MCKINERY, William Edward
| Service Number: | 2636 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 15 August 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 36th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Carlton, Victoria, Australia, 1883 |
| Home Town: | South Melbourne, Port Phillip, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Eastern Road State School, South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Belgium, 7 June 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
Toronto Avenue Cemetery, Ploegsteert Wood Belgium Row B, Grave No. 16, Toronto Avenue Cemetery, Ploegsteert, Wallonie, Belgium, Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Flanders, Belgium |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, South Melbourne Great War Roll of Honor |
World War 1 Service
| 15 Aug 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2636, 36th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Nov 1916: | Involvement Private, 2636, 36th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '17' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Benalla embarkation_ship_number: A24 public_note: '' | |
| 9 Nov 1916: | Embarked Private, 2636, 36th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Benalla, Sydney |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
William Edward McKinery or ‘Will’ as he was known to his family, enlisted in August 1916. His story is tragic, a poignant example of the immense loss many Australian families endured during WW1.
William was the eldest son of Edward Patrick and Maria McKinery, of 196 Albert Road, Albert Park, Victoria.
He was the last of three sons who died during WW1, all within twelve months. His wife also died in Australia while he was serving overseas.
William was also a father to a baby girl, Elsie, born only three months before he left Australia. He and his wife Bella McKinery were living in Collarenebri in far northern NSW and he enlisted in Newcastle NSW.
He was taken on strength of the 36th Battalion in France on the 23 April 1917. At this stage his brother 1824A Pte. John Patrick McKinery was listed as missing from the Battle of Fromelles 19 July 1916. Another brother, 4860 Pte. Charles Albert McKinery, 60th Battalion AIF, died of accidental injuries 8 February 1917. (He was killed when his pick struck a grenade, during trench digging). A fourth brother, 2658 Private Ernest James McKinery 6th Battalion AIF, served at Gallipoli and was returned to Australia with bronchitis on 23 June 1916. He later died in 1923, at the age of 38.
Mrs. Ethel Robinson was the sister of William McKinley. On or about the 13 April 1917 she called at Base Records in Melbourne and asked if a cable could be sent to William. “Wife died 13th, child with me, make fresh allotment, Ethel Robinson”. The cable was noted as having been sent 14 April 1917.
It is not known whether William ever knew of the deaths of his brothers, and one can only assume he received the cable informing of wife’s death.
William was killed in action on 7 June 1917, during the attack at Messines. His Red Cross Wounded and Missing file variously states he was gassed, killed by shell fire and killed by machine gun fire, although each witness was sure they saw his body laying in No Mans Land.
William’s remains were buried in the beautiful Toronto Avenue Cemetery, the only all-Australian cemetery in Belgium. Mrs. Ethel Robinson, William’s sister became guardian of William’s child, Elsie. Sadly, Elsie also died during February 1924, age seven. Ethel asked Base Records if she could put on William’s headstone the inscription ‘To the memory of his wife, 13 April 1917, and also his only child’ Base records told Ethel that would not be possible and the inscription today reads ‘May His Dear Soul Rest In Peace’.
The following notice appeared in the Melbourne Age, 8 June 1918.
MCKINERY -In sad but loving memory of our dearly loved son and brother, Private William Edward McKinery. Killed in action on the 7th June, 1917, at Messines, dearly beloved eldest son of Patrick and Maria McKinery, and dearly beloved husband of the late Elma Bella McKinery, who died at Sydney on the 13th April, 1917; also dearly beloved parents of dear little baby Elsie, dear brother of Ernie (returned), John (killed in action 19th July, 1916), Henry, Charlie (killed in action 9th February. 1917), Ethel, Elsie, Nellie, George and Walter. R I.P. So dearly loved; so sadly missed. — inserted by his sorrowing parents, sisters and brothers.