NAIRN, Alexander
| Service Number: | 1355 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 20 July 1915, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Last Rank: | Trooper |
| Last Unit: | 8th Light Horse Regiment |
| Born: | Buangor, Victoria, Australia, 1887 |
| Home Town: | Buangor, Ararat, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Buangor State School, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Egypt, 23 December 1916 |
| Cemetery: |
Kantara War Memorial Cemetery |
| Memorials: | Ararat Shire of Ararat WWI Roll of Honor, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Buangor Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1355, Melbourne, Victoria | |
|---|---|---|
| 21 Oct 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 1355, 8th Light Horse Regiment, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '2' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: SS Hawkes Bay embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
| 21 Oct 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 1355, 8th Light Horse Regiment, SS Hawkes Bay, Melbourne | |
| 23 Dec 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Trooper, 1355, 8th Light Horse Regiment, Battle of Magdhaba, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 1355 awm_unit: 8th Australian Light Horse Regiment awm_rank: Trooper awm_died_date: 1916-12-23 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Trooper Alexander Nairn (Service No:1355) enlisted in the AIF on 20 July 1915 and was attached to 8th Light Horse Regiment 11th Reinforcement on 21 October 1915 when he embarked with his Unit from Melbourne for Egypt on board HMAT SS Hawkes Bay. On 23 December 1916, Trooper Nairn was KiA near the village of Maghdaba in the Sinai Desert. Trooper Nairn was described as '... a real straight living man, and one could not meet a better in a day's walk, and he was very popular with the boys'. (AWM Red Cross Files: Driver HM Grigg; SN:1058). Brother John (Service No:9564) also served in WWI.
Alex was born Buangor, Ararat, Victoria in 1887, second of eight children of John Alexander Nairn (b1860 in Linton, Victoria) and Elizabeth Jane Austin (b1867 in Victoria). John (a Farmer) and Elizabeth married in 1884 in Buangor, where they settled and raised their family and John was a Farmer until his death in 1919 - in his Will (written in 1919) - John stipulated that 'no portion of the assets shall be distributed or paid during the War to any beneficiary or creditor who is a German, Austrio-Hungarian, Turkish or Bulgarian sublect wherever resident ...' (Last Will and Testament: 1919).
Alex worked as a Farmer with his father at Buangor prior to enlisting in the AIF. 'He died like a Hero, and the man that he was, fighting on behalf of righteousness and justice', (Adams; YMCA Egypt).
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