MACKENZIE, Athol William
| Service Numbers: | N270813, NX147883 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 20 May 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 22 Garrison Battalion (VIC NSW) |
| Born: | London, England, 8 June 1901 |
| Home Town: | Pearl Beach, Gosford Shire, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Sydney Technical College (Goulburn Branch), New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Wool Classer/Stock Agent |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 20 May 1941: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, N270813, General Details Depot | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Feb 1943: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Sergeant, NX147883, 22 Garrison Battalion (VIC NSW) | |
| 17 May 1944: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Sergeant, NX147883, 22 Garrison Battalion (VIC NSW) |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Sergeant Athol William McaKenzie (Service Nos:N270813/NX147883) initially enlisted in the ACMF as a Private - appointed Clerk - with General Details Depot, and marched out to PoW Camp Cowra. Sergeant MacKenzie transferred to the AIF on 20 February 1943 and served with 22 Garrison Battalion until Discharge on 17 May 1944.
Athol was born in London, England in 1901, fifth of eleven children of James Leadbetter MacKenzie (b1868 in Edinburgh, Scotland) and Catherine (Kate) Churnside Grant (b1869 in Inverness-shire, Scotland). James (a Vocalist) and Kate (a Domestic Servant) married in Edinburgh in 1892, and settled in London where they raised their family and James worked as a Journalist and Teacher of Singing. Of their nine sons, six served in the Military (WWI - Endymion with Seaforth Highlanders; Osmond with the 6th Battalion London Regiment - KiA France; Roderick with the Irish Rifles - KiA France) and WWII - Julian with the Army Service Corps, Athol with the AF and Alistair with the Royal Regiment of Artillery).
Athol was a Clerk in London when he immigrated in the early 1920s, and in 1926 in Mildura in Victoria married Olive Myrtle Sherwell (b1902 in Nhill, Victoria) - Olive was a Waitress at the Grand Hotel Mildura. Athol and Olive moved to New South Wales, where they settled and raised their family. Athol worked as a Shearer on Calga Station via Coonamble, as a Miner at Lower Lewis Ponds via Ophir, a Labourer in Sandy Hollow and a Shearer/Wool Presser/Wool Classer in Charleville in QLD, and in Temora in New South Wales. In 1941 when he enlisted in the Army, Athol was a Stock Agent/Wool Classer at Pearl Beach via Woy Woy. Following his Discharge from the Army, Athol and Olive lived at Pearl Beach and Empire Bay via Woy Woy, where Athol was a Wool Classer. By 1958, Athol was living alone at Lower Lewis Ponds via Orange and working as a Wool Classer.