MCLAREN, Joseph Robert Lawrence
| Service Number: | 598 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 26 October 1914, Melbourne, Vic. |
| Last Rank: | Sapper |
| Last Unit: | 3rd Light Horse Brigade Signal Troop |
| Born: | Dover, England, 1893 |
| Home Town: | Mount Gravatt, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Motor Driver |
| Died: | 29 October 1939, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Springvale Botanical Cemetery, Melbourne Pittosporum, Wall 1A, Niche 247 |
| Memorials: | Holland Park Mount Gravatt Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 26 Oct 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Sapper, 598, 3rd Light Horse Brigade Signal Troop, Melbourne, Vic. | |
|---|---|---|
| Date unknown: | Involvement Sapper, 598, 3rd Light Horse Brigade Signal Troop, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '6' embarkation_place: '' embarkation_ship: '' embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
| Date unknown: | Embarked Sapper, 598, 3rd Light Horse Brigade Signal Troop |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Ian Lang
Son of Thos McLaren, 12 Manners Street, Westminster, London
From a perusal of the official records, there is no obvious reason for Joseph McLaren’s name to appear on the Mount Gravatt Roll of Honour. He was born in Dover, enlisted in Victoria, gave his Father’s address as next of kin as Westminster, England and had spent two years with the 1st City of London Regiment of the Royal Field Artillery.
Joseph enlisted in Melbourne on 26th August 1914. He gave his age as 21 and occupation as motor driver. He was posted into the 3rd Signals Troop of the 3rd Light Horse which embarked for Egypt on 1st February 1915. By May of 1915, Joseph was on the Gallipoli peninsula.
After the evacuation of Gallipoli, Joseph was transferred to England with tonsillitis; rejoining his unit in Egypt in April 1916. He was promoted to corporal in May and was further promoted to sergeant in November of that year. During 1916, the Light Horse was engaged primarily in defending the Suez Canal and then reconnaissance and intelligence gathering in the Sinai. Because of the open nature of the terrain, signals work was often accomplished by heliograph. The war diaries of the light horse emphasise the requirement for scouting patrols to seek out and hold water sources for the horses and no doubt a lot of the signals work conducted was aligned to this task.
During 1917, the Light Horse continued its scouting role into southern Palestine and captured Gaza and Beersheba. In 1918, the offensive moved into the Jordan Valley and the campaign ended with the capture of Damascus in Syria. On 17th September 1918, Joseph was promoted to Squadron Sergeant Major and retained that rank until discharge.
Joseph was fortunate with his war service, with just the one bout of tonsillitis. His promotions indicate that he was a reliable soldier, with only one small blemish on his record; being reprimanded for allowing a horse to be taken out of the lines. Joseph was discharged from the AIF on 28th October 1919, having served five years and two days. His file contains evidence that he applied for repatriation benefits in Brisbane in 1939, but also contains a note that he died on 26th January 1940. He would have been 47 years old.