Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

My great uncle, Thomas William Cure, was born in Capetown, South Africa on 15 November 1903. His family had migrated there from England, I presume to make their fortune. This was in the aftermath of the Boer War. This adventure did not work out and they returned to England.

The family then decided to try their luck in Australia. They arrived in Sydney in 1906 and took up a parcel of land in northern New South Wales at Myall Creek near the town of Delungra. They named their farm ‘The Grange’. They brought with them the orphaned cousin of Tom and his sister Audrey, Robert Lochmann.

Life on the land was hard. From what I know, they had limited farming experience. Tom and Audrey’s mother had been a school teacher at a girl’s school in London, I was told by my grandmother Audrey’s best friend called ‘Aunt Jane’ in 1981 that she was a real lady but not suited to life on the land. She gave birth to a daughter named Vera in 1907, Vera unfortunately died not long after and was buried on the farm. Robert Anglicised his surname to Lockman and enlisted in the Australian Army during the First World War. He served in the Light Horse and sent Tom many postcards of his travels in the Middle East and Egypt. Tom must have treasured these postcards as they were placed in his photograph albums many years later with his own photographs and postcards of these areas from the Second World War, which are held by me.

Farming life took its toll on Tom and Audrey’s mother and she had a stroke. Audrey cared for her until she passed away on 21 March 1924. At this stage it appears the family fell apart. I am aware of an unfortunate incident between Audrey and her father, which compelled her to leave home and start a new life in Sydney training as a nurse. This may have caused resentment from Tom, as he appears to have stayed to assist in running the farm. In the meantime his father developed a new relationship with a young woman thirty years his junior named Emily. Emily and Tom and Audrey’s father married in 1930, and from the stories I have been told it had devastating consequences for Tom. The farm was sold and another farm purchased at Coorabell in the Northern Rivers Region of New South Wales. This farm in turn was sold and a residential property purchased in George Street, Inverell, New South Wales. I suspect Tom had expected to inherit the farm, but this hope evaporated. He worked various jobs in the Northern Rivers Region until the outset of war.

Tom enlisted at Lismore on 12 April 1940. His Australian Military Forces Attestation form records his date of birth as 15 November 1905, whereas his actual date of birth was 15 November 1903. I have no doubt that he had concerns the army would not accept him due to his mature age. His diaries, which are held by me, indicate his concerns were well founded, after his arrival in the Middle East he was transferred to the Guard Battalion on account of his age as with a number of other soldiers. This transfer may well have saved his life as he was transferred from a front line infantry battalion (2/2 Bn.) to this unit. That said the diaries describe aerial bombing and artillery fire that could have cost him his life on many occasions. His Number 2 Platoon, A Company was attached to the 24th Brigade Headquarters and he served in this unit throughout the Second World War.

On balance and like most volunteers who enlisted in the Australian armed forces at the time, I suspect there were a variety of reasons for Tom enlisting. Whilst he was close to his father, the loss of his expected inheritance must have been a big blow and reciprocated him seeking a new start. He may well have hoped to visit his family in England; the diaries record a regular exchange of letters with them. Perhaps he was also fascinated with the exotic postcards of the Middle East and Egypt send to him by his cousin Robert in the First World War. The diaries show that he made the most of his time overseas to take in the sights. Underpinning all of these motivations I believe that he felt a strong sense of duty to defend Australia and the British Empire from its enemies.

Tom served throughout the Second World War in the Middle East, North Africa, Papua New Guinea and Netherlands East Indies (now known as Indonesia). Unfortunately his diaries and photograph albums only cover his service in the Middle East and North Africa where he served during the Siege of Tobruk in 1941 and the El Alamein battles in 1942. I suspect he did not continue the diaries after this point. I have faithfully transcribed the diaries and they have been privately published by me in a hard copy and eBook held with the National Library of Australia titled ‘Lismore to El Alamein: The Diary of an Australian Soldier’.

Tom was discharged from the Australian Army on 19 November 1945. He appears to have lived in Auburn, Sydney after his discharge until his death and taken comfort in mateship with colleagues from his military service. The mid 1950s were a time of further challenge and also happiness for Tom. His father died in 1955, and he married ‘Aunt Lil’ in 1957. They had no children together.

Sadly Tom passed away on 2 February 1964 and he rests at the Rookwood Cemetery & Crematorium in Sydney.

David Goody