Last WWI Digger dies.

[cols110]

Last Digger to fight in WWI dies

October 18, 2005

THE last Australian to fight in World War I, William Evan Allan, from Victoria, has died at the age of 106.

The death of the former able seaman was confirmed by Veterans Affairs officials in Canberra.

Only one former Australian WWI digger now remains alive.

Wireless operator John Campbell Ross, 106, of Bendigo in Victoria, enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in February 1918 but the war ended before he saw active service.

Mr Allan, from Melbourne, was also the sole surviving veteran of both world wars.

Born in Bega in New South Wales in July 1899, Mr Allan enlisted in the Royal Australian Navy as a boy sailor at the outbreak of World War I when he was only 14 years old.

As an able seaman, he was a member of the crew of HMAS Encounter from 1915 until 1918.

He sailed in the Pacific and also in the Indian Ocean escorting troop ship convoys.

Mr Allan served in the Royal Australian Navy for 34 years and also saw service in World War II. He retired from the navy in 1947 having attained the rank of lieutenant.

A sad day when some one who has seen and been involved in so much history dies.

Lived through 3 centuries, two World Wars and enlisted at the age of 14.

[Steve H]

Thanks Coll, theres never a bad time to take some time out to remember what that means to us all .

Cheers, Steve.

[landi41]

Last Digger to fight in WWI dies

A sad day when some one who has seen and been involved in so much history dies.

Lived through 3 centuries, two World Wars and enlisted at the age of 14.

Sad indeed Colin, i don't think we have any WWI vets alive in Canada.

We have Nov 11, Rememberance Day coming up soon............... It's quite respected here in the East, a public holiday with ceremony's and all..............Sad to see the old boys marching along.

We have a service and "stand to" at our Legion every year all the old vets are there, a lot of regular forces in full dress uniform as well.........

Good time is had by all (especially after the bar opens

My Dad was a Royal Welsh Fusilier in WWI and my brother did 6 years in the RCN in WWII even made it out to the Pacific.............

Here is a pic of Jack, (in his memory, i wonder if any Australian Gals will remember him don't have one handy of the "Old Man" in uniform............

I'm going to write a book someday about Jack and his Naval adventures............. I have the title at least........ "Jack was every inch a Sailor:

[Steve H]

I'm going to write a book someday about Jack and his Naval adventures............. I have the title at least........ "Jack was every inch a Sailor:

Landi41 , DO IT, I think it is so important to get these personal histories down for our descendents, I've a similar ambition but purely for our families use( don't flatter myself it would ever be publishable), My Dad served 6 years as a British Army doctor, his brother was killed in Mosquito fighter bombers while serving with a Aussie (464) squadron, they were both Kiwis, but went off to do their duty as they saw it, I can understand it having grown up with my Dad & talked to him about it & read heap of military history books as well, how do I make that seem real to my kids & their kids?

As Coll has pointed out, the first hand experience of these huge events in our historys is fading, the youngest to have served in WW2 are now well on in their seventies, I think its important that these experiences are preserved so our kids & theirs can know what went into giving them their world, then they'll truly know what we did to stuff it up

Cheers, Steve.

[landi41]

You are so right Steve about recording that history............. Imagine the history in just our (collective forum) members.......

I was in an Ottawa bookstore with my two kids one day a few years ago and we spotted a book "HMCS Uganda" (a history of the Canadian WWII Cruiser) and there was Jack's name on the former crew list... my kids were excited to see that.... as was i.............

Footnote to histoty......... After duty in the Atlantic the Uganda was sent out to the Pacific and was at the Battle of Okinawa, Kamakazis and all that.......... anyway since Canadian sailors were all volunteers it turns out on a technicality they hadn't volunteered for the Pacific Theatre............. When the oversight was discovered and the "brass" tried to amend things, the Lads saw the loophole and refused to re-up for Pacific duty (tired of 5 years of war i suppose) anyway they had to bring Uganda home...............

So the storey goes.........

For years there was a sign outside a Pub in Bermuda. "No dogs or Canadian Sailors allowed"

and years ago when the fleet pulled out of Bermuda they left a diving section behind to recover all of the motor scooters driven off the jetty by the Lads........... great stories mostly repeated at the bar on Rememberance Day...............

Sorry no Land Rover content other than if all of our Lads hadn't made these sacrifices we'ed all be driving Volkswagons

[cols110]

We stumbled upon an Australian war cemetary near where we live a few months back, it turns out that there was an Australian field hospital near here in WWII. They also have a dawn service there every ANZAC day which is well attended by the local community, which is good to see, its a shame we won`t be here to attend next ANZAC day, to show an Australian presence.

[rick]

Lest we forget

[Mehetabel]

Lest we forget

Just to bring this back to the top:

Alfred Anderson, age 109 died 21 Nov 2005. He was the last living witness of the Christmas Truce which occured on the Western Front in 1914 while he was serving in the Black Watch

Lest we forget

ISC/SS John S Alden USN

[NegevLandRover]

Dave, don't mess around - the sooner you start the better.

A couple of years ago my oldest son had to do a family tree project for school. My wife got very interested in the tree and two years on she has managed to trace 8 and 9 generations back. Unfortunately both her and my grandparents died when we were relatively young and they were also Holocaust survivors and talk about their past was painfull and more often than not avoided so not only did we lose many relatives but we also lost most of the information.

Fortunately her Grandfather's younger brother survived and my wife was brave enought to start asking him alot of questions - as it turned out he was very happy to talk to her and excited that memories of his family would not go to the grave with him but instead be recorded for future generations. On 22/11/05, this week, after living for 87 years and surviving the Holocaust and several wars here in Israel he finally sucumbed to the ravages of cancer and passed away at home. Although my wife manged to glean from him much information she still feels that she started to late and did not get all that she could have.

Adam