CRESWICK, Thomas Sefton
| Service Number: | 2536 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 21 September 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 37th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Lake Cargelligo, New South Wales, Australia, March 1898 |
| Home Town: | Lake Cargelligo, Lachlan, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Elsternwick State School Victoria |
| Occupation: | Station overseer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Messines, Belgium, 7 June 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Flanders, Belgium |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Menin Gate Memorial (Commonwealth Memorial to the Missing of the Ypres Salient) |
World War 1 Service
| 21 Sep 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2536, 37th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Nov 1916: | Involvement Private, 2536, 37th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '17' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Benalla embarkation_ship_number: A24 public_note: '' | |
| 9 Nov 1916: | Embarked Private, 2536, 37th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Benalla, Sydney |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Private Thomas Sefton Creswick 37th Battalion was very badly wounded by shrapnel in the leg and side during the advance at Messines on 7 June 1917. Creswick was placed in a shell hole near Bethlehem Farm by two of his mates, but when they returned for him later that night the shell hole had been hit by another shell and they could find no trace of him. Only 19 years old, his name is remembered on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Belgium. His older brother Norman Lachlan Creswick, 21 years, of the 36th Battalion was also killed in action at Messines only 4 days later on the 11 June 1917.
The Creswick boys came from Lake Cargellico NSW, a small town in the wheat belt of the Riverina NSW and their father was then a station manager at Marulan NSW. The fact that Thomas was reported as wounded and missing for many months caused the family much heartache, and they wrote to the AIF many times seeking further information on the fate of their son. Thomas was confirmed as killed in action on the 18 January 1918. His remains were never found. A third brother, Corporal Hector Arthur Creswick, who also served in Belgium, returned home to Australia in 1919.