Australia’s Last WWI Veteran Dies at 106
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
The last Australian veteran to see active service in World War I died Monday in Sydney, the Veteran Affairs Department announced. He was 106.
William Evan Allan enlisted in the Royal Australian Navy at the outbreak of the war when he was just 14. He served as a seaman on the HMAS Encounter from 1915 to 1918.
Allan was also Australia’s sole surviving veteran of both world wars. In World War II, Allan served on an armed merchant cruiser.
He served in the Royal Australian Navy for 34 years, retiring in 1947 with the rank of lieutenant, before becoming a farmer.
