MCALISTER, Joseph
| Service Number: | 2656 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 15 June 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 5th Pioneer Battalion |
| Born: | Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, October 1893 |
| Home Town: | Rozelle, Leichhardt, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Tinsmith |
| Memorials: | City of Townsville WW2 HR, Wickham "Citizens of Wickham" Volunteers Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 15 Jun 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2656, 3rd Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Aug 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 2656, 3rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Runic, Sydney | |
| 9 Aug 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2656, 3rd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Runic embarkation_ship_number: A54 public_note: '' | |
| 2 Nov 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2656, 3rd Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli | |
| 3 Mar 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 5th Pioneer Battalion | |
| 13 May 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 5th Pioneer Battalion | |
| 10 Apr 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Corporal, 2656, 5th Pioneer Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Joseph was the son of John McAlister (born 1864 in Antrim, Ireland) and Anna McBain (born 1871 in Scotland), John was a Whinstone Sett Maker (he cut cut paving stones by hand) in Dumbartonshire in Scotland when he married Anna in 1889.
Joseph, a Labourer in NSW, enlisted in Townsville, QLD in the Army in 1939. He was a Private (Service No:QX2001) with2/9th Infantry Battalion when he embarked for South Africa in 1940. He was promoted to Sergeant, then WOII with HQ AIF Pay Section, and went from Durban to the Middle East in 1941. At his own request, he reverted to Sergeant and transferred to Signals 9 Australian Division. Joseph served in New Guinea, where he was hospitalised with Malaria, and was Discharged in March 1945.
In 1944 in Sydney, NSW, Joseph married Mavis Lillian Bennett (nee Knox, born 1916 in Sydney, NSW). Mavis was a Waitress, and moved to Townsville where she lived until 1948 (while Joseph served a three year prison sentence in HMP Townsville). Joseph and Mavis lived in Cairns, where Joseph worked as a Clerk before moving to Mary Kathleen in Cloncurry where Joseph was working as a Storeman.
By 1963 Joseph and Mary had moved to Gladstone and Joseph worked as a Yardman until he retired in 1970. Joseph died in 1973 and Mavis in 1981.