More from our 100 Years of WW1 Commemoration -

REMEMBERING THOSE WHO SERVED:

Trooper Douglas Victor McCaw - NZEF, NZ Mounted Rifles Brigade, Auckland Mounted Rifles

Service No. 71042: At camp attached to 36th Reinforcements, Waikato-Auckland Mounted Rifles.

Born 11/10/1897 in Invercargill. Worked as farm cadet for R. Dickson, Otautau at time of enlistment. Douglas embarked from Wellington on the Moeraki on the 21st February 1918, his destination Egypt.
His military record lists him as being dangerously ill on 14/10/1918. Tragically, Trooper McCaw died on Friday 18 October 1918 - from Malaria. Douglas is buried at the Jerusalem War Cemetery, Israel.

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From the Otautau Standard, 6 Nov 1917:
"A combined social of the Presbyterian Church Choir and Junior Bible Class was held on the past Friday evening in the vestry. At a convenient interval, Rev. A Macdonald presented Mr Douglas McCaw, who is leaving for the military camp, with Swan fountain pen, gold mounted, as a memento from his friends of the Presbyterian Church Choir and Junior Bible Class."

From The Otautau Standard, 22 Oct 1918:
"Mr W. A. McCaw, Architect for the Southland Education Board, has received advice that his third son, Douglas, has died of wounds received in action in Palestine on 14th October. Douglas McCaw, who was just 21 years old, was born in Invercargill and educated at South School and High and Technical Colleges. He enlisted from Otautau, where he was acting as a cadet with Mr R Dickson, farmer. He went into camp with the 36th Reinforcements, and was attached to the Waikato Auckland Mounted Rifles. He contracted gastro-enteritis in the Jordan Valley, and was invalided to Cairo in July last. On his recovery, he again went up with Allenby's victorious forces, and made the supreme sacrifice "Somewhere in Palestine" on 14th inst. His oldest brother was killed at Passchendaele Ridge on 12th October, 1917. It is the price paid for victory."

More information can be found on: https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/647507/
and http://ndhadeliver.natlib.govt.nz/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE18948339

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Josephine Crooks’ Passchendaele Story

"My great Uncle,William Armstrong McCaw – Service no. 3/602, served in the NZ Medical Corps and was killed in action at Ypres, on 12/10/1917.
There is a memorial at Tyne Cot. He was from Invercargill.
His brother,Douglas Victor McCaw also died in World War 1. In fact, 8 members of the McCaw extended family from Southland and Otago sacrificed their lives."
[This information above taken from: https://passchendaele-stories.otago.ac.nz/josephine-crooks-passchendaele-story/#comment-1590]
NOTE: we have no photo of Trooper Douglas Victor McCaw, if you can help us by adding one to our collection, please contact Collections Manager as below - thankyou.

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You're always welcome at our place on Sundays, 2pm-4pm, and by request on other days, just contact us on Email: collections.otautaumuseum@gmail.com  Cell: 027-211-4675 or Ph: 03-225-8991