MORRISON, Thomas William
| Service Number: | 817 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 31 January 1916, Liverpool, New South Wales |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 36th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Mendooran, New South Wales, Australia, January 1890 |
| Home Town: | Mendooran, Warrumbungle Shire, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Bundulla Half Time School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Killed in action, France, 10 December 1916 |
| Cemetery: |
Cite Bonjean Military Cemetery, Armentieres Plot IV, Row B, Grave 15. |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Coonamble Municipality and Wingadee Shire HR, Mendooran Memorial Wall |
World War 1 Service
| 31 Jan 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 817, Liverpool, New South Wales | |
|---|---|---|
| 13 May 1916: | Involvement Private, 817, 36th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '17' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Beltana embarkation_ship_number: A72 public_note: '' | |
| 13 May 1916: | Embarked Private, 817, 36th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Beltana, Sydney |
Help us honour Thomas William Morrison's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Thomas William Morrison was the son of Andrew Roger Morrison and Mary Elizabeth Morrison of Mendooran, New South Wales. He enlisted as an original in ‘Carmichael’s Thousand’, the 36th Battalion, a unit raised by politician Ambrose Campbell Carmichael who took leave of absence from Parliament, and toured the length and breadth of NSW to put together a battalion of 1,000.
Thomas served in France for only three weeks before he was killed in action. Thomas’s younger brother, 1668 Cpl. George Hugh Morrison 45th Battalion was later killed at Passchendaele in Belgium during October 1917, aged 21.
The Mudgee Guardian printed a letter to Thomas’s father on 15 March 1917.
December 24. Dear Mr. Morrison, — There can be little comfort in this letter, and nothing I can say will make any less bitter the loss of your son. For some time, he had been with me in the platoon, and had proved himself a thorough British soldier. Always a willing worker, he made himself a favorite with his companions, and it left the platoon, without exception, saddened when he was taken. During training he showed special aptitude for machine gun work, and it was while on this duty and standing to his gun that the end came. You will be pleased to know that there was no suffering. He was killed by a shell that exploded in the fire bay where was his post. I was very, very sorry, knowing that in him I had lost one of our very best men. At present regulations will not permit me to say where he lies, but if I am able to get back again to New South Wales, or if before that I am able to send you word, I will do so. At this moment all that I can send is my very sincere sympathy in your heavy loss. —I am, sincerely yours, Stanley Irwin, Lieutenant. France.
Click images to start slideshow.