MCDONALD, Richard
| Service Number: | 5182 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 20 December 1915, Place of Enlistment Liverpool, New South Wales. |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 1st Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Burdekin River, North Queensland, Australia , 25 April 1883 |
| Home Town: | Kiama, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Died of wounds, France, 24 July 1916, aged 33 years |
| Cemetery: |
Warloy-Baillon Communal Cemetery Extension |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Dec 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 5182, 1st Infantry Battalion, Place of Enlistment Liverpool, New South Wales. | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Apr 1916: | Involvement Private, 5182, 1st Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: SS Makarini embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
| 1 Apr 1916: | Embarked Private, 5182, 1st Infantry Battalion, SS Makarini, Sydney |
Richard McDonald.
Indigenous Australian, Richard McDONALD, 1st Infantry Battalion
Richard (Dick) McDonald was born at Burdekin River, northern Queensland in April 1883. A former police tracker, McDonald was working at the Bombo Quarry near Kiama in NSW when he enlisted 3 December 1915.
A keen sportsman, he had played rugby and cricket, was a member of the Kiama Reserve Rifle Club, as well as a member of the 37th Infantry Band. McDonald took part in the South Coast Waratahs recruiting march which was held in November 1915 and was suitably farewelled at the Kiama Town Hall, with almost 50 other recruits.
He embarked for Egypt in April 1916 and by June was in the field with the Anzac Entrenching Battalion (tunnelling unit). He then joined the 1st Infantry Battalion in France in July where they were heavily involved in the battle of Pozieres. Just two weeks later McDonald was seriously wounded in the abdomen 24 July 1916 at Pozieres. He was treated by 1/2 South Midlands Field Ambulance but died of his injuries.
South Coast Waratahs recruiting bannerSouth Coast Waratahs recruiting banner
Recruiting banner: South Coast Waratahs, 1915 (Australian War Memorial)
Private Richard McDonald is buried at the Warloy-Baillon Military Cemetery, north east of Amiens, France.
McDonald did not name any next-of-kin on his enlistment papers, but he did name Miss A. May Morrow, of Dapto, Illawarra as his sole beneficiary in the event of his death. His small parcel of effects was forwarded to her in 1917. She also returned the Roll of Honour questionnaire sent by the newly formed Memorial War Museum, stating that he was ‘absolutely without a living relative’. There was however a lovely notice commemorating his death, placed in the Sydney Morning Herald in August 1916 by his friends.
It is not clear whether his war medals and commemorative plaque and scroll were also provided to Miss Morrow, however in 1926 she wrote this time from St Leonards, NSW requesting photographs of his grave.
A simple message was inscribed on Private McDonald’s headstone - ‘My Friend’ which we can assume was added by Miss Morrow.
Submitted 13 May 2022 by Lynette Turner
Biography contributed by John Oakes
Richard McDONALD, (Service Number 5182) was born at Burdekin River in Queensland on 25th April 1883.. 1883. He worked for the NSW Government Railways on the Zig Zag deviation, Gosford to Teralba duplication and the Cullerin to Jerrawa Duplication and Deviation. He later worked at the Bombo Ballast Quarry.
He was 32 years and 7 months old when he enlisted at Liverpool on 20th December 1915. Enlistment documents do not usually include birthdate, but McDonald wrote 25th April 1883 next to his age and this is almost certainly his birthday. He was unmarried and had no family, so gave ‘none’ as the answer to the question seeking details of the next of kin.
McDonald embarked SS ‘Makarini’ at Sydney on 1st April 1916 and disembarked at Suez on 2nd May 1916, and, after a short overland journey through Egypt, re-embarked ‘Caledonian’ at Alexandria for Marseilles and the British Expeditionary Force in France.
On 20th May he was taken on the strength of the 1st Australian Divisional Base Depot, and on 25th June the 1st Anzac Entrenching Battalion. On 11th July he had been taken on the strength of the 1st Australian Infantry Battalion. About ten days later, on 22nd July 1916, he was wounded with a gunshot to the abdomen. He was admitted to the 1st/2nd Midland Field Ambulance on 24th July and died there the same day. He was buried in Warloy-Baillon Military Cemetery, five miles W of Albert.
Since he had no blood relations to receive his medals or other mementoes they were not issued. His will left all his assets to Miss A M Morrow of Dapto, though her relationship to him is unspecified.
- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.
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