MCMEEKIN, Norman Francis
| Service Number: | WX9106 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 30 October 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/28th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Worsley, Western Australia, 15 September 1910 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Sheet Plaster worker |
| Died: | Accidental, At sea (Nino Bixio), Mediterranean Sea, 17 August 1942, aged 31 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Col 93 |
| Memorials: | Alamein Memorial (El Alamein), Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Private, WX9106 | |
|---|---|---|
| 30 Oct 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, WX9106, 2nd/28th Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Cherilyn McMeekin
Norman was the fourth of seven children. His father Robert was the foreman at Holyoake Mill, WA; he died in 1920 aged 47. Norman's mother Elizabeth remarried in 1922 to Frank George FORBES (WX8268).
Norman, known to family as Nonk, married in 1931 to Elsie Hilda WHYBORN (1914-1999). Widow Elsie remarried in 1956 to Lionel William BUCKINGHAM.
Two of Norman's brothers died in infancy. Of the three remaining brothers, two served in WWII: Thomas and Nathaniel. He also had a half-brother, Keith George FORBES, who enlisted in the Naval Reserve.
Norman was one of 41 Australian POWs killed when the Italian transport ship Nino Bixio was torpedoed by a British submarine in the Mediterranean on 17 August 1942. The Nino Bixio was transporting Allied POWs from Libya to Italy. Of the 122 Australian POWs to survive the incident, four died later by execution. Most of the Australian casualties were from the 2/28th Infantry Battalion.