MCCRAE, Lionel Oscar
| Service Numbers: | 147, 19, 8929 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 16 March 1915, Enlisted at Liverpool. Enlisted straight after being released from Special Tropical Corps. |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 18th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Carlton, Victoria, Australia., 20 May 1889 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Locomotive Workshop Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in action by shell, Zonnebeke, Belgium., 20 September 1917, aged 28 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Belgium. |
| Memorials: | Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 19 Aug 1914: | Embarked Private, 147, 1st Infantry Battalion, Naval and Military Forces - Special Tropical Corps, HMAT Berrima, Sydney | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Aug 1914: | Involvement Private, 147, 1st Infantry Battalion, Naval and Military Forces - Special Tropical Corps, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '21' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Berrima embarkation_ship_number: A35 public_note: '' | |
| 16 Mar 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Driver, 19, Australian Army Corps , Enlisted at Liverpool. Enlisted straight after being released from Special Tropical Corps. | |
| 22 Jun 1915: | Involvement Private, 19, 4th Light Horse Brigade, Ammunition Reserve, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '22' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Vestalia embarkation_ship_number: A44 public_note: '' | |
| 22 Jun 1915: | Embarked Private, 19, 4th Light Horse Brigade, Ammunition Reserve, HMAT Vestalia, Sydney | |
| 20 Sep 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 8929, 18th Infantry Battalion |
Help us honour Lionel Oscar McCrae's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by John Oakes
Lionel Oscar MCCRAE, (Service Numbers 147 and 19) was born on 20th May 1889 at Carlton, Melbourne. In December 1913 he was working as a temporary labourer in the Locomotive Workshop at Eveleigh and by February 1915 he had become permanent. In November 1915 his position was made specific as a ‘wood labourer’.
McCrae enlisted at Liverpool on 16th March 1915, described himself as a ‘Railway Employee’ and gave his mother living in Balmain as his next of kin. As previous military experience McCrae detailed six months with the 1st Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force from August 1914.
The AN&MEF was raised early in the war to seize German assets and colonies in the Pacific to the north of Australia. This work was completed by February 1915. He was discharged on 4th March when the AN&MEF was disbanded.
He was a Driver with the Australian Army Service Corps in Egypt by 11th September 1915.
In March 1916 he embarked at Alexandria for France, reaching Marseilles on 28th March. In August he was convicted of being ‘absent from 9-30 p.m. until found at 8 a.m. in trenches with 18 Btn’. This incurred 14 days Field Punishment No. 2 and the forfeiture of 18 days’ pay. In September he was transferred to the 18th Battalion, now with the rank of Private rather than Driver. In November he was admitted to hospital with trench feet and he was absent in convalescent units until December.
On 2nd July 1917 McCrae was awarded the Military Medal.
He was reported missing in action on 20th September and a Court of Enquiry held in December ruled that he had in fact been killed in action on that date. Pte C A Hughes reported:
‘About 20th September near Anzac House, near Westhoek Ridge, on right of Zonnebeke. About 300 yards behind the lines, Mc Crae was following up Lieut. Col. G Murphy, Colonel of Battalion. Germans were throwing over shells. When the Colonel turned round to look for McCrae he had disappeared. About 3rd Oct, I and others searched the ground for best part of the day but could find no trace of his body.
Was a general favourite and was following up the Colonel in case latter wanted to send a message back.’
He had probably received a near direct hit from an artillery shell and been blown to pieces. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Belgium.
- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.