MCKAY, Reginald Jack
| Service Number: | 2423 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 15 July 1915, Melbourne, Vic. |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 23rd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Rosebery, Vic., 1 April 1898 |
| Home Town: | Port Melbourne, Port Phillip, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | School Teacher |
| Died: | Natural Causes, 9 February 1992, aged 93 years, place of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Andersons Creek Cemetery, Victoria |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 15 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2423, 23rd Infantry Battalion, Melbourne, Vic. | |
|---|---|---|
| 29 Sep 1915: | Involvement Private, 2423, 23rd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '14' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: RMS Osterley embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
| 29 Sep 1915: | Embarked Private, 2423, 23rd Infantry Battalion, RMS Osterley, Melbourne |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
Corporal Reginald J McKay, son of Thomas Fraser Mckay of 36 Clarke Street, Port Melbourne, enlisted on the 15th of July, 1915, and embarked with the 5th Reinforcements to the 23rd Battalion on the transport Osterley on the 29th of September. He joined his unit at Tel-el-Kebir on the 11th of January, 1916, and served in the Canal Zone. On the 12th of March, at Moascar, he was transferred to the 2nd Pioneer Battalion. He went to France with his unit on the 19th of the same month. On the 9th of October, he was transferred to the Anzac Wireless Section, and on the 23rd of June 1917 was transferred to the 1st Divisional Signalling Company. He was promoted to Corporl on 19th of September, 1918. On the 20the of December he was evacuated to hospital, sick, and invalided to England. He had taken part in many engagements in the capacity of runner and 'power-buzzer' operator. He was at Pozieres, Bullecourt, Passchendaele, and the last big advance that continued until the Americans relieved the 1st Division on the night of the 24th of September, 1918. 'Owing to heavy shelling on that night' says Corporal McKay, 'I slept in the deepest dugout I could find til next morning, then hurried back in the early morning mist to safety, and the termination of my service in the danger zone'. He returned to Australia on the transport Kyber in May 1919.
Prior to enlisting he was teaching at School No. 1424, Port Melbourne.
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