Hume Donald MCDERMID

Hume Donald MCDERMID Update Details

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MCDERMID, Hume Donald

Service Number:	2859
Enlisted:	9 August 1915
Last Rank:	Lance Corporal
Last Unit:	17th Infantry Battalion
Born:	South Grafton, New South Wales, Australia, 3 August 1897
Home Town:	Maclean, Clarence Valley, New South Wales
Schooling:	Grafton District School, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation:	Blacksmith
Died:	Killed in Action, Bullecourt, France, 3 May 1917, aged 19 years
Cemetery:	No known grave - "Known Unto God" Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, France, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France
Memorials:	Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Grafton Primary School Great War Honor Roll, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France)

World War 1 Service

9 Aug 1915:	Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2859, 17th Infantry Battalion
2 Nov 1915:	Involvement Private, 2859, 17th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '12' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Euripides embarkation_ship_number: A14 public_note: ''
2 Nov 1915:	Embarked Private, 2859, 17th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Euripides, Sydney
2 Dec 1915:	Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2859, 17th Infantry Battalion, Arrived at Suez 1 December 1915. Taken on strength of 17th Infantry Battalion AIF on 5 February 1916.
17 Mar 1916:	Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 2859, 17th Infantry Battalion, Embarked from Alexandria for Northern France arriving at Thiennes on 25 March 1916.
10 Jul 1916:	Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2859, 17th Infantry Battalion, Left the Armentieres Sector on 10 July 1916 for the Somme. Involved in the Battle of Pozieres 27 July until relieved on 5 August 1916. Moved back into the Front Line trenches at Pozieres on 24 August 1916.
24 Aug 1916:	Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 2859, 17th Infantry Battalion, When in the Front Line trenches just East of Pozieres Hume received a minor shell wound to his scalp and the back of his hand. He went first to a Canadian hospital then No. 1 Convalescent Depot then to No. 2 ADBD at Etaples. He returned to his Unit on 21 September 1916 which was then at Ypres in Belgium..
26 Aug 1916:	Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 2859, 17th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , SW scalp
26 Oct 1916:	Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2859, 17th Infantry Battalion, Hume with the 17th Battalion AIF returned to the Somme on 26 October 1916 and remained there over Winter. In early March 1917 the German Army began a staged retreat to the Hindenburg Line and the Allies advanced.
31 Mar 1917:	Promoted AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 17th Infantry Battalion
13 Apr 1917:	Involvement AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 2859, 17th Infantry Battalion, 17th Battalion moved into the Front Line trenches at Noreuil on 13 April 1917. The Unit was then involved in the Battle of Lagnicourt on 15 April 1917 when the German Army mounted an unsuccessful counter-attack.
3 May 1917:	Involvement AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 2859, 17th Infantry Battalion, The 17th Battalion attacked the Hindenburg Line at Bullecourt on 3 May 1917 (2nd Bullecourt). Hume was killed most probably by machine gun fire and was buried "near the Hindenburg Line". His grave site was later lost and he has no known grave. His name is inscribed with others listed as missing on the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux.
3 May 1917:	Involvement Lance Corporal, 2859, 17th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 2859 awm_unit: 17th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Lance Corporal awm_died_date: 1917-05-03

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Biography contributed by Greg Towner

Hume Donald McDermid was born in Grafton on 3 August 1897 to Donald McDermid and Charlotte Blake. He attended Grafton District School coming fourth when in Fourth Class in 1910. He was a good swimmer and a football player.

Hume's father was a blacksmith and operated the "old established" business of McDermid and Co., Coachbuilders and General Blacksmiths in South Grafton. Hume became a blacksmith as did his older brother William Duncan McDermid.

When he enlisted Hume was presented with a wristlet watch and a pocket Testament by the Wesley Guild and members of the South Grafton church. He allotted no less than two-fifths of his AIF pay to his mother Charlotte. When he was killed on 3 May 1917 Hume was not quite 20 years old.

Hume's family placed 'In Memoriam' notices in the Grafton 'Daily Examiner' on 1 May 1917 and in subsequent years through to at least 1934. Hume's parents had moved to live in Maclean in about 1917 and his name is inscribed on that town's cenotaph. His name is also on a plaque in Maclean's Uniting Church, previously the Methodist Church of Maclean.

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