in status and significance of the Albert Medal, the British Government announced that the decoration would be abolished and living recipients would henceforth be regarded as holders of the George Cross. The change came into effect from 21 October, and living recipients were accordingly invited to exchange their medals. All six Australian Albert Medal recipients living at the time opted to accept the offer, McAloney and four others travelling to London to receive their awards. The five men, Jack Chalmers, Stanley Gibbs, Robert Kavanaugh, Dick Richards and McAloney, were presented with their George Crosses by Queen Elizabeth II at an investiture ceremony in Buckingham Palace on 12 July 1972. McAloney later donated his Albert Medal to the RAAF Museum at Point Cook in 1987, where it was placed on display. McAloney's sons recalled that their father "was a very knowledgeable and intelligent man", who was largely self-taught and a perfectionist in everything he did. But he was also a strict disciplinarian with a strong sense of duty. Severe punishments were handed out for minor infractions, while McAloney could also be obsessive about the family's finances. Though, as Marion Hebblethwaite suggests, his failed business in the 1930s and the duty he shouldered after his father's death—of helping to financially support his mother and some of his younger siblings—may have been the cause for the latter. He did, however, possess a dry sense of humour that appealed to many of his extended family, and his grandchildren thought of him with affection. Aged 85, Bill McAloney died on 31 August 1995, the fifty-eighth anniversary of his rescue attempt. Remembered as "pleasant and fatherly – almost gracious", his body was cremated at Springvale Botanical Cemetery and the ashes interred at Cheltenham Cemetery, Melbourne. He was survived by his wife and six of their seven children. All three of McAloney's sons continued his tradition of military service. William spent fifteen years in the RAAF, while Paul and John served two tours each with the Australian Army in the Vietnam War. Paul was a corporal in the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, while John, as a lieutenant, fought with the 5th and later 4th Battalions of the Royal Australian Regiment. In his first tour, John was awarded the Military Cross for rescuing one of his men and, despite sustaining a wound, personally clearing several caves defended by Viet Cong. He rose to the rank of colonel