MacRAE, Alexander Henderson
(Service number 10369)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank | Private |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 15/10/1882 | Place of Birth | Scotland |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 1 November 1916 | Age | 33 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Gladstone | ||
| Occupation | Farm manager for W B Chennels, Masterton | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Married, two children | ||
| Next of Kin | Duncan MacRae (father), Westend, Averanish, Kyle of Loch Alsh, Scotland; [&] C MacRae (brother), Otira, Westport. | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 12th Reinforcements, Wellington Infantry Battalion, J Company | ||
| Date | 5 June 1916 | ||
| Transport | Mokoia or Navua | ||
| Embarked From | Wellington, New Zealand | Destination | Suez, Egypt |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | Wellington Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion | ||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | Western European (1916) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | |||
Award Circumstances and Date
No information
Prisoner of War Information
| Date of Capture | |
|---|---|
| Where Captured and by Whom | |
| Actions Prior to Capture | |
| PoW Serial Number | |
| PoW Camps | |
| Days Interned | |
| Liberation Date |
Death
| Date | 1 October 1916 | Age | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Somme, France | ||
| Cause | Killed in action | ||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Caterpillar Valley (New Zealand) Memorial, Caterpillar Valley Cemetery, Longueval, Somme, France | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | On Memorial wall, Timaru; Geraldine War Memorial (as McRae) | ||
Biographical Notes
Alexander MacRae was born in Scotland in 1882. When he enlisted he was a married man with two children, working as a farm manger for EW B Chennels of Masterton. He listed his father, Duncan MacRae, in Scotland, as his next of Kin, but also supplied his brother’s details (C Macrae of Otira, Westport, New Zealand) as his New Zealand contact.
Alexander left New Zealand in June 1916, passing through the Suez and Alexandra before arriving in Southhampton in early August. After a few weeks in Sling training camp he departed for France at the end of the month. He passed through Etaples before joining the Wellington Regiment in France on 23 September, serving with 9 Company, 2nd Battalion, Wellington Regiment. Barely over a week later, on 1 October 1916 Alexander was killed in action. He had served for. For his service he was awarded the British War Medal and Victory medal, which were sent to his father in Scotland, while his plaque and scroll were sent to his brother in Otira, Westport, in 1922.
A grand-daughter contacted SCRoll, commenting: "Alexander was my grandfather. He was married when he departed for The Somme in 1916. His wife was Violet Angelina Macrae née Davis. They were married in Wanganui in 1912. My mother Jean Macrae was born 21 April 1915. Her sister Elizabeth Ella Macrae was born on the 21 June 1913."
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Cenotaph Database (May 2014); SCRoll web submission, 6 October 2023; Births, Deaths, and Marriages online at https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/ [accessed 8 Octobr 2023]
External Links
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Researched and Written by
Tony Rippin, South Canterbury Museum
Currently Assigned to
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Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.
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