THOMAS, William Guy
| Service Number: | 240 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 9 September 1914, for Gallipoli Peninsula |
| Last Rank: | Lance Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 51st Infantry Battalion (WW1) |
| Born: | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 5 November 1891 |
| Home Town: | Perth, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Civil Servant - Clerk |
| Died: | Perth, Western Australia, 27 May 1943, aged 51 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Karrakatta Cemetery & Crematorium, Western Australia |
| Memorials: | Canning District R.S.L. Memorial, East Victoria Park Bickford Young Mens Club HR, Kalamunda District Roll of Honour, Victoria Park State School Honour Board, Victoria Park War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 9 Sep 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 240, 11th Infantry Battalion, for Gallipoli Peninsula | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Nov 1914: | Involvement Private, 240, 11th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Ascanius embarkation_ship_number: A11 public_note: '' | |
| 2 Nov 1914: | Embarked Private, 240, 11th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ascanius, Fremantle | |
| 5 Jun 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Corporal, 240, 51st Infantry Battalion (WW1), embarked Alexandria for Marseilles | |
| 15 Aug 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Corporal, 51st Infantry Battalion (WW1), WiA France | |
| 3 Dec 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 240, 51st Infantry Battalion (WW1), embarked Devonport for Fremantle on board HT Port Hacking | |
| 14 Apr 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 51st Infantry Battalion (WW1), France | |
| 9 Jun 1918: | Wounded AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 240, 51st Infantry Battalion (WW1), WiA France: GSW chest | |
| 25 Mar 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 240, 51st Infantry Battalion (WW1) |
Help us honour William Guy Thomas's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Lance Corporal William Guy Thomas (Service No:240) enlisted in the AIF on 9 September 1914 and was a Private attached to 11th Infantry Battalion on 31 October 1914 when he embarked with his Unit from Fremantle WA for Gallipoli Peninsula on board HMAT A7 Medic. Private Thomas was hospitalised in Malta with a septic leg in September 1915, and on 20 February 1916 his father, having had no news, wrote to Victoria Barracks: 'Our boy was in the first landing at Gallipoli .... His mother and I are extremely anxious. We only want to know if he is alive and well' (NAA). Promoted to Corporal in February 1916 and transferred to 51st Infantry Battalion, he embarked from Alexandria for Marseilles on 5 June 1916. Corporal Thomas was WiA on two occasions in France - on 15 August 1916 and on 9 June 1918 - GSW to his chest. Lance Corporal Thomas was evacuated to hospital in England, and on 3 December 1918 embarked from Devonport for Fremantle on board HT Port Hacking. Lance Corporal Thomas was attached to 51st Infantry battalion at Discharge on 25 March 1919.
William was born in Melbourne, Victoria in 1891, eldest of eleven children of Watkin (William) Wynn Thomas (b1861 in Worcestershire, England) and Mary Elizabeth Avery (b1863 in Warwickshire, England). William Snr was an Assistant Draper in England, and was a Draper in Melbourne in 1890 when he and Mary married. By 1898 William Snr and Mary had moved to Perth, where they settled in Victoria Park and raised their family - William Snr worked as a Draper/Storekeeper.
William joined the Civil Service and was a Clerk with the Lands and Surveys Department in 1914 when he enlisted in the AIF. Following his Discharge, William returned to work as a Clerk in the Civil Service in Perth where, in 1829, he married Sarah Agnes Kightley (b1898 in Warwickshire, England) - Sarah had immigrated earlier that year, arriving in Fremantle on board the Orsova. William and Sarah settled in Victoria Park where they raised their family and William was Clerk in the Civil Service. William died in 1943 and Sarah in 1968.
Click images to start slideshow.