Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Private Thomas Bird (Regimental Number: 2384) was a soldier for the Royal Australian Army during World War 1. Thomas was born in the British county of Derbyshire in around November 1895. Exactly 20 years and 10 months later Thomas Bird enlisted for the Australian Imperial forces on the 7th of August 1916. He was assigned to the 48th battalion. The 48th battalion were shipped over to Egypt and this is where their training occurred.

On the 11th of March 1917 Thomas Bird’s left leg was wounded in battle. In September 1917 Thomas Bird transferred from the Australian Imperial Forces to the Air Flying Corps, now known as the Royal Australian Air Force, as a second air mechanic and musteres cook. On the 8th of March 1918, Thomas was shipped off to France as a part of the AFC. In late January 1919 Thomas was put in hospital with a case of influenza which put him out of action for a month until he was released from hospital. Thomas Bird continued his service in the Australian Flying Corps/Australian Imperial Forces until he returned home to Australia on the 18th of October 1919. He was finally discharged from the Australian Defence Force on the 29th of March 1920 due to his disability of experiencing severe headaches. Thomas Bird was one of the lucky veterans that survived the horrors of war, he lived a long and healthy life after being discharged.