MCCALLUM, Daniel
| Service Number: | 687 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 18 August 1914, An original member of F Company 11th Bn |
| Last Rank: | Captain |
| Last Unit: | 51st Infantry Battalion (WW1) |
| Born: | Bendigo, Victoria, Australia, 6 August 1893 |
| Home Town: | Kalgoorlie, Kalgoorlie/Boulder, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Highgate Hill School, Perth, Western Australia |
| Occupation: | Bank Clerk |
| Died: | Killed in action, Mouquet Farm, France, 3 September 1916, aged 23 years |
| Cemetery: |
Bouzincourt Ridge Cemetery Plot III, Row F, Grave No. 4. SLEEP ON DEAR IN THY SILENT GRAVE LOVED BY THOSE YOU DIED TO SAVE |
| Memorials: | Boulder Goldfields First Enlistments WWI Roll of Honor, Homebush Western Australian Bank WW1 Roll of Honor |
World War 1 Service
| 18 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 687, 11th Infantry Battalion, An original member of F Company 11th Bn | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Nov 1914: | Involvement Private, 687, 11th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Ascanius embarkation_ship_number: A11 public_note: '' | |
| 2 Nov 1914: | Embarked Private, 687, 11th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ascanius, Fremantle | |
| 3 Sep 1916: | Involvement Captain, 51st Infantry Battalion (WW1), Battle for Pozières , --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: awm_unit: 51 Battalion awm_rank: Captain awm_died_date: 1916-09-03 |
Help us honour Daniel McCallum's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
Son of Daniel and Annie L McCALLUM
Worked in the Western Australian Bank, Kalgoorlie WA prior to enlistment
Biography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Daniel’s older brother 1968 Lance Corporal Morris McCallum 28th Battalion AIF was killed in action at Flers, exactly two months later on 3 November 1916, age 26. They were the sons of Daniel and Annie Louisa McCallum of Trayning, Western Australia.
Daniel was one of the first Australians to enlist in August 1914, only weeks after war was declared. He was working as a bank clerk with the Westralian Bank in Kalgoorlie. He enlisted as a private in the original 11th Battalion.
As the camps in the UK were not yet ready for these men they were to train in Egypt instead. They docked at Alexandria on 5 December 1914. On Christmas Eve 1914 three men, Alston, McCallum and Jim Aitken went in to Cairo for a few hours leave. Well into the small hours the threesome had missed the last tram back to Mena and had only 10 piastres left between them. Somehow, they made it back to camp, and then evaded all the guards, making it to their tents at 5 am.
Daniel was present at the Anzac landing on 25 April 1915 and served through the entire campaign. He must have been a very capable soldier as was promoted up to Second Lieutenant by October 1915. He was transferred to the 51st Battalion during the doubling of the AIF during early 1916. He was promoted to Captain immediately after the 51st Battalion made an attack on the Fabeck Graben trench at Mouquet Farm on 14 August 1916. He was killed in action during the 51st Battalion’s last furious assault on Mouquet Farm on three weeks later.
Daniel McCallum’s remains were discovered in 1923 by the Imperial War Graves Commission, along with his identity disc and his three-star Captain’s insignia and a watch. The disc and insignia were returned to his family.
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