Joseph Robert Abbott
30 May 1899 — 25 December 1941
Joseph Robert Abbott (10‑80‑45)
5227 / Q54752
A son of Joseph Abbott and Rose Ann (née Napier), Joseph was born on 30 May 1899 in Gympie. Joseph, a greaser, enlisted on 22 November 1917 and was assigned to the 31st Battalion Australian Imperial Force. Private Abbott was gassed in France on 30 September 1918 and was medically discharged in 1919.
Ellen Mary Clegg married Joseph in Brisbane on 16 February 1921. In May 1928, J R Abbott was listed as a successful candidate of an locomotive and traction engine driver certificate in Mackay.
Joseph enlisted in Mackay on 10 December 1940 and was assigned to the 15 Garrison Battalion. Private Abbott transferred to 1 Garrison Battalion at the end of August 1941 and was promoted on 22 November 1941. On duty in Landsborough at 4:14am on Christmas Day 1941, Lance Corporal Abbott was shot near his right eye. The shot killed Joseph within a few minutes. His body was transferred to Nambour for a post-mortem examination before his Boxing Day funeral.