Arthur Thomas PARKER

PARKER, Arthur Thomas

Service Number: 2173
Enlisted: Not yet discovered
Last Rank: Private
Last Unit: 1st Pioneer Battalion
Born: Tamworth, New South Wales, date not yet discovered
Home Town: Tamworth, Tamworth Municipality, New South Wales
Schooling: Not yet discovered
Occupation: Laborer and Grazier
Memorials:
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World War 1 Service

3 May 1916: Involvement Private, 2173, 1st Pioneer Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '4' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Clan McGillivray embarkation_ship_number: A46 public_note: ''
3 May 1916: Embarked Private, 2173, 1st Pioneer Battalion, HMAT Clan McGillivray, Sydney

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Biography contributed by Cornerstone College

Arthur Thomas Parker of Firefly Creek, New South Wales was born in the town of Tamworth NSW a country town located straddling the Peel River. Parker was 34 years of age, and was measured at a height of 6 feet tall which was pretty tall compared to the average size of men who went to the war which was 5 ft. 6” at the time.  Arthur weighed 155 lbs. (70 kg) although he was tall and had a very slim build. Arthur's chest measured to 36.5 inches (91cm). On Arthur Thomas Parker's enrolment papers he was described to have had a darker skin complexion and dark hair. Arthur had grey coloured eyes. Arthur Thomas Parkers Religious Denomination was the Church of England; the Church of England was the largest denomination in the country. Arthur Thomas Parker before joining the war, worked as a Labourer and Grazier. As a Grazier he worked with sheep and cattle.

Arthur's service number was 2173 and Parker was enlisted for war on 30th of march 1916 and was later embarked to World War 1 from Sydney NSW on the 3rd of May 1916. Parker embarked on board HMAT A46, Clan McGillivray. The A46 embarked the 1st infantry brigade 24th Reinforcements along with some medical officers.  HMAT A46 weighed a total of 5,023 tonnes and had an average cruise speed of 14 knots or 26 kilometres per hour.

A.T Parker was in the unit of 1st pioneer Battalion. The 1st pioneer battalion was an infantry and light engineer unit which was raised for service in the war as a part of the all-volunteer AIF. A total of five pioneer battalions were raised by the Australian imperial forces during the war.

Arthur Thomas Parker worked with the Air force section while in the war, and was ranked as a Private which is the lowest military rank also known as ‘Pte.’ for short. Military aviation was introduced into word war 1 when airships and early aircraft were mainly used for reconnaissance. In the Australian Flying Corps (AFC), which was a part of the AIF at the time, there were 800 officers and 2,840 men who served with the AFC. Unfortunately, 175 of these men lost their lives during the war.

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