THOMAS, Charles Llewelyn
| Service Numbers: | 7788, 7788A |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 6 June 1917, Place of Enlistment, Cairns,Queensland. |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 15th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Hodgkinson Gold Fields, Thornborough, Queensland, Australia, 14 July 1887 |
| Home Town: | Cairns, Cairns, Queensland |
| Schooling: | State School, Cairns, Queensland, Australia |
| Occupation: | Printer. |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 4 July 1918, aged 30 years |
| Cemetery: |
Crucifix Corner Cemetery Section X, Row C, Grave No 17 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Cairns Cenotaph |
World War 1 Service
| 6 Jun 1917: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 7788, 15th Infantry Battalion, Place of Enlistment, Cairns,Queensland. | |
|---|---|---|
| 29 Oct 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 9th Infantry Battalion, Acting Lance Corporal. | |
| 31 Oct 1917: | Involvement Private, 7788A, 9th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Euripides embarkation_ship_number: A14 public_note: '' | |
| 31 Oct 1917: | Embarked Private, 7788A, 9th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Euripides, Sydney | |
| 4 Jul 1918: | Involvement Private, 7788, 15th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 7788 awm_unit: 15th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1918-07-04 |
Charles Llewellyn Thomas.
Charles Llewelyn Thomas was born 14 July 1887 in the Thornborough district, via Cairns to John Morris Thomas and his wife Ann (nee Jones). He was the fourth of eight children. Anne (b. 1881) came with her parents from Wales in 1883 on the “Rohilla”. After the family’s arrival a further seven children were born – Jane (1884), Blodwen (1885) David (1889), Gwilyn (1892), Gwen (1895) and Arthur (1897).
Their husband and father John died of “miners phthisis” on 16 August 1907.
Charles Llewelyn Thomas enlisted in the A.I.F. on 6 June 1917. He was 29 years 11 months of age, 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighed 135 lbs. He had a dark complexion, brown eyes and black hair. He was a Methodist. His occupation was Printer and he had been employed at the Cairns Post newspaper for some years. He named his mother, Annie Thomas, Charters Towers, as his next of kin.
He embarked on the HMAT Euripides from Sydney on 31 October 1917.
HMAT Euripides in Melbourne 11 Sep 1916
HMAT Euripides
He disembarked at Devonport, England on 26 December 1917 and marched in at Sutton Veny, Wiltshire that was one of many training camps in and around the Salisbury plain. He shipped out to Calais France on 1 April 1918.
He was killed on 4th July 1918 and is buried in Crucifix Corner Cemetery, Villers Bretonneux, Somme, France. Courtesy of The Cairns District Family History Society.
Submitted 10 April 2021 by Lynette Turner
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