WRIGHT, Thomas Alfred Reginald
| Service Number: | 2082 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 14 January 1915, Enlisted at Liverpool, NSW |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 1st Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Kangaroo Valley, Nowra, New South Wales, Australia, 1888 |
| Home Town: | Kangaroo Valley, Shoalhaven Shire, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Kangaroo Valley Public School, Nowra, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Locomotive Cleaner |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Gallipoli, Gallipoli, Dardanelles, Turkey, 6 August 1915 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Lone Pine Memorial, Lone Pine Memorial, Gallipoli Peninsula, Canakkale Province, Turkey |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Kangaroo Valley War Memorial, Lone Pine Memorial to the Missing |
World War 1 Service
| 14 Jan 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2082, 1st Infantry Battalion, Enlisted at Liverpool, NSW | |
|---|---|---|
| 25 Jun 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2082, 1st Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1 | |
| 25 Jun 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 2082, 1st Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Ceramic embarkation_ship_number: A40 public_note: '' | |
| 6 Aug 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 1st Infantry Battalion, The August Offensive - Lone Pine, Suvla Bay, Sari Bair, The Nek and Hill 60 - Gallipoli, KIA Lone Pine 6 Aug 1915 |
Darky
Tom Wright first enlisted on 19 January 1915 shortly after the outbreak of war. He did not proceed immediately but took the oath at Liverpool on 23 April 1915. It is likely he was waiting for his brother Frederick to be accepted, but Fred was held back on medical grounds by varicose veins. Nicknamed "Darky", Tom embarked on the HMAT Ceramic on 25 June 1915 and arrived at Gallipoli 5 August, the day before the Lone Pine attack. He had written to his sister Amy on 31 July from Cairo saying:
"We are going to the front tomorrow and so will soon be amongst the shot and shell. Hope are all well at home as I am at present."
Tom went forward on 6 August into the attack on Lone Pine and was killed that day.
Eyewitness accounts vary, but he was reported to have been wounded in the head by a shell burst while fighting in the Turkish trenches and he died there. The Turks retook the trench and so his body could not be recovered. His body was lost and he has no known grave. Tom's name appears on the Lone Pine Memorial.
Tom's brother Fred had surgery on his legs and would enlist 2 August 1915 with half the local rugby league team. Wounded twice, he was killed on 27 October 1917 by an aeroplane attack on the 2nd Battalion camp at Battery Corner near Ypres as they prepared for the Passchendaele attack. Fred was an outstanding all-round sportsman.
Submitted 19 December 2021 by Geoffrey Todd
Biography contributed by Carol Foster
Son of William James Wright and Isabella Wright of Kangaroo Valley, Nowra, NSW.
Brother of Ernest Everard Wright, Amy Elizabeth M. Wright, Henry Edward Wright, Minnie Emma Wright, Frederick Wiliam Norman Wright who was killed in action on 27 October 1917 while serving with the 2nd Battalion and was buried in the Belgian Battery Corner Cemetery. Plot 11, Row H, Grave 3; Robert S. Wright and Angelina Maria Wright
Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
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