MACDONALD, Ronald Alexander Leslie
| Service Number: | 462 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 25 August 1914, Roseberry Park, NSW |
| Last Rank: | Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | 1st Light Horse Regiment |
| Born: | Mudgee, New South Wales, Australia, 23 May 1889 |
| Home Town: | Mudgee, Mid-Western Regional, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Sydney Church of England Grammar School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Station Overseer |
| Died: | Killed In Action, Egypt, 9 August 1916, aged 27 years |
| Cemetery: |
Kantara War Memorial Cemetery |
| Memorials: | Mudgee District Fallen Soldiers Memorial, Northbridge (Shore) Sydney Church of England Grammar School Memorial Cricket Ground Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 25 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 462, 1st Light Horse Regiment, Roseberry Park, NSW | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Oct 1914: | Involvement Private, 462, 1st Light Horse Regiment, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '1' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Star of Victoria embarkation_ship_number: A16 public_note: '' | |
| 20 Oct 1914: | Embarked Private, 462, 1st Light Horse Regiment, HMAT Star of Victoria, Sydney | |
| 3 Jun 1915: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 462, 1st Light Horse Regiment, ANZAC / Gallipoli, Bullet wound right hand | |
| 14 Nov 1915: | Promoted AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, 1st Light Horse Regiment | |
| 12 Apr 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 1st Light Horse Regiment | |
| 9 Aug 1916: | Involvement Lieutenant, 1st Light Horse Regiment, Battle for Pozières , --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: awm_unit: 1 Light Horse Regiment awm_rank: Lieutenant awm_died_date: 1916-08-09 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Michael Silver
Born in Mudgee in New South Wales, Ronald Alexander Leslie MacDonald was the only son of Elizabeth and Alexander MacDonald of “Erudgere” station. He had two sisters, Flora and Alison. He was educated in Sydney at Shore, the Church of England Grammar School, and later began working as an overseer on the family property.
In April 1914 MacDonald became reacquainted with Rania MacPhillamy, a young woman from Forbes, and by the time MacDonald enlisted in the 1st Light Horse Regiment, just weeks after war was declared, the two were sweethearts.
The 1st Light Horse Regiment was one of three regiments of the 1st Light Horse Brigade. It sailed from Sydney and disembarked in Egypt in December 1914. The light horse was initially considered unsuitable for the Gallipoli campaign, but its men were soon deployed there without their horses to reinforce the infantry.
MacDonald’s regiment landed on the peninsula in May 1915 and was attached to the New Zealand and Australian Division. Just a few days later, on 18 May, the Turks charged the Australian trenches. The attack was repelled, but MacDonald received a bullet wound to his right hand. He was evacuated to Cairo and spent the next few months recuperating.
MacDonald returned to his regiment on Gallipoli at the end of August and was made a second lieutenant in November, before evacuating with the rest of the Australians in December. Back in Egypt, he was reunited with Rania, who had travelled to Cairo as part of the Red Cross Voluntary Aid Detachment program to help in hospitals and convalescent homes there.
Between January and May 1916 the 1st Light Horse Regiment was deployed to protect the Nile valley from bands of pro-Turkish Senussi Arabs. Later, as part of the 1st Light Horse Brigade, it was redeployed to join the forces defending the Suez Canal, and played a significant role in turning back the Turkish advance on the canal at the battle of Romani. In the ensuing days the brigade participated in the immediate follow-up of the defeated Turks, and the senior commanders decided on another attack near Bir el Abd to try to break the enemy’s rear guard.
The Turks had the numbers for the fight, as well as a better position atop the sandy ridges. The fighting was intense and a general withdrawal was ordered late in the day. Casualties for this brief engagement were heavy: 73 were killed, and 243 were wounded, while six were posted as missing. One of those killed in action was Lieutenant Ronald MacDonald. He was 27.
Rania MacPhillamy was devastated by the loss of her sweetheart. She channeled her grief into the war effort, and together with Sydney woman Alice Chisholm she established and ran canteens for soldiers throughout the remainder of the Sinai–Palestine campaign. She was feted for her war work, and was appointed an MBE in 1918 and OBE in 1920.
Lieutenant MacDonald is buried at the Kantara War Memorial Cemetery near the Suez Canal in Egypt.
Reference:
AWM: Extract from The Last Post Ceremony commemorating (462) Lieutenant Ronald Alexander Leslie MacDonald - 1 May 2016.
Credit: Emma Campbell
Researcher, Military History Section, AWM
https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C2133729
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