"Jack" John Bell MCGILL
Born 18 June 1887 in New Luce, Wigtownshire, Scotland [28]
Son of shepherd James MCGILL and Janet BELL [28]
In 1901 was living with his parents and siblings at Changue Cottage on Changue Farm in Mochrum, Wigtownshire, Scotland [20]
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]
Labourer, Farmer and Teamster in Coorow, Western Australia 1911-1916 [6] [18] [19] [P147]
Resided with his parents at Coorow House and helped his father farm the property of their relative Edward McGill BLYTHE [P147]
Came 2nd in the Footballers' Handicap at the Coorow Football Club's Annual Sports Day on 30 September 1913 [9: 10-Oct-1913]
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]
He and his brother Thomas successfully applied to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force on 19 March 1916 in Geraldton [30]
Resided in Coorow until enlisting in the Australian Imperial Force at Blackboy Hill on 4 April 1916 [30: item 1944147]
Gave his father James MCGILL of Coorow as his next of kin, and directed that two fifths of his pay go to his father [30]
Upon enlistment he was 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighed 134 pounds, and had blue eyes, black-grey hair and a medium complexion [30]
After training at Blackboy Hill he was appointed to the 20th Reinforcements of the 11th Battalion on 1 May 1916 [30]
Embarked Fremantle, Western Australia for active service abroad on the H.M.A.T. A36 Clan McGillivray on 18 September 1916 [18]
Disembarked in Plymouth, England and after further training proceeded to France on the S.S. Golden Eagle on 17 December 1916 [30]
Private 6301 in the Australian Imperial Force's 11th Battalion in France during the First World War [30]
Hospitalised after coming down with severe pain from the hip to the knee on 10 March 1917 in Somme, France [30]
Married his childhood sweetheart Elizabeth KEVAN on 5 June 1917 in Whithorn, Wigtownshire, Scotland [28] [P350]
Returned to England and subsequently returned to Australia on the Nestor in September 1917 suffering from a diseased hip joint [30]
His disability was an old infection prior to his enlistment, but a Medical Board ruled that it had been aggravated by active service [30]
Discharged as permanently unfit for service on 18 October 1917; received the British War Medal and the Victory Medal [30]
He and his brother "Jim" James MCGILL acquired farmland in Calingiri through the Soldier Settlement Scheme [P350]
Farmer of Toro Brook Farm in Calingiri, Western Australia [39: 28-Apr-1922]
Farmed in Calingiri with his brother Jim for almost two years and then made plans to bring his wife out from Scotland [P350]
His wife was afraid to make the journey alone so he returned to Scotland to accompany her to Western Australia [P350]
Departed from Fremantle, Western Australia on the steamship Orsova and arrived in London, England on 25 June 1921 [204]
The cold Scottish weather combined with his tuberculosis of the hip joint and after effects of the Spanish flu led to his death [P350]
Died 6 April 1922 in Whithorn, Wigtownshire, Scotland [28]
His son John Bell MCGILL was born in Scotland on 6 June 1922 and in 1953 immigrated to Western Australia [P350]
In 1923 his widow was living at Broughton Skeog in Sorbie, Wigtownshire, Scotland [30: item 1944164]
His widow married cattleman John AIRD on 16 June 1925 at the United Free Church Manse in Sorbie, Wigtownshire, Scotland [28]
| Reference: Carnamah Historical Society & Museum and North Midlands Project, 'John Bell McGill' in Biographical Dictionary of Coorow, Carnamah and Three Springs, retrieved 19 December 2024 from www.carnamah.com.au/bio/john-bell-mcgill [reference list] |
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