NESBIT, Donald McKenzie
| Service Number: | 535 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 10 February 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 43rd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Kilchoan, Scotland, date not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Port Pirie, Port Pirie City and Dists, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Stevedore |
| Died: | Died of wounds, France, 19 July 1918, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
St. Pierre Cemetery, Amiens, France Grave XIV. A. 2. INSCRIPTION - DILEAS GU BAS - [“Faithful unto death”] |
| Memorials: | Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Port Pirie Presbyterian Church Roll of Honor |
World War 1 Service
| 10 Feb 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 535, 43rd Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Jun 1916: | Involvement Private, 535, 43rd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '18' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Afric embarkation_ship_number: A19 public_note: '' | |
| 9 Jun 1916: | Embarked Private, 535, 43rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Afric, Adelaide | |
| 19 Jul 1918: | Involvement 535, 43rd Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 535 awm_unit: 43rd Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Regimental Sergeant Major awm_died_date: 1918-07-19 |
Submitted by Roger Holmes
Don Nesbit enlisted in Port Pirie, South Australia in February 1916, the same month as my Grandfather, James Henry Clarke. They served together in the 43rd Battalion, AIF. Among some family papers I found 2 photo's and a copy of an interview with my Grandfather which was published in the Port Pirie Recorder. (date unknown)
Grandad told the reporter "he and Don Nesbit, who became a Regimental Sergeant Major, enlisted in Pirie together and went abroad in the 1914-18 war with the 43rd battalion, attached to transport. Don Nesbit, loved by every man in the battalion, died of wounds in France. With almost every bone in his body shattered when a shell exploded at his feet, he remained conscious until his death twelve hours later. His last words, as they were carrying him back on a stretcher, were, "Goodbye boys" give him (the enemy) one for me"
Geoffrey Gillon's entry says Don was married, but looking at the death date of Jane MacKenzie Nesbit on the headstone I think she was his mother.
Submitted 21 November 2021 by Roger Holmes
Biography contributed by Geoffrey Gillon
He was 33 and the son of John Alexander Nesbit, of Kilchoan, Ardnamurchan, Argyll, Scotland; husband of Jane MacKenzie Nesbit. Kilchoan (Cille Chòmhain in Gaelic) is a village on the Scottish peninsula of Ardnamurchan, in Lochaber, Highland. It is the most westerly village in Great Britain,[
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