Norman MacLeod (1880–1955)

Cath's father; a Barvas-born soldier, electrician and South Australian lighthouse keeper. His WW1 service is among the most documented stories in the family.

Key facts

• Born: 15 Mar 1880, Barvas, Isle of Lewis, Scotland (birth certificate held — spelt "MacLeod")
• Died: 31 Jan 1955, Melbourne (cremated; location of ashes unknown)
• Married: (1) Catherine Gunn, 28 Aug 1916, Glasgow; (2) Lileen Kallady, shortly before his death (date unknown)
• Children: Catherine (Cath)
• Brothers: Donald, Neil

Early life & British Army

Norman was the eldest of three brothers born at Barvas. Sometime in the 1890s he joined the British Army (1st Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders) and served about 5 years, including in India and possibly the Boer War. In 1939 he described his unit as the 3rd Seaforth Highlanders (service number 8393). Untangling his record is complicated by another Norman McLeod, also from Barvas, who served in the same units.

In the early 1900s he and a brother took up land near Geraldton, WA under the WA Homestead Act, but the venture failed and he returned to the UK, working his way back on a sailing ship (via Rio de Janeiro). He gained an electrician's qualification at the Royal Technical College in Glasgow.

WW1 service (AIF)

See the dedicated event page: Norman MacLeod's WW1 service. In brief:

• 1 Oct 1914 — enlists, 16th Battalion AIF, Morphettville, SA (service number 1305)
• 2 May 1915 — shot in the chest at Gallipoli; repatriated to the UK
• 1916 — rejoins the 48th Battalion (Cairo, then France); shell-shocked at Pozières
• 28 Aug 1916 — marries Catherine Gunn in Glasgow
• 11 Apr 1917 — wounded and captured at Bullecourt; becomes a POW
• 20 Sep 1919 — discharged from the AIF in London

Lighthouse career

Norman worked for the SA Lighthouse Service on a series of 3-year contracts:

• Cape Jaffa — from 11 Feb 1927
• Neptune Island — from 7 May 1930
• Cape Northumberland — 19 Feb 1933 to 29 Mar 1936
• Althorpe Island (1934–36) and Cape du Couedic, Kangaroo Island (1936–40), per Cath's recollection; also relief work until the end of WW2.

He bought 28 Cameron St, Kingston in 1931 (sold 1946), and later houses in Salter St, Kensington. He lived with Dick and Cath's family for much of the 1950s at Bray.

Family

• Wives: Catherine Gunn; later Lileen Kallady
• Daughter: Catherine (Cath) McLeod
• Brothers: Donald MacLeod, Neil McLeod

Sources

• Whillas–McLeod family history spreadsheet (Rev 4), 1880s, 1890s, 1900s, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s and 1950s sheets.
• Australian Archives (SA office) lighthouse log extracts, faxed to Robert Whillas 19 Mar 1997.