Their bodies are buried in peace; but their names liveth for evermore.
Their Duty Done
A tribute to the men and women of the East Gippsland Region who Died
as a result of their participation in World War One : 1914 - 1919
130 Private Allan Douglas McPhee – Bairnsdale
Killed in Action 8 May 1915
….. one of the first to enlist from East Gippsland
Allan McPhee grew up in Bairnsdale after being born at Yan Yean in 1892
before the family moved to Northcote in 1904. Allan was working in the
timber industry when at 23 he was amongst the first in East Gippsland to
enlist. He joined the 7
th
Battalion and found himself on the Hororata on 19
October 1914 with several other East Gippslanders. He faced just thirteen
days in action as he went missing in the second battle of Krithia at Cape
Helles and his body was never recovered.
A board of enquiry held at Alexandria in Egypt on 27 August 1916
determined that he was killed in action on 8 May 1915. Allan is remembered
at the Cape Helles memorial. Of his three brothers, Angus joined the Flying
Corps, Leonard became a 2
nd
Lieutenant and Reginald joined the Army
Medical Corp and was awarded a Military Medal. They all returned home
and two of Reg’s sons went on to serve in WW2.
