William McKean FINDLAY

FINDLAY, William McKean

Service Number: V8007
Enlisted: 5 July 1940
Last Rank: Warrant Officer Class 1
Last Unit: Not yet discovered
Born: Kilmernock, Scotland, 20 July 1898
Home Town: Camberwell, Boroondara, Victoria
Schooling: Not yet discovered
Occupation: Cashier
Died: Illness, 115th Australian General Hospital (Heidelberg), Melbourne, Australia, 7 June 1944, aged 45 years
Cemetery: Springvale War Cemetery, Melbourne, Victoria
Memorials: Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour
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World War 2 Service

3 Sep 1939: Involvement Warrant Officer Class 1, V8007
5 Jul 1940: Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Warrant Officer Class 1, V8007

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Biography contributed by Evan Evans

From How We Served

The final resting place for; - V8007 Warrant Officer Class One William McKean Findlay Camberwell, Victoria, who, prior to immigrating out to Australia, had already served with The Highland Light Infantry of the 1st British Expeditionary Forces in the trenches of France & Belgium, during the ‘Great War’.

With the outbreak of World War Two, William was married and employed as a cashier, when he decided to enlist for War Service with his newly adopted country on the 5th of July 1940.

Accepted for fulltime duty within Australia, William was initially posted to Southern Command Special Training School on his joining up, and from which he would be attached to various Training Battalions within Victoria, with his service being continuous from the time of his enlistment.

By May 1944, William had been promoted to Warrant Officer Class One after having been transferred over to 3rd Military District Land Headquarters Depot Medical & Veterinary Stores.

It was whilst serving with this establishment that William was evacuated due to sickness and was conveyed to the 115th Australian General Hospital (Heidelberg) on the 7th of June 1944, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Following his sudden and premature death at the age of 45, Warrant Officer Class One William Findlay, a Scottish veteran of World War One, and who had chosen to serve with the Australian Military Forces following the outbreak of a Second World War was formally laid to rest within Springvale War Cemetery, Victoria.

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