PAGE, Thomas Alwyn McDonald
| Service Number: | 542 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 1 September 1914, Enlisted at Randwick, NSW |
| Last Rank: | Bugler |
| Last Unit: | 3rd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Murrurundi, New South Wales, Australia, 11 August 1894 |
| Home Town: | Murrurundi, Upper Hunter Shire, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | West Tamworth Superior Public School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Railway Clerk |
| Died: | Head wounds, 2nd Australian Stationary Hospital, Mudros, Greece, 18 August 1915, aged 21 years |
| Cemetery: |
Portianos Military Cemetery Plot 1, Row B, Grave 39 Chaplain T. Jones officiated Headstone reads: To live in the hearts of those we leave behind is not to die |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Murrurundi Bowls Club Cenotaph and Memorial Gates, Tamworth ANZAC Park Memorial Gates, Tamworth Methodist Church Memorial Tablet |
World War 1 Service
| 1 Sep 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Bugler, 542, Enlisted at Randwick, NSW | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Oct 1914: | Involvement 542, 3rd Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Euripides embarkation_ship_number: A14 public_note: '' | |
| 20 Oct 1914: | Embarked 542, 3rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Euripides, Sydney | |
| 10 Aug 1915: | Wounded AIF WW1, Bugler, 542, ANZAC / Gallipoli, Gunshot wound to the head | |
| 18 Aug 1915: | Involvement 542, 3rd Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 542 awm_unit: 3 Battalion awm_rank: Bugler awm_died_date: 1915-08-18 |
Help us honour Thomas Alwyn McDonald Page's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Carol Foster
Son of Thomas and Jane Page of Peel Street, West Tamworth, NSW
Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
At the time of enlistment he was serving in the Militia
Biography contributed by Michael Silver
The Tamworth Daily Observer of 1 September 1915 reported the death of Private Thomas Alwyn McDonald Page on 18 August 1915 from head and shoulder wounds received at Lone Pine.
“Very general regret was expressed on all sides yesterday when it was reported that the Rev. T. Jamieson-Williams had received a cable asking him to inform Mr. and Mrs. T. Page, of West Tamworth, that their son, T. Alwyn McDonald Page, had died of wounds on August 18th.
In a letter dated 14 August 1915 from his brother Private Clarence Page to their parents, Clarrie advised that Alwyn, who had joined the machine gun section, was hit on the head and shoulder by shrapnel on 8 August, saying, "He was knocked out for a while but was able to walk to the dressing station". He reassurred his parents that Alwyn was 'doing splendidly' - tragically this was not the case and Alwyn Page would succumb to his wounds a few days later.
Alwyn Page, as everyone knew him, was one of those personalities who made friends amongst all with whom they come in contact. As a young boy he was attached to the local telegraph department and his bright face and cheery manner won him many friends. Bright and painstaking, he steadily made his way. At the time of his enlistment he had been employed for some years in the Railway Department at Murrurundi where he had earned quick promotion. He was one of three brothers who enlisted for the front, his letters showing that in spite of hardships which he bore with conspicuous contentment, he thoroughly enjoyed his experiences, though he was instinctively most methodical and orderIy in his habits. In one of his last letters home he mentioned the pleasure he and the other Tamworth boys received at reading the Tamworth news in the ‘Daily Observer’.”
References:
The Tamworth Daily Observer, 1 September 1915, Page 3. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page11151548
The Tamworth Daily Observer, 8 October 1915, Page 3 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page11160604
Biography contributed by John Oakes
Thomas Alwyn McDonald PAGE (Service Number 542) was born on 11th August 1894 at Murrurundi. His first work with the NSW Government Railways was in the Traffic Branch as a gatekeeper in the Murrurundi District from 28th August 1911, on probation for six months. By July 1912 he had become a junior clerk in the District Superintendent’s Office in Murrurundi, and it was from this position that he was released to join the Expeditionary Forces on 1st September 1914.
Page enlisted at Randwick the next day, citing that he was still serving in the Militia in area 14, and giving his father, a school teacher at West Tamworth, as his next of kin. He was llotted to the 3rd Australian Infantry Battalion as a bugler, Page embarked HMAT ‘Euripides’ at Sydney on 20th October 1914.
He was reported wounded with a gunshot to his head at Gallipoli, and evacuated to No. 2 Stationary Hospital at Mudros (on the Greek island of Lemnos) on 10th August 1915. The 3rd Battalion landed at Gallipoli on Anzac Day, 25th April, so it is presumed that Page did also.
He died at Mudros on 18th August and was buried in the Portianos Cemetery, Mudros West, Lemnos.
- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.
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