"Jim" James MCGILL
Born 7 December 1892 in Stranraer, Wigtown, Scotland [30]
Son of James MCGILL and Janet BELL [P147]
Departed London, England with parents and siblings Thomas, James, Margaret, Mary and Robert on the Otway on 24 June 1910 [203]
They arrived on the steamship Otway in Fremantle, Western Australia on 26 July 1910 [70]
Farmhand in Coorow, Western Australia 1911-1916 [P147]
Resided with his parents at Coorow House and helped his father run Edward McGill BLYTHE's farm in Coorow [P147]
Attended the Coorow Farmers' Progress Association's Picnic & Sports Meeting in Coorow on 7 October 1911 [39: 12-Oct-1911]
He competed in the sports and came 2nd in the Half-mile Handicap Race, Obstacle Race, High Jump and Sack Race [39]
Won the Long Jump and High Jump at the Coorow Football Club's Annual Sports Day on 30 September 1913 [9: 10-Oct-1913]
Also came 2nd in the Sack Race, 3rd in the Half-mile Handicap and 2nd in the Three-Legged Race with Ernest A. LONG [9]
His cousin, George BELL of Coorow, was early to enlist during the First World War and was killed at the Gallipoli landings in 1915 [18]
Resided in Coorow until successfully applying to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force in Moora on 7 June 1916 [30: item 1944135]
With two of his brothers already serving in the A.I.F. his father opted to leave Coorow as he was unable to farm without them [P147]
Shifted with his parents and siblings from Coorow to 2 Cavendish Street in the Perth suburb of Victoria Park in June 1916 [P147]
Enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in Perth on 16 June 1916 [30: item 1944135]
Upon enlistment he was 5 feet 9½ inches tall, weighed 136 pounds and had blue eyes, brown hair and a fresh complexion [30]
After training at Blackboy Hill he was on 1 November 1916 appointed to the 7th Reinforcements of the 51st Battalion [30]
Embarked from Fremantle, Western Australia for active service abroad on the H.M.AT. A8 Argyllshire on 9 November 1916 [30]
Disembarked in Devonport, England on 10 January 1917 and after further training proceeded to France on 13 March 1917 [30]
Lance Corporal 2962 in the Australian Imperial Force's 32nd Battalion in France during the First World War [30]
Hospitalised for influenza and for a shell wound to his left knee after being Wounded in Action on 28 September 1917 [30]
Embarked from England on the Konigin Louise and disembarked in Fremantle, Western Australia on 3 August 1919 [30]
Discharged from the Australian Imperial Force on 10 September 1919; received the British War Medal and the Victory Medal [30]
He and his brother "Jack" John Bell MCGILL acquired farmland in Calingiri through the Soldier Settlement Scheme [P350]
Farmer of Toro Brook Farm in Calingiri [P147]
In March 1933 his farmhouse in Calingiri was destroyed by fire and he lost all of his personal papers [30]
He applied for a copy of his Australian Imperial Force service details in March 1962 so he could apply for a War Service Home [30]
| Reference: Carnamah Historical Society & Museum and North Midlands Project, 'James McGill' in Biographical Dictionary of Coorow, Carnamah and Three Springs, retrieved 20 April 2024 from www.carnamah.com.au/bio/james-mcgill-jnr [reference list] |
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