Any further information would be appreciated. Need assistance on Who/Where/What/How for this man who is on the Australian Commemorative Roll which is for those "Australians" who died in other Allied Services. If proved not to be "Australian" their names will not be removed from the Commemorative Roll however their details will be updated accordingly. I have researched the Air Force members but there are many more Land and Sea deaths in a myriad of different forces. There is not a lot of information on these people that can be accessed easily and I ask your assistance to fill in at least some of the gaps. Hopefully some relatives may see this thread and add more. I will make a different thread for each along the way as they may tend to get lost if clumped together. Commemorative Roll - Robert Moir Laird Rank: Wireless Operator Unit: Australian Hospital Ship Centaur Service: Merchant Navy Conflict: 1939-1945 Date of death: 14 May 1943 Place of death: At sea, off Brisbane, Queensland Cause of death: Killed in action Cemetery or memorial details: Sydney Memorial, Rookwood Necropolis, Sydney, New South Wales In Memory of Radio Officer Robert Moir Laird H.M.A.H.S. Centaur, Australian Merchant Navy who died on 14 May 1943 Age 20 Son of David G. Laird and Jean Laird, of Dundee, Scotland. Remembered with Honour Sydney Memorial City of Dundee Roll of Honour World War II – 1939 to 1945 Name:Robert Moir Laird Age:20 Address:20 Constitution Street Next of Kin:Son of David G. Laird and Jean Laird of Dundee Rank:3rd Radio Officer Number:unknown Served With:H.M.A.H.S. Centaur, Australian Merchant Navy Force:Merchant Navy Date of Death:14/05/1943 Place of Death:at sea Historical Information:unknown Cemetery/Memorial:Sydney Memorial, New South Wales.Australia Memorial Ref:Panel 8. Location Details:unspecified Information Source:People's Journal 29/05/1943
Hello Geoff, The only information I can give you are links to his service records. His seaman's pouch held at Kew in piece BT 372/441/26 His Form CRS 10 [records from Jan, 1941] BT 382/970 His medal card held in BT 395/1 Regards Hugh
I haven't found any info to link him to being "Australian" (besides his death on an Australian ship). All Australian newspapers references from around the time of the sinking only identify him as being from Scotland. If he maintained a place of residence in Australia when he wasn't on board the ship then I think that meets the current interpretation (as applied by the AWM Commemorative Roll committee) of being "Australian".
Just to update this one. Third Radio Officer Robert Moir Laird, aged 20, Nationality [stating birth place], Dundee, Last Place of Abode, 20 Constitution St, Dundee. Regards Hugh
Just to update this one. Third Radio Officer Robert Moir Laird, aged 20, Nationality [stating birth place], Dundee, Last Place of Abode, 20 Constitution St, Dundee. Regards Hugh Thanks Hugh.
