MCRAE, Raymond Laurance
| Service Numbers: | 64554, VX110017 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 24 June 1918 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 8th Light Horse Regiment |
| Born: | Warracknabeal, Victoria, Australia, 16 November 1897 |
| Home Town: | Warracknabeal, Yarriambiack, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Warracknabeal, Victoria, Australia, 20 August 1973, aged 75 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Warracknabeal Public Cemetery, Victoria, Australia |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 24 Jun 1918: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 64554, 3rd Light Horse Regiment | |
|---|---|---|
| 14 Sep 1918: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 64554, 3rd Light Horse Regiment, embarked Sydney for Suez on board the Port Darwin | |
| 7 Aug 1919: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 64554, 8th Light Horse Regiment, embarked Kantara for Melbourne on board HT Malta | |
| 22 Aug 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 64554, 8th Light Horse Regiment |
World War 2 Service
| 20 Sep 1942: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, VX110017 | |
|---|---|---|
| 4 Jan 1944: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, VX110017 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Youngest of six brothers who served in WWI (Murdoch served with the British Army, and Kenneth, John, William, Duncan and Raymond served in the AIF), Private Raymond Laurance McRae (Service Nos:65445/V6823/VX110017) served for two years in the Militia before enlisting in the AIF on 24 June 1918. Private McRae served with 3rd and 8th Light Horse Regiments in Egypt, and was attached to 8th Light Horse Regiment at Discharge on 22 August 1919. In WWII, Private McRae (giving his DoB as 6 November 1900) served in the Army (ACMF and AIF) - graded Driver - from 20 September 1942 to 4 January 1944. Private McRae was attached to HQ Garrison Brigade and 4 Training Battalion RAE.
Ray was born in Warracknabeal, Victoria in 1897, youngest of fourteen children of John McRae (b1836 in Cromarty, Scotland) and Flora McLean (b1846 in Argyllshire, Scotland). Both John and Flora immigrated to Victoria in 1852 - John (an Agricultural Labourer) on board the John Davies, and Flora on board the Flora McDonald. John and Flora married in 1865 in Hamilton, and lived in Ararat and later Warracknabeal where they raised their family. John worked as a Labourer, and was a Boundary Rider in 1897 when he died as a result of injuries received in a fall from his horse. Flora remained in Warracknabeal, where she worked as a Nurse until her death in 1921.
Ray was working as a Labourer in Warracknabeal in 1918 when he enlisted in the Army. Following his Discharge in 1919, he returned to Warracknabeal and worked as a Labourer. In 1936 he married Doreen Magdalene Jordan (b1902 in Norwood, South Australia) - Doreen was working as a Clerk in Warracknabeal. Ray and Doreen settled in Warracknabeal, where they raised their family and Ray worked as a Labourer, Packer and Millhand, and served in the Army in WWII. Doreen died in 1955, and ray died in 1973.
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