War Memorial Hall c1929
John Wilson MCWHAE
John McWhae was born on 6 February 1884 in Ballarat, Victoria. His parents were John and Elizabeth Henderson (née Douch) McWhae. He attended Scotch from 1898 to 1900. He matriculated at Scotch at the early age of 15.
John had been a miner and stockbroker before he enlisted some time before July 1916 in England. He served in the 189th Army Brigade of the Royal Field Artillery with the rank of Lieutenant.
John died on 21 June 1917 at Ypres, Belgium. He was 33 years of age.
Service record
John was a well-qualified and experienced miner, who had studied and worked in Australia and California. He had also mined in the Philippines and joined the stock exchange in Melbourne. After the outbreak of war he travelled to England and secured a commission in the artillery there, based not on military experience but on his engineering expertise.
On the eve of the battle of the Somme in July 1916 he was a 2nd Lieutenant, but illnesses of two more senior officers led to him commanding his artillery battery throughout the battle. He performed so well that he was recommended for a Military Cross and promoted to full Lieutenant. In June 1917 he was killed by shellfire near Ypres. His brother Hector was also an artilleryman, in the AIF.
Hector wrote in a letter home of the ‘strange coincidence’ of coming across John’s grave, which had been disturbed by German shelling. His parents requested that Jack’s headstone be inscribed with the words ‘Born Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, 6 February 1884, OUR BELOVED SON’. John was the first alumnus of the University of California killed in the war. His father wrote to the university that they should be proud of him, for ‘he died a noble death at the head of his battery in action.’
John McWhae is buried in the Railway Dugouts Burial Ground (VI. A. 28), Ypres, Belgium.
Sources:
- Australian War Memorial – Commemorative Roll
- Commonwealth War Graves Commission website
- Mishura Scotch Database
- Scotch Collegian 1917
- University of California Chronicle - http://www.forgottenbooks.com/readbook_text/University_of_California_Chronicle_v19_1000546078/501
