PURTELL, Thomas Gabriel
| Service Numbers: | T23576, T50779 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 8 April 1942 |
| Last Rank: | Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | 4 Infantry Battalion AMF |
| Born: | Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, 1 November 1899 |
| Home Town: | Latrobe, Latrobe, Tasmania |
| Schooling: | St Joseph’s Convent, Albany, Western Australia |
| Occupation: | Teacher |
| Died: | Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, 14 July 1956, aged 56 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Cornelian Bay Cemetery and Crematorium, Tasmania |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 8 Apr 1942: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Sergeant, T23576 | |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Jun 1942: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Lieutenant, T50779, 4 Infantry Battalion AMF | |
| 31 Jan 1946: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Lieutenant, T50779, 4 Infantry Battalion AMF |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Eldest of four brothers who served in WWII, Lieutenant Thomas Gabriel Purtell (Service Nos:T23576/T50779) enlisted in the ACMF as a Sergeant on 8 April 1942, and was a Lieutenant attached to 4 Battalion VDC at Discharge on 31 January 1946. Two sons - John and Graham - also served in WWII.
Tom was born in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia (Paddington Mine via Norseman) in 1899, eldest of nine children of John Joseph Purtell (b1872 in Ballarat, Victoria) and Emily Ethel Tanner (b1878 in Melbourne, Victoria). John was a Prospector at Paddington Mine via Norsemen in 1899 when he and Emily married in Kalgoorlie. John and Emily lived in the WA Goldfields and Albany, where they raised their family and John was a Miner, Labourer and Smelter Hand. John served in the AIF in WWI (Private; Service No:4244), and following his Discharge, was a Miner at Yalgoo with two other returned soldiers in 1918 when they discovered the largest gold nugget (over 100 lbs) found in Australia to that date. In the early 1920s John and Emily moved their family to Victoria - living in Coburg where John was a Railway Worker, then Ecucha, Ballarat and Bendigo where he was a Miner. During the 1930s John returned to the WA Goldfields (Browns Hill and Kookynie), working as a Prospector before retiring to Melbourne in the early 1940s.
Tom was a Teacher in Tasmania in 1925 when he married Kathleen Olive Winifred Hannan (b1901 in Brighton, Tasmania) - Kathleen was Relieving Postmistress at Brighton. Tom and Kathleen settled in Tasmania, where Tom was a Teacher at Hamilton, Campbell Town and Waratah. Tom was Headmaster at Latrobe in 1942 when he enlisted in the ACMF, and post-war he and Kathleen lived in New Norfolk and Hobart, where Tom was Headmaster at Campbell Street School when he died in 1956. Kathleen died in 1983.