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A. W. MC GREGOR
| Rank | Reg/Ser No | DOB | Enlisted | Discharge/Death | Board |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Apr 1885 | - | - | 2 |
Albert William McGregor (1885 – 1941)
The honour board on which the name ‘A. W. McGregor’ is printed was unveiled by Rev. Dr E. N. Merrington on Sunday 12 September 1916. It is suggested this name might have referred to Albert William McGregor, the second son of Daniel and Alice McGregor, born on 1 April 1885 at Tarbat Cottage, West End. Albert had two sisters, Alice Christina (later Mrs Waddell) and Annie who didn’t marry, and three brothers, Ernest, Dan and Robin. If Albert William is the person listed as A. W. McGregor on the honour boards, this is his story.
Family background
Parents, Captain Daniel McGregor and Mrs Alice (née Biggerstaff) McGregor, have two of their four sons listed on the honour boards in the Merrington Anzac Memorial Peace Chapel and possibly a third, Albert William. Their eldest son Ernest, who is not listed on the honour boards, became an engineer. (Ernest died in 1970 at the age of 90.)
Captain Dan McGregor, master mariner and shipping inspector, his wife and family of four sons and two daughters lived at West End, Kangaroo Point and later Meeandah and Mordant Street, Whinstanes, places on or near the Brisbane River. (The McGregor family home which was built at Kangaroo Point was a large Victorian residence known as 'Rockfield'. The home still stands today and is listed on the Brisbane City Council's 'Local Heritage Places'.)
In the 1880s Captain McGregor commanded the ship Arakoon and the ketch Victor, vessels used for carrying timber logs and other goods as well as a few passengers on runs along the Queensland and northern New South Wales coast. Captain Dan McGregor was proud of his Scottish heritage. He was a foundation member of the Highland Society; the Queensland Scottish Association tendered a benefit concert and dance in honour of Daniel McGregor, one of their members in 1895. (Mrs Alice McGregor died in 1936 and Captain McGregor, two years later.) The family lived at Meeandah, near Pinkenba Wharf the point of departure for troopships during the Great War.
Merchant navy career
Albert did not enlist in the Australian Imperial Force but he might have been involved in wartime service in the Merchant Navy during his naval career. He completed examinations for the rank of First Mate Steamships on 29 April 1920 and Master Foreign Going Steamships on 30 July 1920.
Albert William McGregor married Olive Elam at Sydney in 1936. They lived at 10 Manna Avenue, Neutral Bay. His occupation was master mariner. He died at Liverpool, New South Wales in 1941.
Compiled by Noel Edward Adsett, Brisbane. March 2017. ©. Edits and additions by Miriam King March 2023©.
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