EDWARDS, Thomas John
| Service Number: | 3357 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 14th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Lilydale, Tasmania, Australia, 27 November 1897 |
| Home Town: | Deloraine, Meander Valley, Tasmania |
| Schooling: | Launceston State School, Tasmania, Australia |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Killed in action, France, 11 April 1917, aged 19 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France. |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 26 Nov 1915: | Involvement Private, 3357, 24th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '14' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Commonwealth embarkation_ship_number: A73 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 26 Nov 1915: | Embarked Private, 3357, 24th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Commonwealth, Melbourne | |
| 24 Feb 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 8th Infantry Battalion | |
| 31 Mar 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 14th Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Thomas John Edwards was one of two young sons of George and Agnes Ellen Edwards of Elizabeth Town, Tasmania, who died during WW1.
His older brother, 663 Lance Corporal Bertram George Edwards 40th Battalion AIF, died of wounds, 12 April 1918, aged 26.
Thomas enlisted at Broadmeadows in Melbourne. This was a few months after he already enlisted in Tasmania, but was struck off strength when he was absent at embarkation.
He transferred from the 24th to the 8th and then to the 14th Battalion in Egypt.
He went missing on the 11 April 1917, during the disastrous first attack on Bullecourt by the 14th Battalion. The unit suffered very heavy casualties during their attack on the Hindenberg Line. Thomas has no known grave. He was six months short of his 20th birthday.
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