Malcolm Buchanan was the son of John and Bertha Buchanan of 4 Orakau Avenue, Epsom, Auckland. Husband of Margaret Buchanan of Mt Roskill, Auckland.

He was educated at King's College between 1926 and 1930 and was employed in his father's bookselling and stationery business after school. He was in Town House and was keen on sports. He joined the New Zealand Permanent Forces and served with them for seven years prior to the commencement of World War 2.Sergeant Buchanan was seconded to 2NZEF on 3 October 1940. He embarked with the 4th Reinforcements on 8 November 1940.

The date and place of birth quoted in the Official History of 2 Divisional Artillery do not agree with those published in the biographical note attached to the Military Medal citation in the Honours and Awards of the 2nd NZEF (1966). In that publication he is said to have been born in Sydney on 7 March 1913. He was one of those evacuated from Tobruk in what turned into a disaster. Hospitals in the Tobruk area were overcrowded as a consequence of the unexpectedly long and bitter fighting and it became a matter of urgency to move the wounded to less congested hospitals for treatment. During the first few days of December this became a priority and as there was no indication of when the land route eastwards would be opened the few hospital ships available were packed to capacity. The S.S. Chakdina sailed on its return voyage to Alexandria on the afternoon of 5 December 1941 with 600 men, 120 of them New Zealanders. Shortly after 9 pm an aerial torpedo struck and exploded in an after hold and in three and a half minutes the ship sank in a strong swell. Eighty New Zealanders were drowned, most of them survivors of the fighting at Sidi Rezegh and Belhamed.

Sergeant M. J. Buchanan, MM; born Auckland, 5 Mar 1913; Regular soldier; wounded 30 Nov 1941; killed in action (sinking of Chakdina) 5 Dec 1941. (Source: Davin, D.M. Crete. p.260.)

'Meanwhile our own artillery had begun to shell the German concentrations at the bridge. Already during the early morning the retiring gunners of 27 Battery had been delighted to hear two six-inch naval guns at Suda Bay shelling Stalos as a likely enemy headquarters. As soon as they themselves were in position they set about getting their two surviving guns into action, their difficulty being that they had no way of calculating where their shells were likely to land. But early in the afternoon an Australian troop went into position nearby and, correcting the elevation of his own guns by means of the Australian OP, Lieutenant Boyce was able to come into action. Soon after, however, an enemy mortar scored a direct hit on one gun and set fire to the ammunition. In spite of the danger Corporal Buchanan, a newcomer from 4 Field Regiment, shovelled earth over the flames and put out the fire. But from then on the Australian OP was too busy serving its own guns and the second gun had to remain silent. Counter-battery fire was not the only danger to the artillery. By this time enemy parties were filtering in from the south and at one time during the morning a sudden enemy sally took the two Bofors in Strutt's little group. But they were successfully retaken.Sergeant M. J. Buchanan, MM; born Auckland, 5 Mar 1913; Regular soldier; wounded 30 Nov 1941; lost at sea (SS Chakdina) 5 Dec 1941.; 2nd Divisional Artillery - After a short time a mortar of fairly heavy calibre scored a direct hit on one of the two guns. Boyce was away at the Australian gun position and he hurried back to find Sergeant Stevenson wounded and a gunner gravely hurt. Nearby ammunition had been set on fire and there was danger of further explosions, so Boyce ordered the men away from the guns. He then noticed a newcomer to the gun team, Bombardier Buchanan (who had come forward with the 4th Field reinforcements from Red Hill), go up to the gun, look for a moment to see if there was immediate danger of explosion, and then calmly shovel earth on to the flames until he put the fire out. It was a brave action and Boyce mentioned it later to Colonel Strutt, who in due course recommended Buchanan for an MM.' (Source: Davin, D.M. Crete. p. 260.; Murphy, W.E. 2nd NZ Divisional Artillery. p. 141.) AWMM