MCADAM, Basil Donald Rex
| Service Numbers: | 62470, 62476 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 27 April 1918 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 1st to 6th (SA) Reinforcements |
| Born: | Penola, South Australia, 7 March 1900 |
| Home Town: | Mount Gambier, Mount Gambier, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Grocer |
| Died: | Died of Illness, Pneumonia, Quarantine Station, Quarantine Station, Woodman Point, Perth, Western Australia, Australia, 15 December 1918, aged 18 years |
| Cemetery: |
Rockingham Cemetery, Western Australia Rockingham Cemetery, Rockingham, Western Australia, Australia |
| Memorials: | Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Coogee "Boonah" Tragedy Memorial, Mount Gambier War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 27 Apr 1918: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 62470, 1st to 6th (SA) Reinforcements | |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Oct 1918: | Involvement Private, 62476, 1st to 6th (SA) Reinforcements, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '20' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Boonah embarkation_ship_number: A36 public_note: '' | |
| 22 Oct 1918: | Embarked Private, 62476, 1st to 6th (SA) Reinforcements, HMAT Boonah, Adelaide | |
| 14 Dec 1918: | Involvement Private, 62470, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 62470 awm_unit: 5th General Service Reinforcements awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1918-12-14 |
Private Basil Donald (Rex) McAdam
The troopship, 'Boonah' arrived back in Fremantle in 1918 bearing soldiers infected with the Spanish Flu then rampant in South Africa where the ship had docked. A number of the soldiers, quarantined at Woodman Point, and the nurses attending them died.
Rex died from that disease on 14 December 1918 and was buried at East Rockingham cemetery that day (Ang A1 26). He was just 18 years of age, from Penola, South Australia.
A room in the museum at the former quarantine station, and a Boonah memorial outside the former Isolation Hospital commemorates the tragic loss of life. Rex and other men and women were also honoured at a Boonah Century Commemoration Ceremony at the former quarantine station in December 2018.
62470 Private /B.D. Rex McAdam / Australian Imperial Force / 14th December 1918 / His duty nobly done.
AWM Roll of Honour, Panel 185
Lest We Forget.
Submitted 31 May 2025 by gail dodd
Biography contributed by Heather Ernszt
Son of John McAdam and Isabella McCalman