MCRAE, John Alexander
| Service Number: | 7535 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 1 June 1917 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 7th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Ararat, Victoria, Australia, 1881 |
| Home Town: | Warracknabeal, Yarriambiack, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Warracknabeal, Victoria, Australia, 14 January 1956, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Warracknabeal Public Cemetery, Victoria, Australia |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 1 Jun 1917: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 7535, 7th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 4 Aug 1917: | Involvement Private, 7535, 7th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Themistocles embarkation_ship_number: A32 public_note: '' | |
| 4 Aug 1917: | Embarked Private, 7535, 7th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Themistocles, Melbourne | |
| 15 May 1918: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 7535, 7th Infantry Battalion, WiA France; shell wound to hand | |
| 9 Aug 1918: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 7535, 7th Infantry Battalion, WiA France; GSW shoulder | |
| 20 Oct 1918: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 7535, 7th Infantry Battalion, embarked England for Melbourne on board HT Borda | |
| 3 Jan 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 7535, 7th Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
One of six brothers who served in WWI (Murdoch served in the British Army, and Kenneth, William, John, Duncan and Raymond served in the IAF), Private John Alexander McRae (Service No:7535) enlisted in the AIF on 1 June 1917 with the Sportsmen's Unit, and was attached to 7th Infantry Battalion on 4 August 1917 when he embarked with his Unit from Melbourne for Glasgow on board HMAT A32 Themistocles. Private McRae served on the Western Front, and was WiA in France on two occasions in 1918 (shell wound to the hand in May and GSW to the shoulder in August). Private McRae embarked from England for Melbourne on 20 October 1918 on board HT Borda, and was attached to 7th Infantry Battalion at Discharge on 3 January 1919.
Alex was born in Ararat, Victoria in 1881, eighth of fourteen children of John McRae (b1836 in Cromarty, Scotland) and Flora McLean (b1846 in Argyllshire, Scotland). John was an Agricultural Labourer when he immigrated in 1852, arriving in Victoria on board the John Davies. Flora also immigrated in 1852, arriving in Victoria on board the Flora MacDonald. John was a Labourer in 1865 when he and Flora married in Hamilton. The couple lived in Ararat and then Warracknabeal - John worked as a Labourer, and in 1897 was a Boundary Rider in Kewell via Warracknabeal when he died from injuries received when he fell from his horse. Flora remained in Warracknabeal, where she raised her family and worked as a Nurse until her death in 1921.
Alex was working in Warracknabeal as a Labourer in 1917 when he enlisted in the Army. Following his Discharge in 1919, he returned to Warracknabeal and was working as a Labourer in 1921 when he married Clara Eleanora Elizabeth Schaeche (b1897 in Warracknabeal, Victoria). Alex and Clara settled in Warracknabeal, where they raised their family and Alex worked as a Labourer and Storeman. Alex died in 1956 and Clara died in 1979.
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