Private Malcolm McLeod Memorial Plaque, Tamworth

About

This war memorial is a Gothic-shaped marble tablet dedicated to Private Malcolm McLeod, who was killed while serving in the First World War. It has a plain design, without any decorative elements. The dedication to McLeod is inscribed into the surface of the marble and the letters blackened with lead.  Military records show McLeod enlisted under the name Norman Cameron. A single stockman, aged 27, of the Australian Hotel in Longreach, Queensland, he enlisted on 18 August 1914 in the 9th Battalion, G Company. He had lived in Queensland for five to six years before enlisting. His unit embarked from Brisbane, Queensland, on 24 September 1914 on board the transport A5 Omrah. In May 1915, McLeod's sister, Mrs C. Plummer of Tamworth, received a wire from the Defence Authorities saying he was serving in the Dardanelles and was "dangerously ill" (The Tamworth Daily Observer, 16 May 1916). As a Private in the 9th Battalion, he died of wounds on 22 May 1915 at Alexandria, Egypt. He was buried in the Chatby War Memorial Cemetery in Egypt. His parents were John and Margaret McLeod of South Granville, NSW. On 18 December, the Observer reported this tablet was scheduled to be dedicated on 26 December at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Tamworth. In time, it was relocated to Tamworth City Uniting Church, formerly Tamworth Methodist. Access to it is restricted to the opening hours of the church.  Unveiled at the same time was another tablet, of matching design, which is listed separately on the NSW War Memorials Register as the Captain Garnet Wollesley Brown Memorial Tablet, Tamworth. It is also now located in Tamworth City Uniting Church.