Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Thomas (Tom) Scott joined the Waratah Recruitment March from Nowra on 30 November 1915 along with William Cramond and Chris Irvine, also from the Valley.
He was one of the three sons of (late) William and Mary Scott of Kangaroo Valley NSW to enlist. He was at the minimum enlistment age of 18 years, and working as a farm labourer.
Tom entered the Liverpool Camp on 17th December and was to be assigned to the Lewis Gun section of D Company of the 1st Battalion AIF. They called him "Scotty".
He was farewelled by the Valley community in late March just prior to his embarkation from Sydney on 1 April 1916 on the SS Makarini. Kit bags and other gifts were handed to the departing soldiers at the function. Tom was gifted a wristlet watch. Cramond and Irvine were also onboard the Makarini with the 1st Battalion. They first set foot in Europe at Marseilles France on 17 May 1916 and entrained for three days to Etaples on the French west coast.
Hospitalised with influenza shortly after arriving at Etaples Scott missed the 1st Battalion engagement at Pozieres 23-26 July. He joined the battalion on 27 July at Vardencourt as part of a 77 man reinforcement of the battalion. Training followed before movement into Wire Trench at Ovillers-La Boiselle (near Amiens) on 17 August and then into the firing line from 18-23 August. 21 men of the 1st Battalion were killed in this time in the front line.
He went back into the trenches at Ypres on 8 September 1916 and didn't get to take his boots off for two weeks. Rain was falling and the trenches filled with a cloying, freezing mud a foot deep. Frontline duty continued regularly through September and October with Scott braving the weather and the enemy shellfire.
Tom and the 1st Battalion then attacked in the Flers sector to capture a small salient at Gueudecourt on 5 November. Heavy rain had been falling but stopped suddenly making their presence known to the Germans under the emerging moonlight. When they rose the men struggled through knee deep mud and walked into withering machine gun fire. Despite three attacks the campaign proved futile and no ground was gained. Thomas Scott fell here.
He was reported by Pte. Patrick Rogers to have been hit in the knee at the German wire. Another report had him killed by shellfire. However he went missing that night and as the ground was not taken his body was never found until four months after when the Germans had made a strategic withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line. He lay in that snow covered field with 50 others until found in March 1917.
The bodies of the dead were assembled respectfully by the Germans for discovery. Scott could only be identified by his papers and paybook.
Tom was buried where he fell and was then re-interred after the Armistice to the Grevillers British Cemetery France. (see attached).
The Waratahs suffered grievously. 30 of the 120 men that joined that recruitment march were to be killed in action. Four died the same day as Thomas.
Chris Irvine would be blown to pieces at Pozieres in July 1916. Cramond made it home.