THOMAS, Herbert Norman
| Service Number: | 1982 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 23 July 1915, Melbourne, Vic. |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 1st Pioneer Battalion |
| Born: | Clunes, Victoria, Australia, 1884 |
| Home Town: | Clunes, Hepburn, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Memorials: | Clunes Soldiers Pictorial Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 23 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1982, 1st Pioneer Battalion, Melbourne, Vic. | |
|---|---|---|
| 14 Apr 1916: | Involvement Private, 1982, 1st Pioneer Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '4' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Ceramic embarkation_ship_number: A40 public_note: '' | |
| 14 Apr 1916: | Embarked Private, 1982, 1st Pioneer Battalion, HMAT Ceramic, Sydney | |
| 14 Apr 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 1982, 1st Pioneer Battalion, German Spring Offensive 1918, Hazebrouck | |
| 8 Aug 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 1982, 1st Pioneer Battalion, "The Last Hundred Days" | |
| 25 Oct 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 1982, 1st Pioneer Battalion, RTA 12 May 1919 and discharged (TPE). |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Robert Wight
Herbert Norman Thomas, aged almost 31, enlisted in the AIF in Melbourne on 23 July 1915. He embarked overseas on 14 April 1916 and landed in Egypt about five weeks later. He left Egypt on 28 May and arrived in Plymouth, England on 11 June 1916.
He spent the next three months in various training camps on Salisbury Plain, which included several absences without leave that resulted in a total of 36 days detention. He left England and arrived in France on 17 September 1916, where he was finally taken on strength of the 1st Pioneer Battalion on 9 November 1916.
On 30 June 1917, he was hospitalised for almost two months with a skin complaint and didn’t re-join the battalion until 15 November 1917. He saw his first major action on 14 April 1918 at the 1st Division’s defence of Hazebrouck during the German Spring Offensive.
He saw further action at various times between 9 August – 18 September 1918 as the allies pushed the Germans back from Amiens to the Hindenburg Line.
He returned to England on 21 March 1919 and departed for Australia on 12 May.
He arrived back in Melbourne on 29 June, where he was formally discharged from the AIF on 25 October 1919.
Source: Extract from "Clunes Soldiers Memorial Panel" by Robert Wight, June 2022.
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