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Private Maitland Madge, 2/26th Australian Infantry Battalion, Second World War, 1939-1945
Maitland Madge Maitland Madge i(9091958 works by)
Born: Established: 1894 Cooktown, Port Douglas - Cooktown area, Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, ; Died: Ceased: 7 Jun 1944 Changi,
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Singapore,
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Southeast Asia, South and East Asia, Asia,
Gender: Male
Heritage: Aboriginal
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BiographyHistory

Maitland Madge was the son of English migrant Richard Madge and an Aboriginal woman called Ella. In August 1915, Madge had enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) at Brisbane. He became the first Indigenous soldier awarded the Military Medal (MM), for courage under fire at Pozieres on the Western Front in August 1916, where he served in the 15th Battalion.

Madge had also enlisted in World War II, and in 1941 he was commissioned in Singapore with the 2/26 Battalion of the 8th Division. He was captured and spent two years in Changi prison camp before dying there in 1944. He had been buried at the Kranji War Cemetery near Singapore.

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Last amended 26 Nov 2015 11:42:36
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