugh at
Post-War Wally was a regular contributor to "Smith's Weekly" under the nom de plume of "Semaphore."
In 1936, he had published a compilation of his contributions in a booklet entitled -
"Digger Yarns (And Some Others) to Laugh at."
See at the National Library and at some retail outlets -
‘Semaphore’ Digger Yarns (And Some Others) to Laugh at A Lot of Nonsense for 1/-.
(Melbourne: E.H. Gibbs and Sons, Printers: 1936) Decorated wrappers (that is, paper covers)
plus pp. 32.
From one retail outlet, it seems he also wrote -
‘Semaphore’ Khaki Comedy and Newsy Nonsense Lots of Lilting Laughter For One Shilling. (Melbourne: E.H. Gibbs and Sons, Printers: no date) Suggest 1930s. Decorated wrappers (that is, paper covers) plus pp. 32. A ‘Semaphore’ Smile Book A very good copy. $25
Submitted 6 May 2022 by Ken Crompton
Click images to start slideshow.