MCGARVA, Matthew
| Service Number: | 835 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 23 March 1915, 12 years Imperial Service British Army 71st and 74th Highland Light Infantry |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | Australian Army Ordnance Corps |
| Born: | Laswade, Midlothian, Scotland , February 1884 |
| Home Town: | Sydney, City of Sydney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Armourer |
| Died: | Work place accident, Wickham, New South Wales, Australia, 1 December 1941 |
| Cemetery: |
Sandgate General Cemetery, Newcastle, NSW ANGLICAN 1-31. 90. |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 23 Mar 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Sergeant, 835, 17th Infantry Battalion, 12 years Imperial Service British Army 71st and 74th Highland Light Infantry | |
|---|---|---|
| 12 May 1915: | Involvement 835, 17th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '12' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Themistocles embarkation_ship_number: A32 public_note: '' | |
| 12 May 1915: | Embarked 835, 17th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Themistocles, Sydney | |
| 12 May 1915: | Promoted AIF WW1, Staff Sergeant, 17th Infantry Battalion | |
| 11 Nov 1915: | Wounded AIF WW1, Staff Sergeant, 835, 17th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, GSW chest | |
| 28 Jul 1916: | Wounded AIF WW1, Staff Sergeant, 835, 17th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières | |
| 12 Aug 1918: | Transferred AIF WW1, Staff Sergeant, Australian Army Ordnance Corps | |
| 10 Oct 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Sergeant, 835, Australian Army Ordnance Corps, 2nd MD |
Help us honour Matthew McGarva's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
From Gary Mitchell, Sandgate Cemetery
79 years ago today, on the Wednesday afternoon of the 3rd December 1941, Armourer Sergeant Matthew McGarva, Australian Army Ordnance Corps (Reg No-835), armourer from? (unknown at time of enlistment, living at Kurri Kurri, N.S.W., 1929 and 48 Annie Street, Wickham, N.S.W., 1939), was laid to rest at Sandgate Cemetery, age 57. ANGLICAN 1-31. 90.
Born at Laswade, Midlothian, Scotland about 1884 to Thomas and Rachel McGarva; husband of Edith Elizabeth McGarva nee Leatham (married 1926, Cessnock, N.S.W., died 1941, Matthew enlisted March 1915 with the 17th Battalion at Liverpool, N.S.W.
Admitted to hospital 25.11.1916 (abscess of right axilla), and wounded in action - 11.11.1915 (BW chest, slight), 28.7.1916 (GSW left knee, slight), Matthew returned home with his wife Jessie August 1919 (married Jessie Heath 6.3.1919 at the Parish Church of St Michael, Middlesex, England, of 125 Green Lanes, London, England, being discharged 13th October 1919.
I have not located Mr McGarva’s name inscribed on any known War Memorial or Roll of Honour.
The tragic circumstances of Matthew’s death was reported. He died after the collapse at incinerator - reported that Matthew seriously burnt at the Newcastle City Council incinerator.
I located Matthew resting in an unmarked grave, forgotten, so October 2019 I placed a cross adorned with poppies on the gravesite, taken a photo of the grave and uploaded the photo onto the Northern Cemetery website as a permanent record of his service.
Mr McGarva’s honour and dignity will be restored with a Plaque courtesy of the Forgotten Diggers Headstone Project.
Lest We Forget.
Click images to start slideshow.