MACAULEY, James
| Service Number: | 645 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 6th Queensland Imperial Bushmen |
| Born: | Queensland, Australia, 15 May 1874 |
| Home Town: | Gunalda, Gympie Regional Council, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Police Officer; Farmer |
| Died: | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 22 August 1954, aged 80 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Mount Thompson Memorial Gardens & Crematorium, Queensland Columbarium 6, Section 8 |
| Memorials: |
Boer War Service
| 1 Oct 1899: | Involvement Private, 645 | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Aug 1901: | Embarked Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Sergeant, 645, 6th Queensland Imperial Bushmen, AWM Boer War Unit Details, Murray p. 506 notes part of the first draft that followed the original 6th contingent left by train 18 Aug 1901 embarking in Sydney 20 Aug 1901 aboard Britannic arriving Cape Town 22 Sept 1901. | |
| 14 Aug 1902: | Discharged Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Sergeant, 645, 6th Queensland Imperial Bushmen, Qld State Archives- Boer War Service Paybooks 5th QIB, Bk 4 p. 83, notes returned to Australia aboard Norfolk arriving Brisbane 7 Aug 1902, discharged 14 Aug 1902. |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Claude McKelvey
Note- James Macauley was registered as James Caulley at birth and had adopted the name James Macaulay prior to enlisting.
James Macauley (Macaulay) served in the South African (Borer) War as a Orderly Room Sergeant in the 6th Queensland Imperial Bushmen (1st Draft).
When he volunteered in 1901 for the 1st Draft of the 6th QIB he was only one of 3 men who had not previously served in South Africa, according to the AWM Boer War Nominal Roll compiled by Murray, p. 519. A newspaper report in The Queensland Times, 17 Aug 1901, indicates that prior to enlisting he was working as a Constable in the police force in the Ipswich district.
Men in the draft were not recorded in the original nominal roll for the 6th QIB. He was however, recorded in the Boer War Service Paybooks for the 5th QIB (to which he was allotted), Bk 4 p. 83. The paybooks note that he was actually a replacement for S.N. 645 Private Patrick John Fishbourne, who had previously served in the 3rd QMI but withdrew from the 6th QIB 1st Draft before embarking. It also notes that James Macauley embarked at the rank of Orderly Room Sergeant.
The Brisbane Courier, 16 May 1902, notes when the 5th QIB embarked to return to Australia that, S.N. 645, Sergeant Jas. McCauley, remained in South Africa for further service. The service paybooks note he was returned to Brisbane where he was discharged 14 Aug 1902.
James Macaulay was registered on BDM Qld birth register as James Caulley when he was born on 15 May 1874 in Queensland, a son to Thomas Caulley and Margaret Ann Caulley (nee Clements). As noted previously, prior to 1901 he had adopted the surname Macaulay/Macauley and was single working as a Constable in the police force at Ipswich when he enlisted.
It appears he was originally from the Gunalda (Gympie) district where his father was engaged in farming. When he returned from the war in 1902 he went back to the Gunalda area where he also engaged in farming. James Macaulay married Grace Ada Landells on 3 Jun 1903 in Queensland and they had 6 children. He later had a business in Goombungee before retiring to Wynnum in Brisbane.
(source- AWM Boer War Nominal Roll, Murray p. 518; Qld State Archives- Boer War Service Paybooks 5th QIB, Bk 4 p. 83; Send-Off For Messrs Macauley And Pope- The Queensland Times, 17 Aug 1901; Obituary- The Dalby Herald, 24 Aug 1954).