MCBEATH, Neil
| Service Number: | 74 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 20 January 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 3rd Pioneer Battalion |
| Born: | Castlemaine, Victoria, Australia, 1893 |
| Home Town: | Castlemaine, Mount Alexander, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Draugftsman |
| Died: | Victoria, Australia, 8 May 1980, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Jan 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 74, 10th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 29 Feb 1916: | Transferred 3rd Pioneer Battalion, A Coy | |
| 1 Apr 1916: | Transferred Signaller, Headquarters Australian Imperial Force (AIF), Signal School Broadmeadows | |
| 6 Jun 1916: | Embarked Private, 74, 3rd Pioneer Battalion, HMAT Wandilla, Melbourne | |
| 6 Jun 1916: | Involvement Private, 74, 3rd Pioneer Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '5' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Wandilla embarkation_ship_number: A62 public_note: '' | |
| 24 Aug 1917: | Promoted Corporal, Chief Draughtsman to General Monash, who said that the accuracy of Neil's maps was responsible for the success of his battles | |
| 28 Mar 1920: | Discharged AIF WW1, 74, Returned to Australia on the Konigen Luise, arriving 4.2.1920 |
Help us honour Neil McBeath's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Helen Harmer
Prior to WW1, Neil was well-known in Castlemaine as a singer of comic Scottish songs. During the war, he was encouraged to write motivational songs. The most famous one, written after a request from General Monash for a song to boost morale, was "Yarrawonga". This song was inspired by an encounter on the battlefield with a wounded soldier who was asked where he was being taken. The soldier replied "I'm going home to Yarrawonga". The song became popular amongst the troups, and then around the world after Burlesqque performer Ella Shields sang it during her tours of England, Australia, America and New Zealand.
He also provided some illustrations for the March 1919 edition of Aussie, the Australian Soldiers' magazine. From 23.4.1919 to 23.7.1919 he was granted leave with pay and subs as a Commercial Artist attending thre London School of Art, Stafford Studies in Kensington.
After WW1, he worked for a time with the Australian War Memorial, then returned to London with a scale model of Sydney Harbour he created with Mr F. Liesl for the Wembley Exhibition. THe model was judged to be best in the British Empire and he was personally thanked by King George V.
In 1925 he married singer Emmeline Mitchell in Paddington and they returned to Australia. Neil wrote many more songs, including Tawoomba, Song of the Boomerang, All for One and One for All, which was used in his work as a Recruitment Officer for the RAAF.
Following WW2, McBeath and Ian Sobey founded T.A.A., where he worked as the airline's publicity officer.
McBeath died in 1980 and was survived by his wife and daughter, both called Emmeline.
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