Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Joseph John Munro, my Grandad, was born in Springburn, Glasgow, Scotland.  His mother's family, the Meiklejohn's, were tailors and dressmakers in Stirling.  Annie Hunter Meiklejohn, the second of nine children, married Joseph Munro, from Lanarkshire, Glasgow, Scotland on 27/4/1883 in their family home at Bow St, Stirling.  They then lived in Springburn, Glasgow and had five children, Joseph John being the youngest.

In 1912 Joseph and Annie, in their 50s, took their youngest to Brisbane, Australia for a new life.  In 1914 their daughter Isabella McIntyre, her husband Daniel Madden and their baby Annie, also arrived in Brisbane.  Later in the same year, their son William Meiklejohn and Mary Munro arrived.  At some stage their eldest, Margaret Caldwell and possibly her husband, John Cantley, arrived from their time in Calcutta, India.  Only their son, James Meiklejohn, stayed in Scotland until his death in 1955.

However, Grandad Munro, Joe, could not avoid WWI, which broke out not long after they arrived.  He enlisted in August 1915 at the age of 19 in Brisbane, although he did serve 2 years prior to this with the 9th Infantry (Militia).  His war service material available to me is scant on early detail, however, it appears that he was a member of the 25th Battalion when he embarked, possibly on the Warilda, for the battlefields of Turkey.  While he missed the landing at Gallipoli it is expected that he formed part of the reinforcements sent in to battle in an unwinnable situation.  

The rest of his material is centred around the Army camps of Egypt and hospital treatments.  He was admitted to the 2nd Auxiliary Hospital for haemoroids on 17/1/1916.  He returned to the Army camp in Zeitoun by 29/2/1916 when he was transferred from the 25th to the 9th Battalion and joined them in Habeita on 4/3/1916.  He was then transferred to the 49th Battalion on 8/4/1916 and joined them in Serrapeum. However, he did not move onto the battlefields of France with the 49th Battalion.  Instead, he was moved onto the 13th Infantry Battalion and sent via the HMAS Franconia from Alexandria, Egypt on 6/6/1916 arriving in Plymouth 16/6/1916 for medical treatment.

Joe Munro was then treated for appendicitis and ended up in Stobhill Hospital, Glasgow, Scotland.  This has always stood out to me as remarkable because it was literally just up the road from where he had lived, in Springburn, Glasgow, prior to leaving for Australia in 1912.  I wonder if his brother James Meiklejohn may have visited him in hospital.  He was approved for early discharge due to a 'hammer toe', which must have impeeded his movement.  He was returned to Australia via the Barambah embarking on the 8/4/1917 and discharged on the 13/7/1917.  

He no doubt returned to the family home of 'Anniesland' in Shakespeare St, Bulimba in Brisbane.  I expect he wanted to get on with living after experiencing so much death.  He married Ellizabeth Jennie McDonnell in 1923 and his firstborn, Margaret Caldwell (Peg) was born in 1924.  His mother passed away in 1925, then his brother-in-law drowned nearby in the Brisbane River in 1926. His only son, my father, James Meiklejohn was born in 1928 and their final child Isabella completed the family in 1932.  They lived on Progress Rd, Richlands.  Life was hard in the depression, however, and Joe had to travel for work.  He worked as a labourer building roads, sometimes as far afield as Miles.  He and his wife took whatever work they could find, sometimes having to pack up their place in Richlands.  Tragedy then struck in 1936 when his eldest daughter also drowned in the Brisbane River during a school picnic.  I can attest to the fact that no-one in the family ever fully recovered from this loss as my father still cried in retelling these events till he was into his 80s.

War was again looming in the late 1930s, however.  Just 5 days before his father died, Joe Munro again enlisted, this time for WWII on 13/10/1939.  He served in Head Quarters, Northern Command in Queensland only.  I'm pleased he didn't see active service as he lost his newphew, Joseph Munro Madden in Milne Bay in 1942.  He spent some time on Prisoner of War Guard Duty but then was transferred for General Details Duty.  It appears, from his war records, that he had quite a bit of difficulty with his left foot and was in and out of various hospitals with this condition.  Grandad was finally discharged on 27 August 1947.

After this time he returned to his family as a father and soon to be a grandfather.  My Dad, Jim Munro, married Vera Harvey in March 1950 and in 1951 the first of their 6 children were born, Margaret Eileen (passed away 2016), followed by Patricia Anne, William James, Neville John, Scott and myself, Jennifer Marie.  Aunty Isa, Dad's only remaining sister also married in the 1950s to John Balfe and had four girls, Judy, Barbara, Kerry and Debbie.  My older siblings remember a loving grandad, who always brought lollies.  My eldest brother remembered him bringing him a remote controlled plane once for a present but Billy was so excited he ran outside, threw it so that it crashed and wrecked it before he could even use it properly.  My Dad always told stories about how you could tell a good person by how they treated animals and there are many photos in our collection of Grandad Munro with lovely little white dogs...no doubt that Dad and Isa loved.  Our childhood was similarly filled with chooks and cats and dogs birds and the occasion adopted kangaroo or sugar glider possums.  We generally attributed this love of animals from Grandad Munro.  

Grandad had also long been a member of the Royal Antiluvian Order of Buffalo's and he and Grandma had been caretakers at the Grand Lodge in the Fortitude Valley in the 1960s.  After a fall that Grandma didn't really recover from they came to live with us.  It was a full house.  I was born in September 1968 when Mum and Dad were 39 and 40 respectively and the five other children were still at home.  It became too much for Mum so they moved to Toowoomba to live with Aunty Isa and her family.  Grandma passed away June 1969 and Grandad followed only 5 months later, passing away on 25/11/1969.

There has always been much pride in Grandad Munro's war service.  He struggled with health issues but served in whatever way he could.  ANZAC day was always observed by him and my Dad, Jim, continued this tradition in different ways.  In the latter stages of his life this would involve always watching the Brisbane parade on TV.  Dad passed on in 2012.

Grandad Munro is remembered with much love by his surviving daughter, Isabella and by all his grandchildren.  I have been deeply touched travelling to Scotland in 1997 and visiting Springburn and Stirling to reconnect with him and his family.  I continue researching our family history and every step brings me closer to him.