THOMSON, Albert James
| Service Number: | 206 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 8 October 1914 |
| Last Rank: | Lance Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 15th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, January 1882 |
| Home Town: | Dulwich Hill, Marrickville, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Wounds, Middlesex Hospital, Clacton-on-Sea, England, United Kingdom, 14 August 1916 |
| Cemetery: |
Clacton Cemetery, Essex, England Row C, Grave No. 252 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 8 Oct 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 206, 15th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Dec 1914: | Involvement Private, 206, 17th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Ceramic embarkation_ship_number: A40 public_note: '' | |
| 22 Dec 1914: | Embarked Private, 206, 17th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ceramic, Melbourne | |
| 8 Aug 1915: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 206, 15th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, GSW to neck | |
| 21 Jun 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 15th Infantry Battalion | |
| 14 Aug 1916: | Involvement Lance Corporal, 206, 15th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 206 awm_unit: 15th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Lance Corporal awm_died_date: 1916-08-14 |
Help us honour Albert James Thomson's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
The summary below was completed by Cathy Sedgwick – Facebook “WW1 Australian War Graves in England/UK
Died on this date - 14th August......
Albert James Thomson was born in Sydney, NSW in 1882. He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F.) on 8th October, 1914 as a 33 year old, single, Labourer from Dulwich Hill, Sydney, NSW.
Private Thomson embarked from Melbourne, Victoria on HMAT Ceramic (A40) on 22nd December, 1914 with the 15th Infantry Battalion “A” Company. He proceeded to join M.E.F. at Gallipoli on 12th April, 1915.
Private Thomson was wounded in the neck at Gallipoli (no date recorded) & invalided to Hospital at Cairo. He rejoined his Battalion at Gallipoli on 4th June, 1915.
Private Thomson was wounded again at Gallipoli on 8th August, 1915. He was invalided to England & admitted to 3rd London General Hospital, Wandsworth on 23rd August, 1915 with GSW (Gunshot wound/s) to right arm & right thigh & pelvis. He recovered & rejoined his Battalion on 15th September, 1915.
Private Thomson arrive din France on 8th June, 1916. He was promoted to Lance Corporal from 21st June, 1916.
Lance Corporal Thomson was wounded in action in France on 8th August, 1916 & invalided to England where he was admitted to Middlesex Hospital at Clacton-on-Sea with GSW fractured thigh – severe.
Lance Corporal Albert James Thomson died at 2.45 am on 14th August, 1916 at Middlesex Hospital, Clacton-on-Sea, England from wounds received in action in France – Gas, gangrene & shock.
Lance Corporal Thomson was buried on the same day as Private Walter Ernest Herriott/Herriot on 16th August, 1916 in Clacton Cemetery, Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, England. They are the only 2 Australian Soldiers buried in this Cemetery.
(The above is a summary of my research. The full research can be found by following the link below)
https://ww1austburialsuk.weebly.com/clacton.html
Biography contributed by John Oakes
Albert James THOMSON (Service Number 206) Attestation Papers as ‘Labourer’. He was born at Sydney about January 1881. He woarked for the Railways as a permanent way (track) worker including between Grafton and Murwillumbah in 1914.
Thomson enlisted at the Lismore 8th October 1914 and gave his uncles, John Turnbull living in Dulwich Hill and Robert Turnbull living on the Nambucca River, as his next of kin. He also claimed 18 months with the Byron Bay Rifle Club as military experience. He was allotted to the 15th Battalion. He embarked HMAT ‘Ceramic’ at Melbourne on 22nd December. He sailed from Egypt to join the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force for Gallipoli on 12th April 1915. Very early in the campaign, he received a wound to his neck. He was back in Cairo by 10th May at the Kasr-el-Ani Hospital. The injury must have been slight because he was discharged on 21st May and was back at Gallipoli on 4th June.
He was wounded again on 8th August with a gunshot to his right arm. This was severe enough for him to be evacuated to England on the Hospital Ship ‘Aquitania’. He was admitted to the 3rd London General Hospital at Wandsworth. He did not return to the Middle East until after the Gallipoli Peninsula was evacuated. He was back in Egypt by March 1916 and re-joined the 15th Battalion at Tel-el-Kebir on 9th March. On 19th March he was in hospital once more, now with scabies. This required treatment from the 4th Field Ambulance, the 2nd Australian Stationary Hospital, the 4th Auxiliary Hospital and a period at the Overseas Base. He re-joined the Battalion at Serapeum (Egypt) on 2nd April.
On 1st June he embarked HMT ‘Transylvania’ at Alexandria for passage to join the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front in France. He passed through Marseilles on 8th June. Soon after arrival in France he was promoted to Lance Corporal. On 8th August he was wounded with a gunshot to his right leg and admitted to the 4th Field Ambulance, the 44th Casualty Clearing Station and the 2nd Australian General Hospital.
This wound was severe enough to require evacuation to England on board the Hospital Ship ‘Cambrai’ to the Middlesex Hospital at Clacton-on-Sea. He died there from gas gangrene and shock on 14th August 1916. He was buried in the Great Clacton Cemetery, England.
- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.
Click images to start slideshow.