Obit: William Evan Allan, last Aussie WWI veteran

Subject: Obit: William Evan Allan
From: sapper82
Date: 18 Oct 05 - 01:40 PM

William Evan Allan, the last Aussie veteran to have seen active service has died aged 106.
Here's one whinging POM who still appreciates the help from Australia in both World Wars.
Good on yer blue.

Subject: RE: Obit: William Evan Allan
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Oct 05 - 03:03 PM

The last Aussie Veteran to have seen active service? You forget there was vietnam and iraq...was he there then?

Subject: RE: Obit: William Evan Allan
From: alanabit
Date: 18 Oct 05 - 03:29 PM

I think he means in the First World War. At any rate, I echo Sapper's sentiments.

Subject: RE: Obit: William Evan Allan
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 18 Oct 05 - 05:43 PM

The Last WWI ANZAC. Soon there'll be no one to march left at all.

As long as people remember the sacrifice, and the gift of years, then he and all those other gallant men will still live.

Sometimes, regardless of how trite or soppy you think he is, Eric Bogle just has completely the right words to say.

LTS

Subject: Obit: Last Australian Great War Veteran Dies
From: The Walrus
Date: 18 Oct 05 - 08:17 PM

SYDNEY, Australia - The last Australian veteran to see active service in World War I has died at age 106, government officials said Tuesday.

William Evan Allan enlisted in the Royal Australian Navy at the outbreak of the war when he was just 14. He served as a seaman on the HMAS Encounter from 1915 to 1918.

"With his passing, we have lost an entire generation who left Australia to defend our nation, the British Empire and other nations in the cause of freedom and democracy," Veteran Affairs Minister De-Anne Kelly said in a statement.

"Mr. Allan was just a boy when he went to war, much younger than most. His sacrifice is remembered and we honor him for his service," she said.

Allan, born in the southeastern town of Bega in July 1899 and a resident of Melbourne, also was Australia's sole surviving veteran of both world wars. In World War II, Allan served on an armed merchant cruiser and as pier master of a naval base.

He died Monday night, Kelly said. The cause of death was not disclosed.

Allan sailed in the Pacific and Indian oceans escorting troop ship convoys. His ship, the Encounter, also took part in the search for the German raider Wolf, which caused havoc with Allied shipping in the region, the statement said.

He served in the Royal Australian Navy for 34 years, retiring in 1947 with the rank of lieutenant, before becoming a farmer.

John Campbell Ross, 106, a wireless operator who enlisted in 1918 while Australia was still involved in the war but never left Australia is now considered Australia's only surviving World War I veteran, Kelly said

Allan was survived by his daughter and two grandchildren. Authorities in Victoria state said he would be given a state funeral, but no date was immediately set.

(from Comcast.net)



"...But year after year, more old men disappear
Soon no one will march there at all..."