Thomas Edwin LESTER

LESTER, Thomas Edwin

Service Number: 2927
Enlisted: 12 May 1916
Last Rank: Private
Last Unit: 33rd Infantry Battalion
Born: Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia, October 1876
Home Town: Sydney, City of Sydney, New South Wales
Schooling: Not yet discovered
Occupation: Fireman
Died: Died of wounds - gas poisoning, Reading War Hospital, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom, 29 April 1918
Cemetery: Reading Cemetery, England
Reading Cemetery (Row 72, Grave No. 16435), Berkshire, England, Reading Cemetery, Reading, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom
Memorials: Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour
Show Relationships

World War 1 Service

12 May 1916: Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2927, 53rd Infantry Battalion
26 Oct 1916: Involvement Private, 2927, 53rd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '19' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Ascanius embarkation_ship_number: A11 public_note: ''
26 Oct 1916: Embarked Private, 2927, 53rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ascanius, Sydney
29 Apr 1918: Involvement Private, 2927, 33rd Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 2927 awm_unit: 33rd Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1918-04-29

Help us honour Thomas Edwin Lester's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.

Biography contributed by Evan Evans

The summary below was completed by Cathy Sedgwick – Facebook “WW1 Australian War Graves in England/UK

Died on this date - 29th April.......Private Thomas Edwin Lester was born at Oberon, near Bathurst, NSW in 1876. He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F.) on 16th May, 1916 as a 39 year old, married Foreman from Hyde Park, Sydney, NSW.
Private Lester arrived in England for further training on 28th December, 1916 & was posted to 14th Training Battalion at Hurdcott, Wiltshire. He was medically assessed & classified as Fit for Home Service only.

Private Lester was assessed again on 4th December, 1917 at No. 3 Command Depot at Hurdcott & classified as Fit for Overseas Training Camp in 3 - 4 weeks.

Private Lester joined 33rd Battalion at the Front on 12th February, 1918. He was wounded in action - Gassed on 17th April, 1918 & invalided to England where he was admitted to Reading War Hospital, Berkshire on 21st April, 1918 suffering from Gas (Shell) Poisoning – severely ill.

Private Thomas Edwin Lester died at 9.55 pm on 29th April, 1918 at Section 3, Reading War Hospital, Reading, Berkshire, England from Wounds received in action – Shell Gas Poisoning. He was buried in Reading Cemetery where 16 other WW1 Australians are buried. He was buried in a Plot without headstones but is named on the CWGC Screen Wall.

(The above is a summary of my research. The full research can be found by following the link below)
https://ww1austburialsuk.weebly.com/reading.html

Read more...