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Australians
in the Boer War
Oz-Boer Database Project |
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Full Record
Hint: This site is intended as a search aid - not a definitive source. It is essentially an index to documents that seem to relate to this person plus a very brief precis of relevant elements. Sources often conflict and I also flag things with a ? when I am unsure. So if the information below is important to you, then please check the original sources to see what else they contain (and in case I have inadvertantly introduced transcription and/or precising errors). There can be additional information that was not included in the database for both space and copyright reasons.
| Surname | | MCWILLIAMS |
| Given Name(s) or Initial(s) | | George Frederick |
| Regimental Number | | |
| Rank | | Major |
| Unit Name | | 1st West Australia Mounted Infantry |
| State | | WA |
Extracts and Comments
(from Sources as shown) | |
Murray: medical staff, Lieutenant Colonel 12.12.1900 Queen's South Africa medal and 4 clasps.
Wallace1: Lieutenant Colonel.
B5165: previously Major WA Defence Force Medical Staff.
URL1: medical officer from Vic., served in PoWLH Inf. (Vic.) Melb. University Inf. Coy. & Perth Artillery.
URL2: Col. MCWILLIAMS NSW in Eng. since serving in S. Africa returns to Sydney per 'Oceana' c9.1902.
URL3: letter dated 18.3.1900 from Maj. MCWILLIAMS who left with 1s WA Contingent.
URL4: THE LATE COLONEL MCWlLLIAMS. A TABLET UNVEILED. At the conclusion of his address to the assembled troops in St. George's Cathedral on Sunday [26.5.1907], the Right Rev. Bishop RILEY asked His Excellency the Governor (Sir Frederick BEDFORD) to unveil the tablet erected on the wall in the southern, transcept to the me mory of the late Lieut.-Colonel MCWILLIAMS, who was Principal Medical Officer to the Western Australian Forces. His Lordship said the late officer was a citizen soldier of long experience, who had set a good example to the younger soldiers. As a citizen of Perth he had done splendid work, and had rendered good service in regard to the health of the town. The part Lieut. Colonel MCWILLIAMS had taken in connection with the St. John Ambulance Society was well known to His Excellency and he had done much to relieve the sufferings of the poor. From the comrades who had served with the late officer in the war in South Africa, he had learned that the medical skill of Lieut.-Colonel MCWILLIAMS had been of invaluable service to the troops, and he had displayed a fortitude and courage in the field which had won for him the love and respect of every man who knew him. He was a man imbued with the spirit of devotion to his country and devotion to the people among whom he lived. His Excellency then drew aside the flag, and exposed to view the neat brass plate mounted on a tablet of polished black marble. The "Last Post" was sounded by a bugler, and the ceremony was complete. The inscription on the tablet reads as follows - In memory of Lieutenant-Colonel George Frederick MCWILLIAMS, Australian Army Medical Corps. Served with First Western Australian Contingent, South African war, 1899-1900. Died February 12, 1907. Aged 42 years. This tablet is erected by his brother officers of the Commonwealth Military Forces of WA.
URL5: His Majesty the King has been pleased to confer the Order of Grace on Dr. MCWILLIAMS, who served in the South African War in the rank of surgeon-maior. Dr. MCWILLIAMS, who is a brother of Detective MCWILLIAMS of Melbourne, went to the war with one of the West Australian contingents, and while in South Africa distinguished himself, both by his medical skill and his gallantry. He died recently in Perth - before news of the honour which had been conferred upon him reached him.
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| Source References | |
Murray: Official Records of the Australian Contingents etc. page(s) 214 396 399
Wallace1: The Australians at the Boer War page(s) 275 288
B5165: National Archives of Australia series B5165
W. Mail: Western Mail newspaper date(s) 11.11.1899 & 1.6.1907
Kalg.WA: Kalgoorlie Western Argus newspaper date(s) 23.9.1902
West Australian: West Australian newspaper date(s) 2.5.1900 & 5.11.1902
Australasian: Australasian newspaper date(s) 12.6.1902 & 13.4.1907
| | External Link URL1 | | nla.gov.au/nla.news-article33178426 | | External Link URL2 | | nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32667839 | | External Link URL3 | | nla.gov.au/nla.news-article23834535 | | External Link URL4 | | nla.gov.au/nla.news-article37393872 | | External Link URL5 | | nla.gov.au/nla.news-article139760203 | | External Link URL6 | | nla.gov.au/nla.news-article24747351 |
Please email me if you can
contribute any other relevant information about this person (eg any
other military service, where in Australia they came from or when/where
they died). Also, if you find an external link broken.
Apology: For some time now it has been difficult to keep up with the newly available sources (especially the Trove newspaper site) plus the flow of contributions and queries. So I have been forced to prioritise maintenance and data entry over replying to correspondence. Nevertheless, your contributions are being added to the database and acknowledged on the contributions page and, although my replies are many months behind, I will attempt to get to them more often.
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Oz-Boer Database
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