BUCHANAN, Clarence James
| Service Numbers: | Q144289, QX57611 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 28 September 1942 |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | Not yet discovered |
| Born: | North Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 29 November 1916 |
| Home Town: | Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Brisbane State High School, Queensland, Australia |
| Occupation: | Motor Driver |
| Died: | Complications following surgery to repair fractured hip , Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 25 December 2009, aged 93 years |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 28 Sep 1942: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, Q144289 | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Jul 1944: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, Q144289 | |
| 22 Jul 1944: | Involvement Corporal, Q144289, also QX57611 - died 25 Dec 2009 (C'Mail) | |
| 22 Jul 1944: | Involvement Corporal, QX57611, also Q144289 - died 25 Dec 2009 (C'Mail) | |
| 22 Jul 1944: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Corporal, QX57611 | |
| 22 Jul 1944: | Enlisted | |
| 20 Feb 1946: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Corporal, QX57611 | |
| 20 Feb 1946: | Discharged |
Help us honour Clarence James Buchanan's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Corporal Clarence James Buchanan (Service Nos:Q144289/QX57611) initially served in the ACMF as a Private - graded Instrument Fitter - from 28 September 1942 to 2 July 1944 with the AEME Workshops. Corporal Buchanan - graded Instrument Artificer - then served in the AIF with Fortress Workshops AEME from 22 July 1944 to 20 February 1946.
Clarry was born in Melbourne, Victoria in 1916, eldest of five children of Rev William (Alex) Alexander Buchanan (b1893 in Korumburra, Victoria) and Leila Mary Lancaster (b1894 in Williamstown, Victoria). Alex was a Farm Hand at Bena via Loch, Victoria in 1916 when he and Leila married in Melbourne. The couple lived in Bena and Yackandanda, where they raised their family and Alex was a Farm Hand. By 1920 the family had settled in Melbourne, where Alex was one of the early Pastors of the Assemblies of God. In the early 1930s the family moved to QLD, where Rev Buchanan was a Pastor/Clergyman in Brisbane and Gympie. Leila was a Stenographer, a trained singer and pianist, and a preacher alongside her husband. Alex and Leila established WA Buchanan & Coy, a Christian Book wholesale business.
Clarry studied violin and sang (and in later years trained and conducted the Glad Tidings Tabernacle Choir, and taught himself to play the electronic organ), and started work as a Grocery Assistant/Distributor and Warehouseman in Brisbane where, in 1939 he married Ethel Margaret Wright (b1918 in Brisbane, QLD). Clarry and Ethel settled in Brisbane, where they raised their family and Clarry was a Motor Driver when he enlisted in the Army in 1942. Following his Discharge, Clarry worked briefly as Clerk (Techician's Assistant with the Postmaster General's Department) before purchasing a Milk Run. In 1952 he became Manager of WA Buchanan & Co (his parents' Christian wholesale bookstore), later purchasing it with his brother in law, and becoming involved in the retail outlet (Rex Bookshop) and Rex Vitamin Bar (distributors of vitamins and health food products). Both he and Ethel were involved with Gideons International, and travelled extensively within Australia and internationally, representing WA Buchanan & Co, the Christian Booksellers' Association of Australia, the Women's Christain Temperance Union and Gideon's International. Clarry died in 2009 and Ethel in 2018.
Click images to start slideshow.