Samuel Raymond THURNHILL MC

THURNHILL, Samuel Raymond

Service Number: 3328
Enlisted: 14 September 1914, Blackboy Hill, Western Australia
Last Rank: Lieutenant
Last Unit: 2nd Field Artillery Brigade
Born: Manchester, England, 1890
Home Town: Doodenanning, Quairading, Western Australia
Schooling: Scarisbrick College, Southport, UK
Occupation: Farmer
Died: Killed In Action, France, 6 November 1916
Cemetery: Caterpillar Valley Cemetery, Longueval
Plot VI, Row H, Grave 17.
Memorials: Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour
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World War 1 Service

14 Sep 1914: Enlisted AIF WW1, Gunner, 3328, Blackboy Hill, Western Australia
22 Dec 1914: Involvement AIF WW1, Gunner, 3328, 3rd Field Artillery Brigade , Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '3' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Borda embarkation_ship_number: A30 public_note: ''
22 Dec 1914: Embarked AIF WW1, Gunner, 3328, 3rd Field Artillery Brigade , HMAT Borda, Melbourne
22 Jul 1916: Honoured Military Cross, Battle for Pozières , While posted to 6th Battery, 2nd Field Artillery Brigade, for leadership and initiative in providing direct fire support with a single gun detachment brought forward for the purpose of destroying nemey barricades and providing enfilade fire along the bapaume Albert road during the opening of the attack on Pozieres.
6 Nov 1916: Involvement AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 2nd Field Artillery Brigade , 'The Winter Offensive' - Flers/Gueudecourt winter of 1916/17, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: awm_unit: 2 Field Artillery Brigade awm_rank: Lieutenant awm_died_date: 1916-11-06

Awarded the Military Cross - Pozieres for direct fire artillery support

Lieutenant Samuel Raymond THURNHILL was awarded the Military Cross for an exemplary act of Field Gunnery at Pozieres. He received a number of recommendations for his particular act, from his Commanding Officer to the Chief of Divisional Artillery and signed off by the General Officer Commanding.

In essence he was ordered to provide very close support with a single gun. To do this he and his men had to move the gun under cover of darkness and muffled the sound of its steel rimmed wheels with sandbags and rubber tyres from motor lorries. They moved the gun as far forward as could reasonably be managed with horse teams then ran the gun out to its position by hand. After waiting for an initial barrage, he directed the gun into action firing over open sights at enemy barricades which were blocking the assaulting force's progress. They fired all of their ammunition in this way, 115 rounds in total. All the while their left flank a=was exposed but they enfiladed the Albert Bapaume road to great effect. When his ammunition was expended they withdrew the gun without casualties.

Summary of citations for this award.

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Biography contributed by Elizabeth Allen

Samuel Raymond THURNHILL was born in 1890 in Manchester, England

His parents were John William & Caroline Amelia THURNHILL