Can you help find Donald?

The McInnes family of Williamstown grew up in a household shaped by service at sea, and skilled occupations. Their father, Angus Bruce McInnes (1858–1923), was born in Inverness, Scotland and joined the Royal Navy at an early age. After migrating to Australia, he served with the Royal Naval Reserve, even sailing with the Victorian contingent to China during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, before retiring as a Chief Petty Officer.

Their mother, Annie McInnes (1863–1944), was born in Glanville, South Australia — and notably, her maiden name was also McInnes. Together they raised their family at 108 John Street, Williamstown North, where the children attended local schools and entered working life in the shipbuilding and industrial trades.

The McInnes children were:

The boys may have worked at the nearby Victorian Railway Workshops at Newport, next to Williamstown, a huge manufacturing centre for making and maintaining all kinds of trains. Norman and Alex may have done apprenticeships there. This centre continued until the 1990s.

Five McInnes sons stepped forward - Donald, Norman and Robert would be bound together in the 59th Battalion; Alexander would join the artillery; and Angus would serve with the Navy. For Angus and Annie, the pride in their family’s service was matched by the heavy burden of risk — and eventually, loss. By the winter of 1915, the war was impossible to ignore in Williamstown. Recruiting meetings were held in halls and churches, the names of local volunteers were published in the Chronicle and Advertiser, and families were praised for the number of sons they gave to the Empire. For Angus and Annie McInnes of John Street, the pressure was especially heavy — three of their boys, all at once, stepped forward. Robert, just 20 years old, was the first.

On 7 July 1915, he walked into the enlistment office at Melbourne. Being under 21, he required his parents’ written consent, which Angus and Annie provided. He was allocated to the 7th Battalion’s 12th Reinforcements. Donald, 24 years old and married with a wife and a baby daughter, Edna, enlisted five days later on 12 July 1915. He was assigned to the 23rd Battalion’s 5th Reinforcements. His farewell was especially difficult, leaving behind a young family in Dover Place, Williamstown. Norman, the eldest of the three at 26, signed on soon after, on 23 July 1915.

He joined the 7th Battalion’s 11th Reinforcements. The brothers embarked for the training camps in Egypt within weeks of one another - Donald on the Osterley in September, Norman on the Nestor in October, and Robert on the Ceramic in November. With the ‘doubling of the AIF’ as it expanded from two infantry divisions to five from all the incoming recruits, major reorganisations were underway in Egypt. The 59th Battalion was raised in Egypt on 21 February 1916 at the 40,000-man training camp at Tel-el-Kebir, about 110 km northeast of Cairo.

Approximately half of its recruits from the 7th Battalion Gallipoli veterans and the other half from reinforcements from Australia. The 59th was predominantly composed of men from rural Victoria. For February and March, the three brothers were individually moved between several battalions, but by late April all were finally together in the 59th. Their service became known in the Williamstown community, with the local press noting that:

Training in Egypt was hard - long route marches across the sands, musketry, bayonet drill, and the endless discomforts of camp life in the desert. Illness swept through the camps and Donald spent time in hospital at Ismailia.

It was not all work, however. A 5th Division Sports Championship was held on 14 June, which was won the by the 59th’s 15th brigade. The very next day they began preparations for heading to the Western Front. The 59th departed aboard the Kinfauns Castle from Alexandria on 18 June 1916. After a brief stop in Malta, they disembarked at 7 AM in Marseilles on 29 June. By 10 PM they were on a train headed for Steenbeque, 35 km from Fleurbaix in northern Frances, arriving on 2 July.

This area near Fleurbaix was known as the “Nursery Sector” – a supposedly relatively quiet area where inexperienced Allied troops could learn the harsh realities of Western Front trench warfare against the Germans. But the quiet times and the training period did not last long. Training continued, but with a higher sense of urgency, and it now included the use of gas masks and learning to deal with the effects of large shells. The move to the front continued. On 9 July they were in Sailly sur la Lys, just 1000 yards from the trenches.

The battle plan had the 15th Brigade located just to the left of the British Army. The 59th and 60th Battalions were to be the lead units for this area of the attack, with the 58th and 57th as the ‘third and fourth’ battalions, in reserve. The main objective for the 15th Brigade was to take the trenches to the left of a heavily armed, elevated German defensive position, the ‘Sugar Loaf’, which dominated the front lines. If the Sugar Loaf could not be taken, the other battalions would be subjected to murderous enfilade fire from the machine-guns and counterattacks from that direction.

As they advanced, they were to link up with the 60th battalion and the British on their flanks. The main attack against the Sugar Loaf position was planned for 17 July, but it was delayed due to bad weather. On 19 July, Zero Hour for advancing from their front-line trenches was to be 5.45 PM, but the Germans knew this attack was coming and were well-prepared. They opened a massive artillery bombardment on the Australians at 5.15 PM, causing chaos and many casualties. A fellow soldier, Bill Boyce (3022, 15th Brigade, 58th), summed the situation up well, “What have I let myself in for?”

Source: Australian War Memorial Collection C386815

Their attack on the German lines began at 5.45 PM on the 19th. The 59th went over their parapet in four waves at 5 minute intervals, but then laid down to wait for the support bombardment to end at 6 PM. A & B Companies were in the first two waves, C & D in the next two. There was immediate and intense fire from rifles and the Sugar Loaf machine guns. As documented in the messages sent back to HQ just after the attacks began:

The British 184th Brigade just to the right of the 59th met with the same resistance, but at 8.00 PM they got orders that no further attacks would take place that night. However, the salient between the troops limited communications, leaving the Australians to continue without British support from their now exposed right flank. The official reports indicate advances were limited, but individuals’ reports suggest that some did reach the German parapet. However, with little support being available they had to drop back. The attack was ended early on the morning of the 20th.

At the 8 AM roll call, out of a battalion of about 1000 soldiers, 4 officers and 90 other ranks reported in. While there was no cease fire after the battle, parties did go to No-Man’s Land to bring back wounded soldiers, with over 200 were recovered on 20 July. The initial toll on the 59th was 26 killed or died of wounds, 394 were wounded and 274 were missing – 694 soldiers. Ultimately, 334 soldiers were killed in action or died from their wounds from this battle. 239 of the soldiers were unidentified.

To get some perspective of the battle, when Charles Bean, Australia’s official war historian, attended the battlefield two and half years later, he observed a large quantity of bones, torn uniforms and Australian kit still on the battlefield.

For the McInnes family of Williamstown, Fromelles became a permanent scar - three sons went forward together, only two came back. Donald was last seen in the trench as they were about to “Hop over”, based on a witness statement by platoon mate Private Edgar Phillips (2654) from Williamstown.

However, Edgar also made a second statement which said he was told by Donald’s brother Robert that Donald was hit in the head while in the trench and never went over.

From this, it would seem that Donald’s body should have been recovered by the Australians, but there are no records of his burial and his body has never been identified. Norman and Robert both went forward and were wounded , gunshot wounds to a leg and a hand, but were able to return to the Australian lines. They were both immediately sent to England for treatment of their wounds.

Donald’s wife Minnie was advised on 2 September that Donald was missing, but she had received no other information and was clearly anxious for more when she wrote the Army again on 12 December, now hoping he might have been taken prisoner. There was no information that the Army could provide her for either request. Nothing more followed until Donald was formally declared as killed in action on 19 July 1916 in an Enquiry in the Field which was held on 29 August 1917. The Battle of Fromelles left the McInnes family forever changed.

A tribute was placed in the local paper:

His widow Minnie and young daughter Edna remained in Williamstown, where his absence was keenly felt, but they were surrounded by close family and community. In 1918, Minnie published a tribute with her daughter.

The following year, his brother Norman and sister-in-law Mary added their own notice:

In 1921 his parents and sister added a simple line - “Ever remembered.” And his brother Alexander and sister-in-law Janet contributed their own tribute:

Donald was awarded the 1914-15 Star Medal, the Victory Medal and the British War medal and a Memorial Plaque and a Memorial Scroll. He is commemorated at:

Donald’s brothers carried the scars of Fromelles with them but lived to return home.

Private Robert McInnes (3828), the youngest of the three at the battle, came back to Australia in June 1919. While serving in England in 1918 he married Kathleen Walton, and together they raised Christina (1922–1945), Dorothy (1924–1924), and Norma (1927–2016). Robert worked in Williamstown after the war. He died on 9 July 1961, aged 66, and was buried at Footscray Cemetery.

Private Norman John McInnes (3407) also returned in 1919. He had married Mabel Willis before the war and, despite the years apart, their family grew: Robert Munro (1915–1952), Norman Haig (1916–1963), Nancy (1919–1920), and Lois (later Krygger). Norman lived and worked in Williamstown, where his sudden death on 14 August 1951, aged 61, was mourned by his wife, children, and granddaughter Gwenda. His obituary also recorded his place in the wider family — son of Annie and Angus, brother to Donald, Robert, Alexander, Flora, and the late Duncan.

The other two McInnes brothers also gave their service.

Driver Alexander McInnes (27491) enlisted in the artillery in 1916 and returned in 1919. In 1920 he married Juliet Christina Byers, and they had one daughter, Jeanette (1932–2014). Alexander lived quietly in Williamstown until his death on 25 May 1954, aged 61, and was buried at Williamstown Cemetery. His coffin was draped with the Union Jack in recognition of his war service

Source :Local Residents Pass, Williamstown Chronicle, 28 May 1954, p. 4. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article70699396.

Angus Donald Duncan McInnes (1143) followed his father into the Navy. Born in 1887, he enlisted in the Royal Australian Navy and served in both world wars. He died in Sydney on 20 April 1940, aged 53

As discussed above, their father, Angus Bruce McInnes (1858–1923), had set the family’s example of service. For decades he was a familiar figure in Melbourne’s naval circles, and in 1912 he appeared in Punch newspaper among the Melbourne Navy Office staff — his photograph showing the proud sailor in uniform, moustached and upright, a reminder of the tradition his sons would inherit.

Source: NAVY OFFICE STAFF, Punch (Melbourne), 2 May 1912, p. 30. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article175616907.

He died at his John Street home in 1923, aged 58, his funeral attended by fellow naval men and marked with full honours. For Angus and Annie McInnes of Williamstown, the Great War meant sending five sons to serve. Three came home from the battlefields of France, one served in the artillery, and another in the Navy. One was lost forever at Fromelles.

Donald’s remains were not recovered, he has no known grave. After the battle, the Germans recovered 250 Australian soldiers and placed them in a burial pit at Pheasant Wood. This grave was discovered in 2008 and since then efforts have been underway to identify these soldiers by DNA testing from family members. As of 2024, 180 of the soldiers have been identified, including 1 of the 239 unidentified soldiers from the 59th Battalion.

We welcome all branches of Donald’s family to come forward to donate DNA to help with his identification. If you know anything of family contacts, especially those with roots in North Williamstown, Victoria, please contact the Fromelles Association. We hope that one day Donald will be named and honoured with a known grave.

Please visit Fromelles.info to follow the ongoing identification project and Donald’s story.