The AIF Project

William James McALPINE

Regimental number1299
Place of birthTrentham, Victoria
ReligionPresbyterian
OccupationLabourer
AddressPO, Trentham, Victoria
Marital statusSingle
Age at embarkation25
Height5' 9.5"
Weight161 lbs
Next of kinMother, Mrs McAlpine, PO, Trentham, Victoria
Previous military serviceNil
Enlistment date23 September 1914
Date of enlistment from Nominal Roll20 October 1914
Place of enlistmentDaylesford, Victoria
Rank on enlistmentPrivate
Unit name14th Battalion, D Company
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A38 Ulysses on 22 December 1914
Rank from Nominal RollPrivate
Unit from Nominal Roll14th Battalion
FateKilled in Action 8 August 1915
Age at death from cemetery records25
Place of burialNo known grave
Commemoration detailsThe Lone Pine Memorial (Panel 42), Gallipoli, Turkey

The Lone Pine Memorial, situated in the Lone Pine Cemetery at Anzac, is the main Australian Memorial on Gallipoli, and one of four memorials to men of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. Designed by Sir John Burnet, the principal architect of the Gallipoli cemeteries, it is a thick tapering pylon 14.3 metres high on a square base 12.98 metres wide. It is constructed from limestone mined at Ilgardere in Turkey.

The Memorial commemorates the 3268 Australians and 456 New Zealanders who have no known grave and the 960 Australians and 252 New Zealanders who were buried at sea after evacuation through wounds or disease. The names of New Zealanders commemorated are inscribed on stone panels mounted on the south and north sides of the pylon, while those of the Australians are listed on a long wall of panels in front of the pylon and to either side. Names are arranged by unit and rank.

The Memorial stands over the centre of the Turkish trenches and tunnels which were the scene of heavy fighting during the August offensive. Most cemeteries on Gallipoli contain relatively few marked graves, and the majority of Australians killed on Gallipoli are commemorated here.

Miscellaneous information from
  cemetery records
Parents: William Burns McAlpine and Elizabeth McAlpine, Trentham, Victoria, Australia
Other details

War service: Egypt, Gallipoli

Embarked Alexandria to join the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force (Gallipoli Campaign), 12 April 1915.

Wounded in action, and admitted to HS 'Derflinger', 9 May 1915; transferred to hospital, Alexandria (no further details recorded).

Embarked Alexandria for Gallipoli, 1 August 1915.

Reported missing, 8 August 1915.

Court of Enquiry, Serapeum, 6-8-28 April 1916, concluded: 'Killed in action, 8 August 1915.'

Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
SourcesNAA: B2455, McALPINE William James

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