BUCHAN, William Forbes Stuart Erskine
| Service Number: | Officer |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 8 July 1917 |
| Last Rank: | Captain |
| Last Unit: | General List |
| Born: | Gawler, South Australia, Australia, 10 June 1870 |
| Home Town: | Belmont, Belmont, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Municipal Engineer |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 8 Jul 1917: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Captain, Officer | |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Sep 1917: | Involvement Captain, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '24' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Kyarra embarkation_ship_number: A55 public_note: '' | |
| 3 Sep 1917: | Embarked Captain, Officer, General List , HMAT Kyarra, Sydney |
Help us honour William Forbes Stuart Erskine Buchan's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Robert Kearney
Captain Buchan served as a Sea Transport Officer and the Jugo Slav Legion, Special Service Battalion from 1917. He was born in Gawler, South Australia on 10th June 1870, and he was the son of James Andrew Buchan and Jane Wilson Anderson. He attended school in England and he served in the Artillery Volunteers and then on 13th September 1889 he enlisted with the Seaforth Highlanders at For George as a 19 year old. He served within the United Kingdom till 17th September 1891 and then he embarked with the 2nd Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders to the East Indies. He was appointed a Lance Corporal on 8th January 1892 and he married Leila Ann Leonard on 20th July 1894 at Rawai Pindi, Bengal, India, however Leila died on 15th September 1894. He took part in the Black Mountain Izazai and Chitral Expeditions and he was discharged by purchase in 1895. William returned to Australia where he married Annie McRae in Victoria in 1896 and one son is recorded as being born at Dromana in 1901. The family moved to Western Australia and he was employed as a Municipal Engineer. During the First World War he was appointed a Transport Officer with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant in February 1917. On his return to Australia he volunteered for the Jugo Slav Legion, Special Service Battalion, which were formed to train the Serbian Army. He embarked overseas on 3rd September 1917 and he served in Egypt and Salonika. For the contingents service they were awarded various Serbian medals and Decorations and Captain Buchan received the Serbian Order of the White Eagle, 5th Class. After his discharge he returned to Western Australia and he died in Perth in 1942.
For his Imperial and Australian service he received the following medals and Decoration:
Awards:
Indian General Service Medal Clasp Relief of Chitral 1895
British War Medal
Victory Medal
Serbian Order of the White Eagle with swords, 5th Class, LG 7th May 1920 Page 5229
This information has been sourced from:
Service Records
London Gazette
FindmyPast site
Ancestry
Courtesy of Kerry Bulow