URQUHART, Donald
| Service Numbers: | 410, 17 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 3rd Light Horse Regiment |
| Born: | Auckland, New Zealand, 1882 |
| Home Town: | Jamestown, Northern Areas, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Clerk |
| Died: | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia , 24 May 1954, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Woronora Memorial Park, Sutherland, New South Wales Old Section Services AIF Panel A, 131 |
| Memorials: | Adelaide Grand Masonic Lodge WW1 Honour Board (2), Torrens Park Kyre (Scotch) College Great War Honour Roll |
Boer War Service
| 1 Oct 1899: | Involvement Private, 410, 5th Queensland Imperial Bushmen | |
|---|---|---|
| 6 Mar 1901: | Embarked Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Private, 410, 5th Queensland Imperial Bushmen, AWM Boer War Unit Details, Murray p. 488 notes 5th QIB embarked at Pinkenba 6 Mar 1901 aboard Templemore arriving Port Elizabeth 1 Apr 1901. | |
| 16 Dec 1901: | Discharged Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Private, 410, 5th Queensland Imperial Bushmen, Qld State Archives- Boer War Service Paybooks 5th QIB, Bk 3 p. 76, notes invalided returned to Australia aboard Persic arriving Brisbane 10 dec 1901, discharged 16 Dec 1901. |
World War 1 Service
| 21 Dec 1914: | Involvement Corporal, 17, 3rd Light Horse Regiment, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '1' embarkation_place: Newcastle embarkation_ship: HMAT Thirty-Six embarkation_ship_number: A36 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 21 Dec 1914: | Embarked Corporal, 17, 3rd Light Horse Regiment, HMAT Thirty-Six, Newcastle | |
| Date unknown: | Wounded 17, 3rd Light Horse Regiment |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Carol Foster
Next of kin originally given as K. Naismith of Jamestown, SA but later updated to his brother Hector Urquhart of British Columbia, Canada.
19 August 1914 - enlisted at Morphettville, SA with the 3rd Light Horse Regiment with the rank of Private.
1 December 1914 - promoted to Corporal
9 May 1915 - promoted to Lance Sargeant
25 October 1915 - promoted to Sergeant
21 February 1916 - commenced return to Australia aboard HT Karoola disembarking on on 14 March 1916 at Melbourne, Victoria.
Medals: 1914-2925 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
14 March 1916 - discharged at the 4th Military District as medically unfit due to an old injury sustained in South Africa in 1901.
In 1917 he was residing in Vancouver, Canada but returned to Australia in 1918
Biography contributed by Claude McKelvey
He served in both the South African (Boer) war and WW1. First service was as a Private S.N. 410, 5th Queensland Imperial Bushmen, Boer war. Second service was as a Sergeant S.N. 17, 3rd Light Horse Regiment AIF, WW1. Newspaper articles regarding his WW1 service indicate that he also served on another earlier occasion in the South African (Boer) war.
His full name was Donald William Urquhart and was born in 1874 at Auckland, New Zealand, a son to Donald and Annie Urquhart.
When Donald Urquhart enlisted in 1901 in the 5th QIB and his details were published with the rank and file in The Queenslander, 16 Mar 1901, he noted his N.O.K. as Miss M. Williams, Ruthven St, Toowoomba. In the original nominal roll for the 5th Queensland Imperial Bushmen Contingent, held by National Archives, Miss M. Williams was not recorded as being a relative and was possibly a friend.
The Boer War Service Paybooks for the 5th QIB indicate he was invalided home form the war without stating a reason. Newspaper articles relating to his WW1 service discuss his prior South African service and indicate he had been wounded in the leg during the Boer war.
He was living and working in South Australia when he enlsited again in 1914 for WW1 lowering his age in the process. On his Attestation Paper, dated 19 Aug 1914, it was noted that; he was born at Auckland New Zealand and was 32 years 7 months of age; he was single and working as a clerk; His N.O.K. was Miss Kathleen Naismith, Jamestown, South Australia; and that he had previously served with the NSW Lancers and Qld Imperial Bushmen in South Africa.
A letter from his younger brother Hector Alexander Urquhart in Nov 1915 is contained in his WW1 service record. In that letter Hector requested that his borther Donald's service records be altered to show him as N.O.K. The Attestation Paper was subsequently altered to show Hector who was living at Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. His service record indicates that his old leg wound from the Boer war was causing him debility leading to his return to Australia for discharge in 1916 following which he was granted a pension.
In 1917 his service (pension) record indicates he had travelled to Canada and was living with his brother in Vancouver. By 1919 he had returned to Australia and was residing in Sydney, New South Wales.
(source- AWM Boer War Nominal Roll, Murray p. 410; National Archives Australia- B 5172 Nominal Roll of 5th Queensland Imperial Bushmen Contingent Queensland Defence Force for service in South Africa, p. 6; Qld State Archives- Boer War Service Paybooks 5th QIB, Bk 3 p. 76; National Archives Australia- WW1 service record; BDM NZ Historical Records Online- birth registration 1874/32137; various newspaper articles- see links).
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