MCPHERSON, Charles
| Service Number: | WX13178 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 17 May 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/28th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Clydesdale, Victoria, Australia, 14 December 1902 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Accidental, At sea (Nino Bixio), Mediterranean Sea, 17 August 1942, aged 39 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, Bruce Rock Memorial of Honour, Bunbury War Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Private, WX13178 | |
|---|---|---|
| 17 May 1941: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, WX13178, 2nd/28th Infantry Battalion |
Help us honour Charles McPherson's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Cherilyn McMeekin
Charles was the youngest of seven children born to James and Mary. His mother died in 1901 aged 30, possibly in childbirth with Charles (his date of birth given on enlistment is 14 December 1902, but he was actually born in 1901). James remarried to Alice Sarah HIGGINS in 1906 and had a further seven children, including a set of fraternal twins. Two of his brothers also enlisted in WWII, Leslie and John (Jack).
Charles 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.