RAVELL, Thomas Francis
| Service Number: | 34 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 2 March 1915, An original member of B Company |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 19th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Forster, New South Wales, Australia, 14 August 1885 |
| Home Town: | Forster, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Carpenter |
| Died: | Killed in action, Bullecourt, France, 3 May 1917, aged 31 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Kirribilli Sydney Flying Squadron & Sydney Sailing Club Honor Roll, Nabiac War Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 2 Mar 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 34, 19th Infantry Battalion, An original member of B Company | |
|---|---|---|
| 25 Jun 1915: | Involvement Private, 34, 19th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '13' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Ceramic embarkation_ship_number: A40 public_note: '' | |
| 25 Jun 1915: | Embarked Private, 34, 19th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ceramic, Melbourne |
Help us honour Thomas Francis Ravell'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 Francis Ravell was a son of George and Hannah Marie Ravell of Cape Hawke, Forster, New South Wales. He had three other brothers who served overseas in the AIF during WW1. They were all said to be well known in sporting circles in Sydney. They all owned and raced an 18ft racing boat called ‘Kismet’ which won the Australian championship in 1912.
His younger brother, 2715 Pte. John Herbert Ravell 54th Battalion AIF, was killed in action during the Battle of Polygon Wood in Belgium on 26 September 1917, aged 22.
Thomas landed on Gallipoli with the 19th Battalion on 16 August 1915. He was there until the evacuation although he was sick with jaundice at the time.
When they went to France, he was involved in a big raid on the night of 25-26 June 1916. He was then severely wounded at Pozieres on 26 July 1916 and was shipped to England with shrapnel wounds to his chest and leg. It would be over seven months before he returned to the 19th Battalion in France during March 1917.
Two months later he was involved with the heavy fighting at Bullecourt on 3 May 1917. He was reported missing, and his Red Cross wounded and missing file indicates he was probably killed by a shell burst on that day.
Another two brothers, Lieutenant David Clarence Ravell 19th Battalion AIF and 15764 George William Ravell 12th Field Company Engineers both returned to Australia.
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