William Robert McKAY

Regimental number1788
Place of birthChristmas Town, Victoria
SchoolRutherglen Higher Elementary School, Victoria
ReligionCongregational
OccupationElectrician
AddressMurphy Street, Rutherglen, Victoria
Marital statusSingle
Age at embarkation19
Height5' 7"
Weight135 lbs
Next of kinFather, John McKay, Murphy Street, Rutherglen, Victoria
Previous military serviceNil
Enlistment date2 January 1915
Place of enlistmentRutherglen, Victoria
Rank on enlistmentPrivate
Unit name14th Battalion, 4th Reinforcement
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A9 Shropshire on 29 March 1915
Rank from Nominal RollPrivate
Unit from Nominal Roll14th Battalion
FateKilled in Action 8 August 1915
Place of death or woundingGallipoli, Turkey
Age at death19.7
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.

Panel number, Roll of Honour,
  Australian War Memorial
73
Miscellaneous information from
  cemetery records
Parents: John and Emily Edith MCKAY, Rutherglen Hotel, Rutherglen, Victoria
Other details

War service: Egypt, Gallipoli

Embarked Alexandria to join the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, Gallipoli, 26 May 1915.

Admitted to 4th Field Ambulance, 3 August 1915 (influenza); transferred to Fleet Sweeper, 6 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, McKAY William Robert