TOTHILL, Harry James
| Service Number: | 2427 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 27 December 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 48th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Somerton, Glenelg, South Australia, 26 September 1886 |
| Home Town: | Glenelg, Holdfast Bay, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Printing Compositor |
| Died: | Killed In Action, Dernancourt, France, 5 April 1918, aged 31 years |
| Cemetery: |
Dernancourt Communal Cemetery Extension Plot X, Row G, Grave No. 11 |
| Memorials: | Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Brighton Arch of Remembrance, Brighton WW1 Roll of Honour, Glenelg and District WW1 & WW2 Honour Board, Largs North Port Adelaide Sailing Club Roll of Honor |
World War 1 Service
| 27 Dec 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2427, 32nd Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Mar 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 2427, 32nd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '17' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: RMS Mongolia embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
| 2 Jun 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 48th Infantry Battalion | |
| 5 Apr 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2427, 48th Infantry Battalion, Dernancourt/Ancre, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 2427 awm_unit: 48 Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1918-04-05 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
From François Berthout
Today, it is with very deep respect that I would like to pay a solemn and respectful tribute to Private number 2427 Harry James Tothill who was killed in action 102 years ago, on April 5, 1918, on the battlefields of the Somme and who rests in peace here in the peace for which he fought with courage and for which he gave his life🌺
Harry James Tothill was born on September 26, 1886 in Somerton, Glenelg, South Australia and he was the son of Henry Benjamin and Elizabeth Tothill and lived in Somerton. Before the war, Harry worked as printing compositor.
Enlisted on December 27, 1915 in the 32nd Australian Infantry Battalion, 4th Reinforcement, he embarked with his unit on March 9, 1916 from Adelaide, South Australia on board the RMS Mongolia and he disembarked in Plymouth, England where he received his training and was sick.He embarked for France on September 22, 1916 and was disembarked in Etaples, France on September 24, 1916 and was transferred to the 48th Australian Infantry Battalion in the direction of the Somme front
a month later, Harry received a head injury and returned to England for treatment before returning to his unit on the Somme front in the area of Dernancourt where he was killed in action on April 5, 1918 at the age of 33 while defending his trench against a German assault, he was killed by a shell which broke his legs.
Today the Private Harry James Tothill rests in peace at the Dernancourt Communal Cemetery Extension, Somme.
Thank you Harry, it is with respect that I thank you for all that you have done for us, you have come from so far to defend and protect these sacred lands of the Somme and for France for which you fought bravely and nobly and for which so many of your comrades and brothers in arms fell and today I feel honored and very proud to watch over you and all those men who paid the ultimate sacrifice for a better world, today the sun shines on the Somme and we are at peace and united and it is thanks to you.Thank you wholeheartedly Sir, you will never be forgotten.🌺
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