MASON, Joseph Ernest
| Service Number: | 743 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd Battalion, Australian Commonwealth Horse |
| Born: | Not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
Boer War Service
| 1 Oct 1899: | Involvement Private, 743, 2nd Battalion, Australian Commonwealth Horse |
|---|
Joseph Ernest MASON
A somewhat unusual background. His occupation was given as an interpreter, born in Texas and next of kin a cousin Julia in Brooklyn, New York. Aged 28 from 1 Kilby Terrace, South Melbourne, he claimed to have spent two years and eight months with the British South Africa Police and seven months with Kitchener's Fighting Scouts, the later service between 17 January, 1901 and 14 August, 1901.
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If his time with the South Africa Police was stated correctly, he must have been in South Africa since at least 1897 and the reason for his move to Australia is unknown - he appears to have arrived in September, 1901, immediately following his discharge from Kitchener's Scouts.
He was one of the few Australians to be awarded the King's South African Medal which required service in 1900 and 1902. There is no trace of him in Victorian BDM and nothing is none of his post-war history. Kilby Terrace no longer exists - it and one or two minor streets (inter alia Byrne and Maffra) were on the north side of City Road just behind today's Victorian Arts Centre. Number 1 appears to have been on the corner of City Road,
Submitted 1 May 2017 by Brian Membrey