ANDERSON, Donald Cameron
| Service Number: | 5646 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 7th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Rushworth, Victoria, Australia, date not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Heart Attack, Yarrawonga, Victoria, Australia, date not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Rushworth St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church WWI Roll of Honor |
World War 1 Service
| 3 Jul 1916: | Involvement Private, 5646, 7th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Ayrshire embarkation_ship_number: A33 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Jul 1916: | Embarked Private, 5646, 7th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ayrshire, Melbourne |
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Add my storyBiography
Donald was born in 1887 in Rushworth, Victoria, to Bill and Adelaide Anderson (nee Weston). Don was one of many children (over 10), and several of his brothers also enlisted for WWI.
Donald was deployed in 1916, after training at Broadmeadows. He fought in France. I have transcribed many of his letters home to the woman who would later be his wife, Colina Cameron, along with letters from his brothers, nephews and various others. You can see them here at http:www.dearcolina.blogspot.com.au (http:www.dearcolina.blogspot.com.au)
Donald received the Military Medal for delivering a hot meal across battle lines to troops who been hunkered in for days with only what rations they had on them.
From his letters home, he was tough and a bit of a jokester, who wore a coat made from goatskins sent from home to keep warm against the European Winters.
When Don returned from the war, he married Colina, and they travelled, with Don working as a sleeper cutter for the railways, before eventually settling in Yarrawonga, Victoria, where he died of a heart attack in 1953. He is buried there.
Don and Colina had one child, Colin, who went on to fight in WWII and lived his whole life in Yarrawonga/Mulwala, being one of the founding members of the Mulwala RSL.
Click images to start slideshow.