Portrait of Lieutenant (Lt) William Thomas McDonald, 4th Battalion of Forest Lodge, NSW, wearing ...

Portrait of Lieutenant (Lt) William Thomas McDonald, 4th Battalion of Forest Lodge, NSW, wearing the ribbon of of the King's South Africa Medal. An electrical employee prior to enlistment, Honorary Lt McDonald embarked at Sydney on 20 October 1914 on HMAT Euripides, and landed at Gallipoli on 25 Aril 1915, on which date his rank as lieutenant was confirmed in the field. He was wounded twice in August, the second time at Lone Pine from a gun shot wound to his right shoulder, necessitating his evacuation to Malta then London for further medical treatment. He was Mentioned In Despatches for services in the field at Gallipoli by Sir Ian Hamilton. He rejoined his unit at Tel-el-Kebir on 24 February 1916 and received his promotion to the rank of Captain on 12 March 1916. On 16 August 1916, four and a half months after the unit went to France, he was killed in action at Mouquet Farm. Prior to his enlistment in the First World War, he served for nineteen years with the NSW Scottish Rifles and the 25th Infantry, four years at the rank of Warrant Officer. He saw sixteen months service in South Africa as a corporal in the 1st NSW Mounted Infantry during the Boer War.