MCKAY, Hendry
| Service Number: | 2185 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Sapper |
| Last Unit: | 1st Field Company Engineers |
| Born: | Rutherglen, Scotland, date not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Petersham, Marrickville, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Farie Street Public School Petersham, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Painter |
| Died: | Wounds, Messines, Belgium, 27 October 1917, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Menin Road South Military Cemetery Grave III. K. 1., Menin Road South Military Cemetery, Ypres, Flanders, Belgium |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 9 Nov 1915: | Involvement Sapper, 2185, 1st Field Company Engineers, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '5' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Beltana embarkation_ship_number: A72 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Nov 1915: | Embarked Sapper, 2185, 1st Field Company Engineers, HMAT Beltana, Sydney |
Help us honour Hendry McKay's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Geoffrey Gillon
He was serving with the 5th Div. Signal Company Australian Engineers at the time of his death.
He is one of 11 Australian soldier casualties of the Great War who are remembered on the Rutherglen war memorial.
The listing of names and the nationality of the force with which they serve is not entirely accurate.
The main memorial, The Cenotaph, was constructed in the 1920's and stands at the west end of Rutherglen Main Street. A further memorial stands in Rutherglen cemetery. Although the Sword of Remembrance memorial at the entrance to Rutherglen Cemetery, again constructed in the early 1920's, contains an inscription it contains no names unlike the Cenotaph.
The main memorial was unveiled on 26th October 1924; the memorial itself was by Robert Gray sculptors of Glasgow, and the bronze figure of 'Courage' is by George Henry Paulin.
The Provost of Rutherglen called a meeting on 10th May 1920 to consider the erection of a memorial. After some debate it was decided to erect a commemorative memorial rather than a utilitarian memorial such as a hospital or social club. By 1921 the decision was taken to halt fund raising " in respect that there was at present in the Burgh considerable distress in consequence of the large amount of unemployment for which a Public Relief Fund was presently being raised". It is worth remembering that the vast majority of war memorials were erected by public subscription made up from large numbers of small donations from ordinary people who by 1921 were suffering badly from high unemployment.
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