WHITELAW, Ivan Cecil
| Service Number: | 2910 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 21 July 1915, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 12th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Briagolong, Victoria, 1894 |
| Home Town: | Briagolong, Wellington, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Briagolong State School |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 23 April 1918 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" No known grave, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Briagolong Honor Roll, Briagolong State School No 1117 Roll of Honor, Briagolong War Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 21 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2910, Melbourne, Victoria | |
|---|---|---|
| 27 Oct 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2910, 26th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '15' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Ulysses embarkation_ship_number: A38 public_note: '' | |
| 27 Oct 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 2910, 26th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ulysses, Melbourne | |
| 6 May 1917: | Honoured Military Medal, Bullecourt (Second) | |
| 23 Apr 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Corporal, 2910, 12th Infantry Battalion, German Spring Offensive 1918, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 2910 awm_unit: 12th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Corporal awm_died_date: 1918-04-23 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by John Edwards
"2910 Lance Corporal Ivan Cecil Whitelaw was born in the Victorian town of Briagolong to Robert and Annie Whitelaw. In July 1915, at the age of 21, he enlisted in the AIF. He joined the 12th Battalion as reinforcement in Egypt in March 1916. In July he was promoted to Lance Corporal, a few days later on 4 August he was admitted to hospital after suffering gas poisoning, this would be the first of three time he would be wounded in action. In May 1917 he was awarded the Military Medal. The recommendation reads: 'On May 6th 1917 operations east of BULLECOURT, commanded a post that was heavily attacked by the enemy and resisted so effectively with bomb and Lewis Machine Gun fire that the attack was beaten off. He set a splendid example to his men during the whole period the Bn. was in the line.'
On 9 June 1917 Whitelaw was promoted to corporal. On the night of 23/24 April 1918 he was killed in action near Meteren during the German Spring Offensive. The battalion chaplain, Captain H A Hayden, noted: 'KIA 24/4/18 This NCO took part in the attack on Meteren, and was killed by an enemy machine gun whilst approaching his post and endeavouring to capture it. He is buried on the battlefield near where he fell'. The grave could not be located after the war and Whitelaw is commemorated on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial.
Corporal Whitelaw was one of six Whitelaw brothers who enlisted in the AIF. Two of his brothers were also killed during the war: Sergeant Robert Angus Whitelaw, killed on 3 May 1917 and Private Angus McSween Whitelaw, killed on 25 August 1916. Another brother, Private Kenneth Whitelaw, was invalided home after a gunshot wound to the chest but died of his wound in 1922. Private Lionel Whitelaw and Sergeant Donald John Whitelaw survived the war." - SOURCE (www.awm.gov.au)
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