Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

SINCLAIR William Malcolm MB BS

1882-1942

William Malcolm Sinclair was born on the 18th April 1882 at Rocky River in the Clare district, South Australia. He was son of John Sinclair and Agnes, nee Miller, youngest daughter of Mr John Miller, of Stonehenge Farm near Athelstone and one of seven children. Sinclair’s grandparents John William and Christina Sinclair were early colonists of South Australia arriving in 1839 in the ship Palmyra. Sinclair’s family settled on a property called Sunny Brae, on the Rocky River near Crystal Brook, where they lived for forty-five years. Sinclair’s father was a leading breeder of exhibition and high class Lincoln sheep and Hereford cattle. Sinclair was educated at Prince Alfred College and studied medicine at the University of Adelaide graduating in 1911. After graduation he practiced at Gladstone, and later at Crystal Brook. Sinclair married Pearl Edith Elizabeth McLean (1891-1963) of “Sunny Bank” Mt Pleasant, South Australia in the Presbyterian Church Goodwood on the 15th April 1913.

Sinclair enlisted in the AIF on the 24th April 1915 at the age of 33 years; he had no previous military experience. He was 6ft 3ins tall, and weighed 12st. His wife of “Farina” Crystal Brook was nominated as his next of kin. He was allotted to 1 AGH in Egypt with reinforcements. He arrived in Egypt in July and in August was posted to 3 AGH on Lemnos. A month later he was in hospital with amoebic dysentery. He was sent back to 17 General Hospital in Alexandria, and from there to 1 AGH at Heliopolis, for ten days to the Al Hayat Convalescent Depot at Helouan, and finally to 2 AGH at the Ghezireh Palace. There he was seen by Colonels Ryan and Manifold, who agreed that he should be returned to Australia as permanently unfit. He was transferred to the Karoola at Suez, and transported back to Australia. He was issued with the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

Sinclair returned from the war and continued to practise in Crystal Brook working in conjunction with his sister, Florence May Orr, a nursing sister who owned the local hospital until 1926. During the 1920s Sinclair became interested in producing motor fuel from prickly pears.  He went to Brisbane in 1925 to demonstrate a model for doing this. He then moved to Toowoomba Queensland and had a general practice.  He had a disagreement with the Toowoomba Hospital Board over his appointment as a full honorary medical officer on the hospital staff in 1932.  The issue was settled out of court. He retired in 1938.  William Malcolm Sinclair died at Ashfield NSW on 23rd April 1942.  He was survived by his wife and four children, one of whom, Bruce Alexander Sinclair was also a doctor. His wife died in August 1963 at Inverell NSW.

Source

Blood, Sweat and Fears: Medical Practitioners and Medical Students of South Australia, who Served in World War 1. 

Verco, Summers, Swain, Jelly. Open Books Howden, Adelaide 2014. 

Uploaded by Annette Summers AO RFD