MCLEAN, Alexander William
| Service Number: | 25069 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 4 June 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Leading Aircraftman |
| Last Unit: | Not yet discovered |
| Born: | St Lawrence, Queensland, Australia, 14 March 1907 |
| Home Town: | Ilbilbie, Isaac, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Stockman |
| Died: | Nundah, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 20 July 1967, aged 60 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Pinnaroo Lawn Cemetery & Crematorium, Brisbane |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 4 Jun 1940: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Leading Aircraftman, 25069 | |
|---|---|---|
| 24 Oct 1945: | Discharged Royal Australian Air Force, Leading Aircraftman, 25069 |
Help us honour Alexander William Mclean's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Alex was the third of six children of Thomas McLean (b1869 in Rockhampton, QLD) and Susan Harris (b1870 in Fort Cooper (Nebo) QLD). Thomas (a Stockman) and Susan married in 1890 in Nebo, QLD and settled in St Lawrence where Thomas worked as a Stockman.
Alex - born on 14 March 1898 in St Lawrence, and not 14 March 1907 as he stated on his Attestation Papers (QLD BDM:010315) - worked as a Stockman around St Lawrence. In 1931 he was Head Stockman at Mollongool Station near Gin Gin when he married Joyce Lois Westergaard Jensen (b1912 in Marburg, QLD) in Rockhampton. Alex and Joyce were living in Yeppoon, QLD in 1935 where Alex was a Labourer. Joyce left without telling Alex and took a job on Walloon Station. Joyce learned where Alex was when she saw his photo in the local paper with an article about a group of men enlisting in the RAAF in 1940.
Alex enlisted in the RAAF in June 1940, stating he had extensive experience as a Cook. He served as an Aircraftman/Leading Aircraftman (Service No:25069) - as Cook, Messman and Mess Steward - at Richmnond, Carlton, Laverton, Evans Head, Melbourne, Sandgate, Bundi and Cootamundra. He was attached to 32 Squadron when he was Discharged in October 1945. Nephew Raymond Robert O'Farrell (Flight Lieutenant; Service No:405321) was KiA on a mission over the Bismark Sea in 1945.
Alex settled in Brisbane and was working as a Cook when he and Joyce Divorced in 1948. He married Eva Ellen Smith (nee Schekoski; b1898 in Ipswich, QLD) in 1950. They lived in Brisbane where Alex was a Manager and Eva a Storekeeper before moving to Nundah in the mid 1950s. Alex worked as a Factory Hand until his death in 1967. Eva died in 1977.
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