MCKAY, Eric Brodie
| Service Number: | 193 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 1st Australian General Hospital |
| Born: | Burwood, New South Wales, Australia , 1896 |
| Home Town: | Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Melbourne C of E Grammar School; Trinity College; Melbourne University |
| Occupation: | Medical Student |
| Died: | Died of wounds, Rouen, France, 10 August 1916 |
| Cemetery: |
St Sever Cemetery Extension, Rouen A 7 8 |
| Memorials: | Melbourne Grammar School WW1 Fallen Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 18 May 1915: | Involvement Private, 193, 1st Australian General Hospital, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '23' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: RMS Mooltan embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 18 May 1915: | Embarked Private, 193, 1st Australian General Hospital, RMS Mooltan, Melbourne |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Sharyn Roberts
ERIC BRODIE McKAY who died of wounds in France on 10th August 1916 was the only son of the late Mr. G. A. McKay, Commissioner of Taxation of the Commonwealth. He was born in 1896 and was at the School from 1909 to 1914. He passed the Junior Public Examination in 1913 and was in the Eleven in 1913 and 1914, finishing up his School cricket with a splendid innings against Scotch College. He
was in the football team in 1914, and in the athletic team of that year, competing in the long jump. As a prefect and captain of the School in the latter half of 1914 he gained the respect and affection of the whole School Staff as well as the boys. 'He was a fine type, gentle but firm, keen but unselfish, and his devotion to the School and all that pertained to it could not have been greater.
He entered Trinity College in 1915 but enlisted the same year and joined the 22nd Battalion, in which he was a Lieutenant and acted as Staff-Lieutenant. He was on the "Southland" when she was torpedoed and was for a long time in the water. His behaviour during that trying incident was the subject of most favourable report
from his superior officers. He was wounded on Gallipoli and later on went to France. He was in the first attack on Pozieres and was wounded in the face at Sausage Valley, but would not leave the front. He went back to the trenches in the second attack on Pozieres, and was cheering on his platoon when he received
three wounds in the head. He walked down to the dressing station.
Subsequently he was admitted to the No. 2 Red Cross Hospital, Rouen, on 6th August 1916 suffering from great injury ,to his brain, from which he died four days later. One of his non-corns. wrote: " He was the best-liked officer in the battalion and his men would do anything for him." His death was the more sad by reason of the fact
that a few weeks before his father had died. Much as the father was esteemed and respected in the public position he occupied and in private life, the son was equally valued where he was best known.
He was buried in the St. Sever Cemetery at Rouen.
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