Edwin TOMPKINS

TOMPKINS, Edwin

Service Number: 54
Enlisted: 1 September 1914
Last Rank: Private
Last Unit: 8th Infantry Battalion
Born: Great Houghton, Northamptonshire, England., 30 March 1894
Home Town: Meeniyan, South Gippsland, Victoria
Schooling: Kingsthorpe, Northampton, England
Occupation: Farm hand
Died: Wounds, 4th London General Hospital, Denmark Hill, United Kingdom, 16 August 1915, aged 21 years
Cemetery: Northampton (Dallington) Cemetery, Northamptonshire, England, United Kingdom
Row K, Grave No. 284
Memorials: Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Meeniyan Cenotaph
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World War 1 Service

1 Sep 1914: Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 54, 8th Infantry Battalion
19 Oct 1914: Involvement Private, 54, 8th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Benalla embarkation_ship_number: A24 public_note: ''
19 Oct 1914: Embarked Private, 54, 8th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Benalla, Melbourne

Private Edwin Tompkins

via Faye Threlfall, Australia and NZ in WWI

Died on this date - Northampton born Private Edwin Tompkins enlisted in the Australian Army. Wounded at Gallipoli between 25-30 April, 1915 with GSW to head. Invalided to England but died on 16th August, 1915. Buried Dallington Cemetery, Northampton.

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Biography contributed by Geoffrey Gillon

Possible birth records

Births Jun 1894   Tompkins Edwin Hardingstone 3b 28
  

Births Sep 1894   Tompkins Edwin James H. Hempstead 3a 605
 

Death recorded incorrectly as Edward.

Deaths Sep 1915   Tompkins Edward 21 Lambeth 1d 375.

He was 21 and the son of Mr. H. J. Tompkins, of Break House, Helmdon, Brackley, Northants.

Biography contributed by Evan Evans

From Geoff Harrison, Australia and NZ in WWI

Private Edwin Tompkins, 8th Battalion A.I.F. from Great Houghton, Northampton. He was 19 years old when he emigrated to Australia, arriving in August 1913.

When war broke out, he soon enlisted - 1st September 1914 with the 8th Battalion, which was formed at Victoria. Edwin was in 'A'Company. The Battalion embarked from Melbourne on the H.M.A.T A24 Benalla on 19th October 1914.

On 25th april the 8th Battalion was part of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division. They were part of the Second wave to land, and the last battalion of the brigade to land. Led by their commander, William Bolton, they were ordered to dig in on a ridge line that would bear his name.

At some point between 25th - 30th April, Edwin was wounded. Gun shot wound to the head. There are no exact details. The first days at Anzac was total chaos and Edwin's Casualty Form gives the same 5 day timeframe for his being wounded. The head wound was serious and it is unlikely he would have been one of the 'walkers'. Again it is not known how long he lay out in the field, or when he was stretchered down to the beach. Again, speculation, but he may have been placed with the not expected to survive cases. But we do know that on the 10th May he was admitted to the 88th Field Ambulance at 'W' Beach at Helles. We know today that the medical side of the Anzac landings were woefully underprepared.

So Edwin had been suffering his wound for at least 10 days. And here is where it gets interesting. Unfortunately there is no War Diary for the 88th FA. A least I can't find it. The 88th FA along with the 87th and 89th FA were part of 29th Division, and reading their war diaries I doubt the 88th FA war diary would have shed much light. Things were as chaotic at Helles as they were at Anzac. The war diaries were brief, hastily written, almost indecipherable. But checking out the RAMC Wellcome Library ollection I came across a fantastic manuscript, "A Territorial Field Ambulance with the 29th Division (The Immortal 29th) at Gallipoli" by Henry Harris, who was a doctor with the 87th FA.

The Casualty Form for Edwin, states that he was admitted to the 88th FA on the 10th May and that he was evacuated out to Alexandria also on the 10th May. I believe Edwin was transported on the HMT Southland.

The Southland had brought troops including the 87th FA companies, to the peninsula on the 25th April. They were ordered to remain on board, which frustrated the men, but "the enormous number of casualties at the outset and, as it transpired, the breakdown of the overall organisation of the medical services, made it essential that they remained on board, pending events."

The two allocated hospital ships had been filled well beyond capacity. " The Southland was required, therefore, to recieve on board as many wounded as possible and the medical officers and nursing orderlies aboard were to assume temporarily, the duties as on a hospital ship."

The ship was still there on the 9th May and still collecting the wounded.

"At this stage it was settled that the "Southland" with the remainder of the Field Ambulance aboard, was to become a hospital ship to sail immediately to Alexandria with every available space occupied by wounded men, some in a dying state."
It sailed on the 10th.

"The dressing stations on the beach we were told were still overcrowded and the Field Ambulances overwhelmed with cases. The RAMC did what they could to alleviate their suffering, but they were stretched to the limit and unable to perform miracles. To make room for the ever flowing tide of fresh casualties the paramount need was the speedy evacuation from the beaches, the organisation of which was quite inadequate. In these circumstances, it was inevitable that the amount of attention given at the dressing stations was severely limited and by the time the patients were recieved on the "Southland" many of the wounds had become gangrenous and some ifested with maggots."

During the nights of 10th and 11th May, 33 patients were buried at sea. In all there were almost 1,000 patients crammed on the boat. It arrived Alexandria on the 13th May.

There is no way of knowing if Edwin was on board the Southland. But Harris paints a vivid if harrowing picture of what some of the wounded went through.

Edwin was soon invalided to England, and did not recover from his head wound. He died on 16th August 1915. I'd like to think he would have seen his parents before he died. Poor chap, he must have suffered something fierce.

The link to Harris' book: https://wellcomelibrary.org/item/b18957390…

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Biography contributed by Cathy Sedgwick

The summary below was completed by Cathy Sedgwick (OAM) – Facebook “WW1 Australian War Graves in England/UK/Scotland/Ireland”

Edwin Tompkins was born at Great Houghton, Northampton, England on 30th March, 1894 to parents Henry James & Mary Ann Tompkins.

According to information supplied by his mother for the Roll of Honour, Edwin Tompkins came to Australia when he was 19 years old.  Mr E. Tompkins, Labourer, aged 19, was a passenger on Hawkes Bay which arrived in Melbourne, Victoria on 11th August, 1913.

He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F.) on 1st September, 1914 as a 20 year old, single, Farm Hand from Meeniyan, Gippsland, Victoria. Edwin Tompkins stated on his Attestation Papers that he had served with the Oxford & Bucks Light Infantry for 1 year but had left to come to Australia.

On 19th October, 1914 Private Edwin Tompkins, Service number 54, embarked from Melbourne, Victoria on HMAT Benalla (A24) on 19th October, 1914 with the 8th Infantry Battalion “A” Company.

Private Edwin Tompkins was wounded in action at Gallipoli between 25th & 30th April, 1915. He was admitted to 88th Field Ambulance on “W” Beach at Gallipoli on 10th May, 1915 with gunshot wounds to head. Private Tompkins was admitted to 15th General Hospital at Alexandria then invalided to England (2 dates shown on the Casualty Form – Active Service - 4th July, 1915 on Hospital Ship Letitia & 17th July, 1915 on Hospital Ship Asturias.) The War Gratuity Card records that Private Edwin Tompkins was invalided to England on Hospital Ship Asturias on 17th July, 1915 from Alexandria.

He died on 16th August, 1915 at 4th London General Hospital, London, England from wounds received in action – gunshot wounds to head.

Private Edwin Tompkins was buried on 21st August, 1915 in Dallington Cemetery, Northampton, Northamptonshire, England – Plot number K. 284 and had a Private Headstone erected. His death is still acknowledged by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

 

(The above is a summary of my research. The full research can be found by following the link below)

https://ww1austburialsuk.weebly.com/northampton---dallington-cemetery.html

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