WHITE, Thomas George
| Service Numbers: | 6577, VX101277 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 31 January 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | Auxiliary Horse Transport Company/ies |
| Born: | Violet Town, Victoria, 12 August 1897 |
| Home Town: | Violet Town, Strathbogie, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Boho State School |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Heidelberg, Victoria, 1973, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Euroa Telegraph Park, Violet Town 'Unknown' WW1 Honour Roll, Violet Town Honour Roll WW1, Violet Town Primary School Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 31 Jan 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 6577 | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Oct 1916: | Involvement Private, 6577, 6th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '8' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Nestor embarkation_ship_number: A71 public_note: '' | |
| 2 Oct 1916: | Embarked Private, 6577, 6th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Nestor, Melbourne |
World War 2 Service
| 6 Sep 1942: | Involvement Driver, VX101277, Auxiliary Horse Transport Company/ies | |
|---|---|---|
| 6 Sep 1942: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, VX101277 |
Help us honour Thomas George White's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Elsa Reuter
WHITE Thomas George 6577 PTE
6th Battalion
1896-1973
There was another family of Whites, farming in Harries Creek Road south of Violet Town, known as ‘The Gorge’. It had originally been built by the Crocker family out of bricks salvaged from a demolished shop in Violet Town. In 1915, when the owner of The Gorge, Frederick Talbot Crocker planned to enlist in WW1 the property was placed in the hands of a manager, Richard White, father of PTE Thomas George White. It was sold in 1921 and Richard stayed on as manager until the transfer was completed. Fred Crocker died before he was able to embark for overseas, so never had the chance to serve in the war. Richard, Tom’s father died in 1929.
Tom was born at Warrenbayne, he attended the Boho State School and would have left school by the time the family moved to ‘The Gorge’. Being only 19 when he enlisted on 31 January, he would have required parental consent to serve overseas.
On 2 October he sailed to Plymouth aboard HMAT Nestor, arriving on 16 November. The following month he was sent to the Base Depot at Etaples from where he was posted to the 6th Battalion which was engaged in hostilities around Pozieres.
On 22 February 1917 he was admitted to No 4 Casualty Clearing Station suffering from mumps, re-joining his battalion at the end of May. Two months later he was admitted to a field ambulance, then to No 1 GH in England for a hernia operation. Soon after being discharged and returning to his unit in France he was gassed and sent back to England to recover. At the end of October Tom re-joined his battalion in France. Once again he was admitted to hospital, this time to be treated for in-growing toenails.
After 14 days leave in England he returned to France until 10 April 1919 when he was transferred to England awaiting a ship to bring him back to Australia.
He left England on SS Port Darwin and was discharged in Melbourne on 17 July 1919.
On 10 October 1919 it was reported in the Violet Town Sentinel that a large crowd of Boho residents ‘turned out to do honour to returned men – CPL J F Stevenson and LCPL T Whitend. . . . during an interval in the programme the chairman presented each soldier with a gold medal, suitably inscribed. at the same time expressing pleasure at being present to welcome home two more of the Boho lads who had done so much in the cause of freedom.’
Tom married Eliza Hammond from Broadford in 1937; they had a son and a daughter. Eliza died in 1951 and is buried in the Broadford Cemetery. Tom lived until 1973 when records show he died in Heidelberg. Was he hospitalised as a result of being gassed during the war?
This is a wonderful photo of the White siblings taken in 1943 at ‘The Gorge’.
They are – leading from the front - Emma Ruby White 1889-1976,
Mabel Pearl White 1890-1987,
Charles Richard White 1892-1962,
Esther (Ettie) White 1893-1988,
Christina Catherine (Teeny) White 1894-1958,
Thomas George White 1896-1973,
Ernest Royal White 1898,
Amy May White 1900-1978.
© 2016 Sheila Burnell